As an ex news reporter, objectivity has been bred into me from the get-go.
Through murder trials and drug busts, to death knocks and large-scale political meltdowns (I was in the Middle East during the Arab Spring) I've managed to remain relatively impartial, weighing up both sides of the argument, giving voice to differing opinions and sticking to the facts as much as possible.
But recently, my journalistic patience has been tested.
Trying to be non-partisan when Trump is the focus of your piece is like telling all your friends the pain could actually be quite pleasant, depending on how you look at it, while you're being stabbed repeatedly in the neck with a rusty screwdriver.
It's like someone, somewhere is having a massive joke at the media's (and the rest of the world's) expense, but they've told the joke six times already now and we're struggling to keep the terse grin on our faces.
I'm obviously not the only one who feels this way.
American journalist and former anchor for CBS Evening News posted this rather eloquent invective on his Facebook account yesterday.
It was so good I stole his opening sentence for my headline.
After Trump's incitement of the Second Amendment against political rival Hillary Clinton at a rally in North Carolina, the sand ran out on the egg timer of Dan Rather's patience:
As Dan says, submitting any more of Trump's outbursts to the folder of 'just another outrageous moment in the campaign' is irresponsible.
The more we laugh and shrug, the more we unwittingly condone and normalise his behaviour. Hillary Clinton's private email server blunder has seen her pilloried by the right wing press (and others) for the last year.
We're not holding Donald Trump to the same standards.
The more we smirk at him and offer evenhanded opinions on the grounds of his buffoonery, the more we're letting him get away scot-free.
His latest remarks are nothing short of completely, damningly unacceptable.
So, if Trump thinks he can get away with calling for his supporters to use their 'right to bear arms' against Hillary Clinton, we journalists should at least be prepared to slaughter him with our acid wit.
We can't fight firearms with fire, so our words are all we have. Let's use them.
Natasha Bird is the Former Executive Editor (Digital) of ELLE.
