The Sandy Hook kids at the Super Bowl was a touching moment. But that’s because it was endearing to see our most barbaric pastime halted for just a few minutes by such innocence, only months after all that innocence had been presumed lost. The Sandy Hook choir worked in that moment. So when news came that another group of kids from Newtown would be singing “Call Me Maybe” on Ryan Seacrest’s Grammy Awards red carpet, my first thought wasn’t “Hey, that’s cute,” it was “C’mon. Now it’s just exploitation,” executives on the hunt for another bloggable, tweetable moment. And I said as such, which caught the attention of The Atlantic, and New York Magazine, and eventually CNN. On CNN’s “Out Front” on Wednesday, I discussed this gut reaction with host Erin Burnett and fellow guest Bonnie Fuller. Is it actually exploitation? Can it be exploitation if it’s truly beneficial for the kids’ grief? And is this just the latest example of a society in which so many of us are exploiting personal and mass tragedies? Check out the answers in this partial clip from the interview.
Pop-upView Separately

The Sandy Hook kids at the Super Bowl was a touching moment. But that’s because it was endearing to see our most barbaric pastime halted for just a few minutes by such innocence, only months after all that innocence had been presumed lost.

The Sandy Hook choir worked in that moment. So when news came that another group of kids from Newtown would be singing “Call Me Maybe” on Ryan Seacrest’s Grammy Awards red carpet, my first thought wasn’t “Hey, that’s cute,” it was “C’mon. Now it’s just exploitation,” executives on the hunt for another bloggable, tweetable moment. And I said as such, which caught the attention of The Atlantic, and New York Magazine, and eventually CNN.

On CNN’s “Out Front” on Wednesday, I discussed this gut reaction with host Erin Burnett and fellow guest Bonnie Fuller. Is it actually exploitation? Can it be exploitation if it’s truly beneficial for the kids’ grief? And is this just the latest example of a society in which so many of us are exploiting personal and mass tragedies? Check out the answers in this partial clip from the interview.