I have watched a few episodes of CBS’s Elementary. I love crime stories and I have long been a fan of anything even vaguely related to Sherlock Holmes. But for someone reportedly as insightful as the main character, this resurrection of the iconic figure in modern day New York City sure makes a lot of silly, politically correct errors.
Take last week’s episode entitled Ancient History. At about 10:28 in to the show, Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) makes this comment:
While it is true that most murders are classified as murders by acquaintances, most people, including apparently Mr. Holmes, don’t have a clue what the term means. For example, most “acquaintances” are members of rival gangs. Acquaintances also involve people who have perceived financial relations. If a cab driver picks up a fare and then the fare kills the cab driver, that is classified as an acquaintance murder. But if a person comes up to the side of the cab and murders the cab driver, that would be classified as a stranger murder. These are hardly the friends, spouses, and business associates that Holmes refers to.
Gun control advocates misleadingly use this claim to make people afraid of having a gun in the home. They want to make it seem that people can suddenly lose their temper and if a gun is owned in the home, it will be then used to kill someone. Of course, the problem with this argument is that about 90 percent of adult murderers have an adult violent criminal record. There are many other clearly identifiable characteristics for these individuals, and they are simply not your typical citizen.
Of course, Elementary is regularly attacking free marketers and businessmen. In the episode We Are Everyone (Season 2, episode 3), Holmes rejects Ayn Rand as the “philosopher-in-chief to the intellectually bankrupt” (at about 7:24 into the show), and of course the killer leaves the clue: a well read copy of Rand’s The Fountainhead.
In the episode entitled Rat Race (Season 1, episode 4), Holmes blames greedy bankers, not government regulation in the least, for the recent financial crisis.