Mr. Burns has replaced J.R.Ewing as the most shot-at man on American television. (Class of 2016, #55)

J.R. Ewing is a fictional character on the TV show Dallas, which ran on CBS from 1978 to 1991, before the birth of the Class of 2016. However, for what it’s worth, the show was reprised in 2012 with Larry Hagman again starring as J.R. Ewing. It premiered two months before the unveiling of the Class of 2016 List.

In March 1980, J.R. Ewing was shot by an unseen assailant in a season-ending cliffhanger. “Who Shot J.R.?” was a media sensation and popular slogan, slapped on t-shirts and buttons. In November 1980, it was revealed (spoiler alert) that the shooter was his sister-in-law/mistress Kristin.

Mr. Burns is a fiction character on The Simpsons, which premiered in 1989 and is still on the air. In May 1995, Mr. Burns was shot in an season-ending episode meant to parody “Who Shot J.R.?” In September 1995, viewers learned (spoiler alert) that the culprit was Maggie Simpson.

When these Simpsons episodes aired most members of the Class of 2016 were approximately one year-old. This is no accident. Many items from the Mindset List appear to be derived from looking at a list of events that took place around the time of the relevant class’s birth. Things that ended before they were born “never” happened. Things that began after they were born “always” existed.

Quite obviously a TV episode that airs when you’re a baby can’t be said to shape your “mindset.” But that may not even be the dumbest part of the item. Like many Mindset claims, this one is sloppily written. Why would either J.R. Ewing or Mr. Burns be considered the “most-shot man” on American television? Their shootings are notable for their fame, not their frequency.

Is it too much to ask that Beloit College  hire an editor to go through these lists before they are released to clean up this atrocious writing?