You write that this is happening organically following the initial big shared push — but actually I think the Kirk meme is still being pushed by large state players vested in crypto/Kirkcoin
"A thing is funny when — in some way that is not actually offensive or frightening — it upsets the established order. Every joke is a tiny revolution." George Orwell
“Others will observe that it’s a tough way to go out—your legacy being smeared and tarnished and abused.” Yes indeed it is,
It’s rough for the living loved ones who witness it as well.
perhaps those same people will find the grace to recall that observation the next time they encounter a post with a memorial or suicide note or news article reporting on the violent early death of trans person (often enough under 18 years old).
Ironically, the conditions which contributed to their deaths in no small part were propagated & mainstreamed by Kirk. (Transphobia’s not new, but it didn’t used to be all they fucking talked about.)
This is what people like Klein just don’t or won’t get. There are real life people and tremendous real life violence & suffering happening downstream of whatever ‘civil debate’ hate speech-laundering he has in mind when he says “Kirk did politics exactly right”.
While he and his cis het white male counterpart are busy ‘coming to the table’ over the rights of other people which he has no flesh & blood stake on the outcome
there’s a trans woman who never makes it home from the bar because the sum of it all is “these people are disposable. Use them as you wish , then take out the trash.”
I'd never heard of him before either, and was appalled by some of his quotes that were posted afterwards. As much as I don't like to disrespect the dead, I appreciate the rejection of his lionization.
Calling someone a fascist is meaningless. It's a short cut to dismissing all of someone's views without needing to examine any of them. It's rare for anyone to be 100% wrong about everything. There's currently no shared or objective definition of what constitutes a fascist. The label, like 'commie' is routinely applied to a wide variety of beliefs and people indiscriminately. If you disagree with a specific thing someone said or did name that and explain your counter view. Make your case. Labelling someone instead of focusing on the disputed belief and why you think it's wrong is lazy. A person is not just the sum of their sound bytes. But worse than that it's dehumanizing. Labelling someone a fascist or a commie can not just dismiss everything they think believe or say it can make their lives worthless. In what world is the father of a 1 year old and a 3 year old being murdered only terrible if they have the right political views? How is the fact that someone was killed for publicly stating their views not the most important point? Freedom of speech matters. If a Left political commentator was shot dead and people on the Right celebrated it or made it into cartoony memes that would rightly be considered a lot more messed up than just political sectarianism. But in this case it's ok cos a sitting president tried to use a murder for political aims? And no, posting memes about murdered political enemies does not make the kids anti-authoritarians. Thinking for themselves does.
There’s been studied and documented definitions of a fascist for decades. Charlie Kirk was one of them. That you’re undereducated in politics isn’t the author’s fault. Him being a father doesn’t mean he can’t reap what he sowed. This idea he was just some free speech warrior is not what he was. He was a political operative for a fascist movement that aims to deprive people of rights. Him being out of the picture is a material benefit to humanity.
This idea that you can debate fascism away doesn’t work. A world war was fought over it. Get off your high horse. My views not being heard by fascists while they’re destroying families isn’t what concerns me. If those ghouls cared about facts they wouldn’t exist. They’re killing people because they’re brown under the guise of being drug traffickers. The time for debate ended. Charlie Kirk applauded it and embraced it. Your strategy lost. Insulting that white people like you still live in a world where politics is some nebulous game of ideas instead of a reality with consequences
"an anti-establishment ethos has risen rapidly, and is as defining an element as there is to be had in our politics right now." That. That seems to escape so much of the mainstream and, obviously, being the mainstream, they wouldn't want to press the narrative that everybody fucking hates the mainstream right now. That said, substack and other "safe spaces" need to hear that more so that people recognize the left and right are largely responding to the same "burn down all this bullshit that hasn't served us normal people for decades," responses that have empowered both sides.
When he got shot, the Netanyahu/Trump regime claimed the gunman was a leftist.
A lot of people who consider themselves to be reasonable, mindlessly accepted that narrative. Despite the fact that the least honest & least competent "investigators" imaginable, produced the least convincing "investigation" imaginable. Despite the fact that the conclusion predated the investigation, and then the investigation was slapped together — by total clowns — to support that conclusion.
Now you're just accepting that a meme, on Netanyahu/Trump-owned platforms, is occurring naturally, and is driven by anti-fascists?
