Bess Kalb is a best-selling author, she’s also a writer for the New Yorker and the Jimmy Kimmel show.
After the recent school shootings in Texas, she’s reposted the tweets from senators expressing their grief at the tragedy.
Before each tweet she states, without comment, the exact amount each Senator has received in campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The NRA are passionately committed to preventing any form of gun-control at all costs.
So these are the senators who voted against gun control measures:
Senator Rob Portman ($3,063,327 from the NRA):
“My heart goes out to the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy in Uvalde. Our nation mourns for the innocent children, teacher, and all those affected by this senseless act of violence.”
Senator Todd Young ($2,897,582 from the NRA):
“I am deeply saddened by the horrific shooting today at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Our nation mourns the innocent lives taken in this senseless tragedy.”
Senator Joni Ernst ($3,124,773 from the NRA):
“A senseless, horrendous act of evil. My heart is with those in Texas right now.”
Senator Pat Toomey ($1,475,448 from the NRA):
“Today I join all Americans in mourning those whose lives have been stolen at Uvalde. This tragedy is as horrifying as it is heart breaking. My deepest condolences are with the families & loved ones of those killed, with those who were injured, & with the entire state of Texas.”
Senator Mitt Romney ($13,647,676 from the NRA):
“Grief overwhelms the soul. Children slaughtered. Lives extinguished. Parents’ hearts wrenched. Incomprehensible. I offer prayer and condolence but I know that it is grossly inadequate. We must find answers.”
Senator Tom Cotton ($1,968.714 from the NRA):
“Anna and I join all Arkansans in praying for the victims and the children’s’ families in Uvalde. And we’re grateful for law enforcement and the first responder who are helping in the face of this unimaginable evil.”
Ex-Senator David Perdue ($2,002,462 from the NRA):
“Bonnie and I are heartbroken by the tragedy in Uvalde and are praying for the victims and their families.”
Senator Ted Cruz ($311,151 from the gun lobby):
“Heidi & I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde. We are in close contact with local officials, but the precise details are still unfolding. Thank you to heroic law enforcement & first responders for acting so swiftly.”
For me, the most effective part of Bess Kalb’s message is she doesn’t comment at all.
She doesn’t have to, she simply puts up the NRA’s contribution next to each senator’s tweet, then leaves it up to us to experience cognitive dissonance.
These people are expressing grief and sympathy with the tragedy, saying they are desperate to find answers, and yet, at the same time they are voting against gun-control and are paid by the NRA.
In the last twenty years, there have been 15 school massacres in America and 188 children killed by guns.
So by any sane reasoning the start point must be to limit access to guns.
But these senators say they will do anything to stop the gun violence, except limiting guns.
Could that have anything to do with the millions of dollars each of them receives from the NRA?
She leaves it up to us to decide for ourselves whether it’s pure coincidence and the senators are genuinely grief-stricken, or whether they are corrupt hypocrites and their words are meaningless.
The best part is she treats us like grownups – Here are the facts, work it out for yourself.
That’s how the best advertising works.
Recently I heard an ornithologist on BBC radio 4, describing a skylark.
She said, “Well, it does what it says on the tin.”
That campaign line was written by HHCL 30 years ago and it’s passed into the language.
In the ad, the presenter looks to camera and simply says: “This is Ronseal Quick Drying Varnish.
It’s touch-dry in about 20 minutes. So, in 20 minutes, you can touch it and it will be dry.
Ronseal Quick Drying varnish: It does exactly what it says on the tin.”
On its own it sounds flat, boring even, but you must always judge a thing in context.
That ad stood out from all the noisy, patronising hucksterism around it and passed into the language.
It had no dancing, no computer graphics, no celebrities, no storytelling, no trendy music, no Cannes award winners, it was just a plain-speaking breath of fresh air.
So much so, that it came off the screen and into the language just by telling people what the product was, and what it did, and letting them decide for themselves whether they wanted it.
What a concept, treating human beings as if they have a brain and can make up their own minds.