There is a famous quote attributed to former Obama staff member and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He reportedly said, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”

On the one hand, it’s a smart thing to do, if you’re Machiavellian (the ends justify the means), but, on the other hand, it’s manipulative and exploitative of people’s emotions. Which is exactly why it’s no surprise that the quote came from a liberal politician like Emanuel.

It seems that Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety has taken up Emanuel’s idea in anticipation of the horrible Chicago gun violence over the July 4, 2021 weekend. Yes, they were looking forward to that violence and advising the media on how to report it in order to push gun control. It’s unbelievably callous of them, and it’s also true that they did exactly that. John Petrolino writes,

We’ve seen a lot of “bloody” Fourth of July weekend headlines this week, many of them for stories which use numbers that are fairly misleading. I’ve seen over five dozen articles all about the bloody 4th, all of them following the same narrative, and as it turns out one of the biggest gun control groups was providing some guidance on reporting.

Suggestions for Covering Holiday Weekend Gun Violence in Context was the name of a press release issued by none other than Everytown for Gun Safety. Dated July 2, 2021, it’s as if they just knew we were going to have a crazed Independence Day weekend.

Petrolino continues:

Wow. “Lax gun laws”, check. “Pandemic”, check. Everytown and the ilk has popped out their pocket watches all at the same time, swinging them back and forth in front of our faces. The “lax gun laws” cited in this press release have nothing to do with the violence that occurred in Chicago over the weekend, which caused the Mayor to put out a plea to Uncle Joe for help just the other day. The pandemic? Puh-lease.

The release goes on to highlight 11 different areas and tactics to employ when reporting about the potential for a “gun-violence” filled weekend. The document is thick and full of “you know what”. 

The document tells reporters to “use a trauma-informed approach to interviews” of “gun violence survivors” and to “Report on the ways the gun lobby and its allies in Congress and statehouses have undermined law enforcement efforts to combat gun violence.”

Yeah, that sounds like objective news reporting to me.

Of course, this kind of dishonesty about guns and gun violence is no surprise to anyone who is paying attention. Everytown and the mainstream media lapdogs that pay attention to this garbage should be ashamed, but I won’t be holding my breath for any apology about their lies and misinformation.