Saturday, August 15, 2009

My nomination for the worst news headline this month

Elderly vigilante ‘didn’t want to shoot’ robbers

vig·i·lan·te
noun

1. One who takes or advocates the taking of law enforcement into one's own hands.
2. A member of a vigilance committee.


How does being the victim of a violent crime and halting a robbery and quite possibly cold blooded murder make one a vigilante? There is a difference between minding your own business when you are attacked by armed robbers and going out looking for trouble. The author of this headline is a moron.

For a more balanced report on this tragic event go here.

Update: They changed the title of the story removing "vigilante" and replacing it with "shopkeeper." It appears that MSNBC got buried with complaints about the headline.

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