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WSJ Editor's Batman Tweet Stirs Angry Backlash

James Taranto makes controversial comment about Aurora shooting

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 25, 2012 4:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – A Wall Street Journal editor is in hot water after an "errant" tweet about the Dark Knight massacre. Referring to the three men who died shielding their girlfriends during the attack, James Taranto tweeted, "I hope the girls whose boyfriends died to save them were worthy of the sacrifice." A backlash quickly erupted, reports the Huffington Post, and Taranto later wrote a column apologizing.

"We intended this to be thought-provoking, but to judge by the response, very few people received it that way. The vast majority found it offensive and insulting," Taranto wrote in his mea culpa. He added, "These three women owe their lives to their men. That debt can never be repaid in kind, because life is for the living and cannot be returned to the dead." Taranto sits on the WSJ's editorial board and writes the "Best of the Web Today" column.

A memorial for the victims of the Aurora theatre shooting.
A memorial for the victims of the Aurora theatre shooting.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A friend of a victim of the Aurora shooting visits a memorial on July 21, 2012.
A friend of a victim of the Aurora shooting visits a memorial on July 21, 2012.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 35 comments
bewilderbeast
Jul 27, 2012 3:44 AM CDT
"We intended this to be thought-provoking" - says a Murdoch man. I don't think so. I think it was more likely intended to be hyuk hyuk macho. Would James Taranto want pictures of the females in his life on the 'net? So people could see who he would look at, think, and then decide if she was "worth it".
carson
Jul 26, 2012 12:23 AM CDT
three guys did that?...mercy...the girls dont owe anyone for that...but they sure knew how to pick a man...and i guess these fellows parents knew how to raise em too.... aurora must be a land of giants  
OooShiny
Jul 26, 2012 12:13 AM CDT
Well, Mister Fancy WSJ Pants, though I doubt you'd ever lift anything but your ass out the door should you be caught in a shooting spree, here's a suggestion that may eliminate you from having to decide which woman is worthy of being saved and which woman is too old or too ugly for you to fantasize having sex with and thus is not worthy of saving:  Howzabout men just stop shooting?  As in, put the goddamn guns down and just stop it already with the human target practice.  Can this country go a whole entire day without shooting ANYone?
 

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