Jimmy Breslin

I'm sure we've all heard the old adage: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Well this statement must have fallen on deaf ears where Jimmy Breslin is concerned. Breslin, a long time columnist for the New York Daily News, prided himself on being the voice of the common man, and his words weren't always pleasant. He spent his career criticizing the church, the president, and a vast variety of other injustices felt by the poor blue collar families that live in the lower middle class neighborhoods of New York.
To some, Breslin's soapbox stance on city, state and world issues may be overkill, but to him and those that understand him, his words are a catalyst for change. He feels that while his ambition may be difficult to put into effect, it throbs with noble energy.
Breslin's work is effective because his voice evokes a level of feeling that most journalists lack. Regardless of whether you agree with his opinions, you can't help but be moved by him. His words regarding 9/11 or the war in Iraq send chills down the spines of his readers. He is so effective at this style of journalism because instead of just covering the story, he writes about the people affected. Instead of writing about the war in Iraq like so many people have done, Breslin writes about a single mother, who's 17 year old son begged her to allow him to join the military. He needed her signature since he was not yet eighteen. She agreed, and he soon left for training and then went on to Iraq. His trip fell short when a homemade bomb blew up the truck he was riding in. Breslin's story opens with the military police getting out of their car in front of the single mother's home. She sees them and her mind is begging them 'don't come here'. The story closes with the military police making their way up the front walk of her home and her voice becomes audible,... "Don't come here!"
Breslin is, in effect, a present day Robin Hood. He criticizes choices of the rich and powerful because of the detrimental effect these choices can have on the ordinary man. He wants to be the voice of those that cannot get their voices heard on their own.