Meteorologist Forced Out Of Job By Moron Right Wing Bullies. Sound Familiar?

Meteorologist Chris Gloninger is quitting his job as 
meteorologist at television station KCCI in Des Moines
because some in the MAGA cult bullied him for 
accurately reporting climate change issues. 

A television meteorologist is calling it quits because of threats and harassments he has received. Apparently, some people freak out because this meteorologist has the gall to accurately report on climate change. 

Sigh 

Chris Gloninger, chief meteorologist at television station KCCI in Des Moines, is leaving the position because the MAGA types apparently are displeased that he sometimes uses his platform to (Gasp!) accurately report on climate change issues. 

I'm not talking about people grumbling that they're uninterested in the topic, or believe Gloninger has his facts wrong. 

Nope, it's all about Gloninger contradicting their MAGA club. And you know what that means! Threats, whines, tantrums. You know the toddler behavior we've all come to expect from the extreme right wing, QAnon,  and Trump cultists.  Snowflakes, in other words. Or just flakes. 

One missive could easily be ignored. But they just kept piling on. As the Washington Post reports:

"The emails arrived relentlessly in Gloninger's inbox for another month, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The sender accused the award-winning meteorologist, who spoke frequently about the effects of climate change, of being a conspiracy theorist and a 'worthless Biden puppet.' Another told Gloninger to 'go was and drown from the ice cap melting.'"

The messages are threatening and stupid. "Getting sick and tired of your liberal conspiracy on the weather."

 If this sounds familiar, it should.  The MAGA types have fully embraced bullying, be it on line or in purpose to get what they want. Like most bullies, they don't have the facts behind them, so they resort to staged anger, force, and occasionally, violence. 

We have seen election workers bullied into quitting by the MAGAs insisting the 2020 election was stolen, against all evidence to the contrary. MAGA and right wing politicians are stoking attacks on the LGBTQ community and stoking hysteria over drag queens.    And the so-called law and order right wing also attacks the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for, well, enforcing laws against Trump and their allies. This includes harassment of prosecutors in the Trump classified documents case.

One of the most persistent and obnoxious people harassing Gloinger was Daniel H. Hancock, 63, of Lenox, Iowa.  As the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported, Hancock was charged with harassment, but got off pretty much with no consequences. He only had to pay a $150 fine. That's it. 

I'm sure Hancock is gloating with this and is ready to try and bully others, given the very light slap on the wrist he received. More of these MAGA harassers need to suffer bigger consequences, or they'll just keep doing what they're doing. 

Meanwhile, Gloninger, who did absolutely nothing wrong, finds his life upended. True, the threats and vitriol weren't as bad as some other people who incurred the wrath of MAGA, but it still has an effect.

As the Washington Post reports:

"The episode ultimately led the meteorologist to a career-altering decision. Gloninger is departing KCCI and his career in TV news in July.....citing family health issues and post-traumatic stress he suffered after receiving the threats."

'I'm trying to put it behind me,' Gloninger told The Washington Post. 'But at the same point, I think it brings awareness to what journalists face day to day bringing the news."

Climate scientists and advocates know all too well how wearing the rabble rousers can be. Michael Mann, a prominent climatologist known for his ground breaking 1998 "hockey stick" graph and studies in 1998, has been harassed ever since.  

It's gotten worse, at least on Twitter, now that Elon Musk has firmly taken over. 

According to AFP:

"Michael Mann, a prominent climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and a regular target for abuse by deniers of climate change, said he believed the rise in misinformation was 'organized and orchestrated' by opponents of climate reform.

'I've see a huge rise in trolls and bots. Many large tweets of mine for the attack,' he said. 

Mann's 2021 book 'The New Climate War' documented actions by oil producers to sow climate denialism on social media. 'The professional trolls manipulate the online environment with strategic posts that generate conflict and division, leading to a feeding frenzy,' he told AFP."

True to form, Mann is not keeping his mouth shut about Twitter under Musk. 

On April 21, he tweeted, "If you're a prominent climate account on Twitter, there are organized teams funded by fossil fuel groups, dark money organizations & petrostates who will not target your tweets with trollbot attacks. Elon Musk -- who bought Twitter w/help from the Saudis & Russia - enabled this."

Mann suggested blocking and muting these denial tweets because it hurts their rating with Twitter's algorithms. Reporting the account for misinformation might also help. 

Dealing with the right wing online bullies is an annoying task of whack-a-mole Given the political climate, I don't see signs of any real civility anytime soon. 

By the way, I have absolutely no objection to questioning what you see and hear from reporters.  If it sounds off after you've thought about it critically, it's OK to call them on it. If you do it in a professional, level headed manner.  Hey, free speech and all, so go for it.

I just object to terrorism and bullying, which is the problem here. 

I also don't mean to lump all Trump supporters into the loser whiner category. Just the ones who are in fact whiners, losers and bullies. 

As for Gloninger, he's landing on his feet. He and his wife are moving to Massachusetts where he has been hired by Woods Hole Group, which is an environmental science and consulting group.