Mainstream media are outraged over a meme video depicting President Donald Trump shooting his critics – but they absolutely loved the movie it was based on, and think nothing of actual violence committed against Trump supporters.

All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again, as the media mob pursues rage clickbait. This time, the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching is over a meme – excuse me, “fake” and “doctored” – video shown during the American Priority Conference at Trump Doral in Florida this weekend.

Also on rt.com Media uproar as video depicting Trump massacring news orgs shown at conservative event

Reactions to the video go way beyond what cartoonist Scott Adams has described as seeing “two movies on the same screen.” One liberal comedian – entirely seriously – zeroed in on Trump “killing powerful black people” to lament the “cancer that is Trumpism.”

Actress Kathy Griffin – who once thought it was a great idea to do a photoshoot with a fake severed head of Trump – now claimed she was the real victim, as the video shows her “being murdered” by the president.

“Waiting for Donald Trump to condemn the video of him committing mass murder that was shown at his resort to his supporters, and to apologize to the families of those targeted,” anti-gun crusader Shannon Watts tweeted unironically.

Waiting for Donald Trump to condemn the video of him committing mass murder that was shown at his resort to his supporters, and to apologize to the families of those targeted. #trumpvideohttps://t.co/U4M2ukY5sE — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 14, 2019

One possible explanation is that none of the people getting worked up over the video have ever watched ‘Kingsman:The Secret Service,’ that the meme was based on. The 2015 “action spy comedy” revolves entirely around over-the-top cartoonish violence juxtaposed with English gentility – such as the protagonist of that specific scene going berserk inside a church, along with everyone else, due to the effects of an electronic weapon.

I've learned a few things today1. Journalists have never seen the movie Kingsman2. Journalists are just now learning of a video that is over a year old3. It's a Youtube video, the story is that at a resort Trump supporters were watching Youtube videos satirizing Kingsman https://t.co/KQqYQwzJPY — Tim Pool (@Timcast) October 14, 2019

Movie critics and audiences alike – 74 percent and 84 percent, respectively – loved the movie and had no problem with American churchgoers getting massacred in that scene, as journalist Lee Stranahan pointed out.

Worth pointing out that the media didn't seem to have a problem with the original cut of the film where the people being killed were stereotype redneck white Christians.Or am I missing something? https://t.co/b4SYB8andu — 𝙻𝚎𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚗 ⏳ (@stranahan) October 14, 2019

More to the point, the same people shrieking now have not bothered to notice the video since it came out in July 2018. So why now? Was there nothing else at the conference they could object to, so some outrage had to be manufactured, and memes were it?

Patrician media et al. are raging over the stupid parody video at Trump Miami only because they can use it to attack him. It was part of a "meme exhibit" in a room next to the back kitchen that was entirely empty. It had nothing to do w/his campaign. pic.twitter.com/k00MNx99WK — Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) October 14, 2019

Before long, Twitter was suspending Carpe Donktum, the pro-Trump memesmith who did not even make the video, but defended its display as part of a “meme exhibit.”

“The Kingsman video is CLEARLY satirical and the violence depicted is metaphoric. No reasonable person would believe that this video was a call to action, or an endorsement of violence towards the media,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Except that people who consider themselves special and above reproach or critique have stopped being reasonable long ago.

The original Kingsman scene didn’t make waves because it’s ok for aristocrats to joke about killing peasants The #TrumpVideo is beyond the pale because it’s not ok for peasants to joke about killing aristocrats — Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) October 14, 2019

One does not have to be a conservative pundit to point out the obvious hypocrisy. The New York Times sponsoring a theatrical production of Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ depicting Trump getting assassinated; Griffin’s ISIS stunt; music videos depicting Trump getting murdered – all fine in the media playbook, because free speech, First Amendment, and so on. But when some anonymous “peasant” in “flyover country” dares meme a video turning the tables? Red alert!

Remember when the same people furious about the #TrumpVideo, that President @RealDonaldTrump had nothing to do with, were also furious at this video by Snoop Dogg? Me either. pic.twitter.com/v7PbslvoBZ — Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) October 14, 2019

Here's how Marylin Manson depicted President Trump in the teaser for his "Say10" (Satan) music video. No outrage by the liberal media then. pic.twitter.com/5dMEJOw0SL — Mark Dice (@MarkDice) October 14, 2019

For all the media rhetoric about Trump “inciting violence” against journalists, actual political violence in the US has overwhelmingly consisted of Trump critics targeting his supporters – with the June 2017 shooting of Republicans training for the congressional baseball charity game being the deadliest example.

Throughout, the same media now shrieking about incitement have peddled conspiracy theories about Trump’s “treason” and “Russian collusion” and imminent threat to “our democracy” that have actually done more to sow discontent and division among Americans than anything they’ve blamed alleged “Russian trolls” for.

Not to mention that they were perfectly fine smearing and demonizing American citizens, living and working in the US, as “Russian agents” just because they worked at outlets like RT or Sputnik. Wasn’t that an attack on journalists, or is it different when they do it?

Taibbi again focusing on the deeper regime dynamics: “Americans [aren’t] used to waking up in a country where you’re not sure who the president will be by nightfall. They don’t understand that this predicament is worse than having a bad president.” https://t.co/V3jTRuo0IZ — Patrick Deneen (@PatrickDeneen) October 13, 2019

Honestly, I’ve had enough of this stone-throwing by inhabitants of glass houses – and I get a feeling a lot of my fellow Americans have as well. As Matt Taibbi observed just the other day, this country has been dragged into a state of perpetual coup, courtesy of the political establishment in Washington and their media enablers, out to get Bad Orange Man at any cost – even if it means destroying the country.

If you don’t understand memes, maybe journalism is not for you, and it’s time to find honest work.

Nebojsa Malic, senior writer at RT