Just One Meme Today

Nothing is funny for this #MemeMonday

This will be my last post on the subject of the Kirk assassination; after this, I get back to my regular business.

Let us set aside all the competing theories about what actually happened, who is behind it, etc. (I am not going to reply to new comments about who shot him, whether he was actually shot, etc.) My only focus, for this post, is on how people reacted.

A disturbing number of people have openly celebrated or justified murdering Kirk for things that he SAID. For words. For viewpoints. The breakdown of this shockingly widespread sentiment is this: it is good that he was killed because of the things that he said and thought.

(Note: I am also not going to reply to time-waster trolls demanding that I show ‘proof’ that people are celebrating and justifying this event. It’s everywhere. The number of people who have lost their jobs for it is now past 800. The number of people who have openly expressed such sentiments is likely in the tens or hundreds of thousands. I shudder to consider how many more had the same thought but did not post it online.)

Whatever you think actually happened, a good number of people, in America and around the world, believe that Kirk was shot (by someone or other) and have openly justified it. And most of those same people believe that every calumny they apply to him—racist, Nazi, fascist, homophobe, transphobe, and on and on—also applies to you.

I am not trying to stir up violence—quite the contrary. My only point here is this:

A sizable number of people have justified violence in response to speech and thought.

We should mark that well.