Roger Ebert has given himself permission to trash politicians and ridicule actors.
He's a movie critic, so belittling others is second nature to him. Whether it is his place to displace certain people and events, or whether he is justified in investing himself with the right to do so is another matter.
What's more, whether the world at large should give any small-time critic any attention for venting his spleen is also debatable, especially in light of the needless tragedy which has transpired.
However, he has started a twitter-firestorm over his rancid remarks about the recent, violent death of a "Jackass" actor Ryan Dunn, who crashed his car, veering off the guard railing, and his car exploded upon crashing, killing driver and passenger.
Ebert tweeted: "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive."
Insensitive? Yes. Biting in its accuracy? Yes. Dunn was photographed drinking hours before his fatal crash, with back-handed kudos to TMZ, another petty purveyor in senseless sensationalism.
A real controversy emerges when we consider the wasted time and space sent castigating Ebert, a crippled and declining ideologue whose attempt to bolster his diminished presence in the public is most likely the sole factor pushing him to dash off such incendiary slander.
A man has died in an alcohol-fueled car crash, and the world is bickering about a one-sentence inanity from a has-been critic? If this is the highest standard of moral engagement for this country, where are we headed as a culture?