That awkward moment when a anchor calls the shooters actors... twice.

[UK2K]

Even if that is true. What does it matter?

Because this is the first time that anyone has heard a gunman referred to as an actor, EVER, so obviously its going to be questioned.

[dude77]

Even if that is true. What does it matter?

I've never seen anyone refer to a gunman/suspect/killer as an actor while reporting the story .. it is odd .. whether the word is applicable or not because it also applies to something else ..

everyone is adamant that this applies perfectly to what they're talking about .. so I'm assuming it's been used before ..


so again I ask .. since this fits just fine in this example, can you point me to other examples where a gunman/suspect/killer has been referred to as an actor during a news telecast ? .. I'm sure it's been used before since it fits what they're talking about ? ..

[KevinNYC]

Maybe you read it in a different tone of frame of mind, but I never insinuated they did know and didn't say it.

OK. That might be the case.


I suspect the speaker may have been trying for some neutral word since so much was unconfirmed. (In doing so, he may have stumbled unknowingly into the crisis actor idiocy.) Shooter could have been a word to use, but I believe at the time, they did't know if the car chase was the shooters or other involved.

[UK2K]

OK. That might be the case.


I suspect the speaker may have been trying for some neutral word since so much was unconfirmed. (In doing so, he may have stumbled unknowingly into the crisis actor idiocy.) Shooter could have been a word to use, but I believe at the time, they did't know if the car chase was the shooters or other involved.

While I don't think our government would set something up like this, it also wouldn't shock me to find out they did given history.

I'm not implying that the speaker was told they were actors and it just slipped his mind. I just thought it rather odd, and ironic given the 'crisis actor' hysteria, that he would refer to them as actors. Twice.

But that's why I didn't say much in the OP. I don't know why he called them what he did, I just thought it was thread worthy. You'll see the video making the rounds on social media today, so it was at least worth a discussion.

[KevinNYC]

everyone is adamant that this applies perfectly to what they're talking about .. so I'm assuming it's been used before ..

You're missing the point. It applies not as some convention of the news business. It applies as part of the English language in the context he was speaking. If he described them as truculent, it would be unusual and perhaps never used before, but it would make sense as English.

We are also referring to a what 30 second clip? This is the perfect example of anomaly hunting. You have no evidence that he or the other commentators didn't refer to this couple by numerous ways.

[KevinNYC]

I just thought it rather odd, and ironic given the 'crisis actor' hysteria, that he would refer to them as actors. Twice.

I'm not sure that the "crisis actor hysteria" is as widely known in the real world as in is on the internet, so this doesn't raise a flag for me.

[oarabbus]

No one has ever heard the term actor used in the context of a crime ('bad actors')? Christ, ISH is dumber than I thought.

[oh the horror]

No one has ever heard the term actor used in the context of a crime ('bad actors')? Christ, ISH is dumber than I thought.

Because people don't talk like that. You and your friends sit around and talk about actors in a story you're telling?

[dunksby]

It's safe to say that the guy who recorded the video and flipped out doesn't have a solid grasp of the language.

[KevinNYC]

Because people don't talk like that. You and your friends sit around and talk about actors in a story you're telling?

And that's one of the many, many differences between how me and my friends talk and how people on a news broadcast talk.

[UK2K]

No one has ever heard the term actor used in the context of a crime ('bad actors')? Christ, ISH is dumber than I thought.

No, never. Never in my years as an MP, or all the years my father was a police officer, did I ever hear anyone refer to a criminal as an actor. Never.

If you have, I'd love to see an example. Like I said, maybe it is common, I don't know. If it is, why are we 5 pages deep with not one example?

[warriorfan]

[Nick Young]

Neighbor Didn't Report Suspicious Activity of San Bernardino Killers For Fear of Being Called Racist

According to a local Los Angeles news report, a neighbor of San Bernardino massacre suspects Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik didn't report suspicious activity at their apartment for fear of being accused of racism.

This is the same politically correct culture that lead to the Ft. Hood shooting when Nidal Hassan, who had been spouting violent Islamic propaganda to neighbors on post and reaching out to Al Qaeda, was ignored for fear of "Islamaphobia" accusations.


The warning signs were all there: the justification of homicide bombings; the spewing of anti-American hatred; the efforts to reach Al Qaeda ...

But the U.S. military treated Major Nidal Malik Hasan with kid gloves, even after giving him a poor performance review. And though he was on the radar screen of at least one U.S. intelligence agency, no action was taken that might have prevented the Army psychiatrist from allegedly gunning down 13 people and wounding 29 others in the Fort Hood massacre last week.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepa...acist-n2088543