During a recent broadcast on Fox News, controversial host Tucker Carlson sank to what many online considered yet another new low when he urged his viewers to call Child Protective Services on any families whose children were wearing masks.
Carlson went on a wild rant, saying:
"Masks have always been incompatible with a free society."
"Masks are for the guilty. They're signifiers of shame and submission."
"Next time you see someone in a mask on the sidewalk or on the bike path, do not hesitate, ask politely but firmly, would you please take off your mask?"
"Science shows there is no reason for you to be wearing it."
"Your mask is making me uncomfortable."
"We should do that, and we should keep doing it until wearing a mask outside is roughly as socially acceptable as lighting a Marlboro in an elevator."
"It's repulsive."
Carlson then continued, saying:
"As for forcing children to wear masks outside, that should be illegal."
"Your response when you see children wearing masks when they play should be no different from your response to seeing someone beating a kid at Walmart."
"Call the police immediately."
"Contact Child Protective Services."
"Keep calling until someone arrives."
"What you're looking at is abuse, it's child abuse, and you are morally obligated to attempt to prevent it."
For many on Twitter, Carlson embodied all the worst traits of conservative pundits with his wildly inaccurate diatribe.
Carlson's recent broadcasts have almost singlehanded revived the push to revive the Fairness Doctrine, a law that "required the holders of broadcast licenses to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was honest, equitable, and balanced."
The doctrine was abolished in 1987 by Ronald Reagan's FCC, directly contributing to the rise of opinion-based conservative media.
Tucker Carlson is actually suggesting his viewers commit a crime, making knowingly false crime reports.
At best, Carlson is encouraging viewers to waste the time of law enforcement, at worst he's actively putting lives in danger.
Making your children wear a mask is not child abuse and could, in fact, save lives and keep your child safer.
Anyone with even a half-ounce of common sense should understand this.
