Charlie Kirk, who is not a politician but a public speaker and media personality, was assassinated yesterday.
What you must understand is that the reason he was killed, and not you, is because he has a bigger audience, not because he is “worse” than you.
His positions were fairly traditional for conservatives and quite moderate compared to many online personalities. Chances are, you believe similar things to him. You might have some more liberal positions, and then again, you might be further to the right. But his positions were popular and shared by millions, and most conservatives are going to agree with him on a great many things.
So, understand that the people celebrating his death do so because they know who he is; if they knew who you were, they would celebrate just as much if you were assassinated. I have not been speaking in hyperbole over the years when I say that they hate you and want you dead. It’s true. The things that made Kirk evil are the same things that make you evil, at least from their perspective, which is holding the wrong beliefs.
It was a bitter pill for me to swallow some years ago—that people I had worked with, shared classes with, gigged with, even people involved in my wedding, hated me and wanted me dead. If you are wondering why so many people are cryptoconservatives, it is for this reason. It’s quite difficult, if not impossible, to have friendly relationships with people who feel that you should be killed and actions that harm you (to that end or less) are morally justified (if not obligated).
After all, if Charlie Kirk deserves death, you do, too. The main reason they don’t do it is because they are afraid (a kind of ideal state in most circumstances) and aren’t one of the people who are capable of being activated by the media’s propaganda and transformed into stochastic terrorists. The shrieking leftists approve of the terrorists, though, which is important.
That means that they can and will take extra steps to hurt you. They will call CPS on you. They will join the cancel mob. Lie about you. Sabotage family relations. You need only spend a little time among conservatives, and you are sure to come across an anecdote of some crazed family relation doing just that—if you don’t have a story yourself. Petty people make mischief in their own small, mean way, but you ought to expect it at this point and do what you can to protect yourself.
I realized this nine years ago. I went to school and had thought myself friends with these people who thought it was okay to publicly wish death on those who had voted for Trump. I saw it in grand numbers, not just from the occasional cousin or extended relative. I think the older generation was sheltered from that to an extent. It’s easy to shrug it off when it’s a couple of nieces and nephews. It’s much more disturbing when it’s 20+ people you thought you knew, from all over the country.
When people are comfortable enough saying vile things in public, you know it must be perfectly normal for their private life. It’s only a matter of time before actions follow suit.
I don’t know how we as a society deal with this. One of the lefties who was fired over his horrid statements later posted a video of himself screaming, “ALL I HAVE LEFT IS THIS WEBSITE!” I assume that was tiktok. Many of these people have already been ostracized. Many more live in a leftist bubble. They are mentally ill.
What happens now?? Do we just run to our corners of society and hope not to touch each other? That doesn’t seem sustainable.
I was exposed to more extreme views as a part of academia 20 years ago, but it’s definitely gotten worse.
What do we do?
Some pundits have floated a suggestion – you have to prosecute the people funding the enterprise using something like the RICO statutes while you have the power. In the meantime, you have to use social pressure defensively, which was used offensively on you. Remember that in an anarchic system peace only happens through symmetry of risk.