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A Guy Who Wants To Speak To The Manager About Target's Vibrators, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'

Molly Bradley
Molly Bradley
A Guy Who Wants To Speak To The Manager About Target's Vibrators, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'
This week, we've also got a guy who thinks American life was better before everyone could get education and two women who are very against the idea of students who aren't in debt.
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Every day somebody says or does something that earns them the scorn of the internet. Here at Digg, as part of our mission to curate what the internet is talking about right now, we rounded up the main characters on Twitter from this past week and held them accountable for their actions.



This week's characters include a guy who thinks American life was better before everyone could get education, a guy outraged that Target sells vibrators and two women who are very mad about the idea of students who aren't in debt.



Monday

Dan McLaughlin

The character: Dan McLaughlin/@baseballcrank, writer and holder of bewildering opinions

The plot: Amid a Twitter debate about the US government’s involvement in public education (sparked by a clip of Fox News host Kennedy proposing an end to public schools), National Review writer Dan McLaughlin tweeted his own, rather puzzling, take: that American life was at its best before widespread public schooling became a thing.



According to Dan, “17th,18th, & early 19th century Americans had arguably the world's highest standards of living”, before those pesky public schools started cropping up. (“Arguably” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.)

The repercussion: Twitter users were quick to point out just how incorrect Dan was, with several highlighting the many not-so-fun things — slavery, disease, and poverty, to name a few — that characterised early American life.



Actual historians on the app also wasted no time in setting Dan straight.



Darcy Jimenez



Tuesday

JD Flynn

The character: JD Flynn, co-founder and EIC at Catholic news outlet The Pillar, guy afraid of sex

The plot: In a since-deleted tweet from Tuesday, Flynn posted an image of, he said, “an ordinary aisle in an ordinary Target” on whose shelves sat a selection of vibrators available for purchase. “These are sex toys,” he said. “What the hell?”



Gotta hand it to him on one count: Flynn is correct in his assessment that these are, indeed, sex toys.

The repercussion: People reacted to Flynn’s outrage/disgust at the fact that you can buy vibrators at Target with several different sentiments. Some pointed out that you can buy guns at Walmart, so why not sex toys at Target? Others pointed out that in much the same way you can simply avoid taking your kid down the aisle that sells condoms, you can simply avoid the vibrator aisle on family excursions.

(Some people, unfortunately, agreed with him, but all this editor has to say is: sorry about your sex life, I guess.)





Molly Bradley



Wednesday

Kassy Dillon


The character: Kassy Dillon, director of digital engagement at Nikki Haley's Stand For America, conservative political commentator, Daily Wire contributor, lady totally cheesed off by student loan forgiveness

The plot: On Monday, President Joe Biden revealed he was looking into forgiving some federal student loan debt during a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. (Biden had previously canceled $5.8 billion in student loans held by 323,000 people who were permanently disabled and placed a moratorium on federal student loan payments until August 31.) As of 2021, 45 million student loan borrowers collectively owe $1.7 trillion of student loans in the United States, representing the second-highest consumer debt category after mortgages.

On Wednesday, Dillon reacted to the possible Biden action by tweeting, “I just worked my butt off to pay off my very expensive student loans a few months ago. If Biden forgives student loans, I’m going to be livid.”



The repercussion: While opposition to student loan forgiveness is fairly boilerplate among rank-and-file Republicans, Dillon’s threat to blow a gasket over Biden’s proposed action went viral, and people began scrutinizing how much student debt she actually had to pay, especially as she previously said she had close to a full scholarship.



Other netizens questioned the logic of her fervid opposition to student loan forgiveness, comparing it to being mad at solving other social ills.


 

Despite being pilloried by thousands of tweets, Dillon stuck by her guns, wishing everyone a good night except people who thought they were “entitled to other people paying off their loans.”



James Crugnale



Thursday

Laura Ingraham


The character: Laura Ingraham, Fox News anchor, conservative pundit, Ivermectin enthusiast, (another) student loan forgiveness opponent

The plot: Following the previous day’s controversial tweet over whether Joe Biden should forgive student loan debts, Ingraham also weighed in on the topic du jour by revealing her mother worked as a waitress until she was 73 to pay off the family’s student loan debt.

“My mom worked as a waitress until she was 73 to help pay for our college, even helped with loan repayment. Loan forgiveness just another insult to those who play by the rules,” she tweeted.



The repercussion: Ingraham’s argument against student loan forgiveness involving her mother waiting tables into her 70s was roundly mocked across the Twittersphere, with people pointing out that her story actually exemplified why student loans were broken in America and wondered why she wasn’t helping her mother pay her loans once she graduated.


     

James Crugnale


———

Read the previous edition of our One Main Character column, which included a journalist outraged that the person he doxxed got doxxed and more.

Did we miss a main character from this week? Please send tips to [email protected].

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