At first blush, this story seems so ludicrous that it can’t be true–and yet it appears to be. A reporter triggered by the thought of celebrating Columbus Day claims he tried to call Child Protective Services on a mother who was honoring it with her child–but get this, the “reporter” then claims the hotline won’t answer because it’s overburdened. Perhaps it’s overburdened because whackos like him are tying up the phone lines with idiotic calls?
Here’s how it started: today, which many now call Indigenous Peoples Day, Virginia Senate Candidate Tina Ramirez tweeted, “Wishing you and your family a Happy Columbus Day!” Innocuous stuff for a candidate to say.
Blue-check Twitter user David Leavitt, who writes in his bio that he’s an “Award-Winning Multimedia Journalist” with bylines at CBS, AXS, Yahoo, and Examiner, was deeply triggered, writing:
While I’m not interested in identity politics, it’s worth noting that Columbus was Italian, the mom in question is Hispanic, her daughter is black, and she said nothing about celebrating any of the above, but that wasn’t enough for the man whose pinned tweet is photos of Ukrainian soldiers with cats. He asked for someone to report the dangerous Tina to the authorities:
At this point, it’s just another in a million silly Twitter spats; no big deal. But then David decided to take it to another level, and make the call himself:
This is peak hypocrisy–this “journalist” is decrying the hold time of a child abuse hotline when he himself is sucking up resources with frivolous calls. But he didn’t stop there:
He continued to post updates on his hold time throughout the day, as well as many tweets decrying the racism of Christopher Columbus. He’s still busy tweeting now as I write this story, and retweeting legions of tolerant followers calling Tina Ramirez vile names and saying her daughter will be stupid, and worse.
Leavitt can hold all the anti-Columbus views he wants; that’s his prerogative. Somehow he’s amassed over 330,000 followers with his vitriolic tirades and harassment of other users. Wasting state resources and making a mockery of child abuse, however, is taking it to a whole other sickening level, which seems to be his stock in trade. He’s the scold who made Target Tori a name and netted her some sweet vacation cash. Perhaps this tirade will work out positively for the latest focus of his harassment.
This guy’s behavior is truly repugnant.