Confession time: when I saw the news alert this morning about Alec Baldwin shooting and killing a crew member on his new movie, I wondered for a few minutes whether it was an accident. Baldwin is known as much for his legendary temper as he is for acting. Even if he didn’t have a reputation, well, in early 1994 did you think “Nordberg” from the Naked Gun movies was capable of murder?
(And Baldwin really is one of the greatest actors of his generation. As someone who thinks comedy is much harder than drama, I submit that his work in this scene from 30 Rock is one of the greatest performances of all time. Also, it’s totally going to be taken out of circulation any day now.)
As it stands, this appears to have been a case of negligence by the prop master, who inexplicably left a live round of ammunition in a prop gun. This is an absolutely horrendous tragedy all around, and Baldwin himself must be devastated.
Naturally, the “serious” Republican candidate for the Ohio Senate race has responded with all the class and dignity one expects from the GOP in 2021:
HAW HAW HAW IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE THE GUY WHO PLAYED TRUMP ON SNL IS IN SERIOUS EMOTIONAL PAIN RIGHT NOW
This is where negative partisanship - when your political affiliation is motivated by hatred of the other team more than any particular ideology or policies - ultimately leads. There’s a heavy element of social media culture on display here, too - Twitter is not for serious discussions, but for owning your opponents and getting everyone to point and laugh at them.
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