Ever the bastion of truth in journalism, the New York Times somehow found a way to link the brutal slaying of nine Americans, including two infants and four other children, to “religious fundamentalism” in Mexico.
The Times penned a stunningly insensitive piece detailing the heinous massacre, in which gunmen likely linked to a drug cartel attacked a caravan of three vehicles carrying several Mormon families from their home in Sonora, Mexico to a wedding in neighboring Chihuahua, interspersing particulars of the attack with seemingly random points about the Mormon community’s polygamous history and “strict religious practices.”
“The extended family struck by Monday’s violence has long roots in the broader community of fundamentalist Mormons who first took up residence in Mexico’s northern border regions in the late 19th century,” the Times oh-so-helpfully explains.
“Initially, the family’s patriarch was part of a wave of religious rebels who headed south to practice polygamy, once it was banned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” the article goes on, adding that “The settlers who put down stakes included Miles Park Romney, the great-grandfather of Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, and the party’s presidential nominee in 2012,” as though that has anything to do with the price of tea in China.
Over on Twitter, the Times posted their unnecessary history lesson that no one asked for under the caption, “The brutal killing of 9 members of an American family in northern Mexico on Monday highlights the long history of religious fundamentalist settlers in the region. Our religion reporter, Elizabeth Dias, details their history back to the early 20th century.”
The brutal killing of 9 members of an American family in northern Mexico on Monday highlights the long history of religious fundamentalist settlers in the region. Our religion reporter, Elizabeth Dias, details their history back to the early 20th century. https://t.co/rfvtzdTN9i
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 5, 2019
Predictably, that tweet got ratio’d into the stratosphere for being about as tone-deaf as one can imagine.
"Killing ... highlights"
— Bob Miller (@writerbob5) November 6, 2019
🤔🤔🤔
1946 NYT: "The Jewish Holocaust illuminated the ethnic divisions in central Europe"
Tens of millions of Mexicans coming to the US and practice their religions freely. A couple hundred Americans go down to Mexico and practice their religion then get butchered and it’s the Americans fault.
— Josh_Seattle (@CreamsikleNW) November 5, 2019
"Goddamn Mormons and their stupid missions" was not a take I was expecting in describing the brutal slaughter of so many young children, but then again, I frequently underestimate the NYT
— Jack Daley (@RealJackDaley) November 5, 2019
Lol I knew that after somewhat siding with ISIS the media would also side with Mexican cartels over Trump. No, they really cant help themselves lol
— Emil (@Emil_Lakers) November 5, 2019