TNT columnist: He cherry-picks the cranks

Re: “Columnist responds to some less-than-appreciative readers,” (TNT, 12/31).

Matt Driscoll writes that the point of his column is to express his opinion. I beg to differ. I think his actual point is to inflame, enrage, and often to belittle the segment of readers who do not agree with his opinion.

We find evidence for this in Driscoll’s now-regular “You rip, I respond” pieces, wherein he always begins by telling us that he gets lots of emails, pleasant and unpleasant.

Yet for some reason, nearly all of the messages he shares with us are the snarky and abusive ones that are most easily dismissed as coming from cranks.

Driscoll could improve his credibility were he to engage in some form of rational discourse. He is, after all, a professional writer and he should be capable of defending his own views against those of his intellectual peers.

Instead, he cherry-picks the weakest opposition he can find, lowers himself to a level just above them, then triumphantly spikes the football when he out-snarks them.

It is neither impressive or persuasive.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 4:38 PM with the headline "TNT columnist: He cherry-picks the cranks."