When Kirk got shot, fascists accused every manner of antifascist:
• Fascist propagandists were squawking baseless accusations at everyone from Antifa & leftists, to trans-rights activists. They even (unironically) accused anti-gun activists of being the sniper.
• Trump accused "the left" of his own stochastic terrorist-tactics.
• Netanyahu accused "Islamist terrorists" of being the (Israeli-esque) sniper.
Netanyahu/Trump seemed very prepared. Netanyahu/Trump didn't just have accusations ready, they both immediately co-opted Kirk's voice. Netanyahu/Trump edited out Kirk's recent criticism of Israel's Oct 7, 2023 stand-down orders & Hannibal Directive, and Netanyahu/Trump edited out Kirk's recent criticism of Trump's pro-war policies & Israel-first priorities. Netanyahu/Trump rewrote Kirk as having been unfailingly deferential to Netanyahu/Trump.
The minute Kirk started tugging at his leash — trying to express his first-ever legitimate thought, defying the Zionist intervention to shut him up, and rejecting Netanyahu's attempt to bring him back to Israel for a programming-update — he got shot in the voice-box & replaced.
So many people saw that so clearly, that Netanyahu had to deny assassinating Kirk.
And then deny it again.
Because no one believes him.
If mocking Kirk is a meme, on all of these fascist/Zionist platforms, then Zionist fascists have made it so. Maybe to claim the left is dehumanizing someone. More likely to make sure that Kirk is a joke, that no one cares about, in case the truth finally comes out about who commissioned his execution.
He was a prick. That doesn't turn murder into something funny.
Laughing at the act of murder — by making an entrance way out of a murder-victim's neck — just isn't a leftist's idea of "humour." There's no wit involved; it's just vulgar. Likewise, execution-by-sniper isn't a leftist thing.
Israel, on the other hand? Execution-by-sniper & revelling in the dehumanizing mockery of their victims, couldn't be more Israeli.
I"ve read many of your well considered, thoughtful articles. This is not one of them. It adds to division and polarization instead of seeing beyond it. In no discussion does name calling advance an argument.
You write that this is happening organically following the initial big shared push — but actually I think the Kirk meme is still being pushed by large state players vested in crypto/Kirkcoin
He wasn’t before?
"A thing is funny when — in some way that is not actually offensive or frightening — it upsets the established order. Every joke is a tiny revolution." George Orwell
“Others will observe that it’s a tough way to go out—your legacy being smeared and tarnished and abused.” Yes indeed it is,
It’s rough for the living loved ones who witness it as well.
perhaps those same people will find the grace to recall that observation the next time they encounter a post with a memorial or suicide note or news article reporting on the violent early death of trans person (often enough under 18 years old).
Ironically, the conditions which contributed to their deaths in no small part were propagated & mainstreamed by Kirk. (Transphobia’s not new, but it didn’t used to be all they fucking talked about.)
This is what people like Klein just don’t or won’t get. There are real life people and tremendous real life violence & suffering happening downstream of whatever ‘civil debate’ hate speech-laundering he has in mind when he says “Kirk did politics exactly right”.
While he and his cis het white male counterpart are busy ‘coming to the table’ over the rights of other people which he has no flesh & blood stake on the outcome
there’s a trans woman who never makes it home from the bar because the sum of it all is “these people are disposable. Use them as you wish , then take out the trash.”
I'd never heard of him before either, and was appalled by some of his quotes that were posted afterwards. As much as I don't like to disrespect the dead, I appreciate the rejection of his lionization.
Wow maybe I'm lucky but I never see Kirk's face anywhere
Calling someone a fascist is meaningless. It's a short cut to dismissing all of someone's views without needing to examine any of them. It's rare for anyone to be 100% wrong about everything. There's currently no shared or objective definition of what constitutes a fascist. The label, like 'commie' is routinely applied to a wide variety of beliefs and people indiscriminately. If you disagree with a specific thing someone said or did name that and explain your counter view. Make your case. Labelling someone instead of focusing on the disputed belief and why you think it's wrong is lazy. A person is not just the sum of their sound bytes. But worse than that it's dehumanizing. Labelling someone a fascist or a commie can not just dismiss everything they think believe or say it can make their lives worthless. In what world is the father of a 1 year old and a 3 year old being murdered only terrible if they have the right political views? How is the fact that someone was killed for publicly stating their views not the most important point? Freedom of speech matters. If a Left political commentator was shot dead and people on the Right celebrated it or made it into cartoony memes that would rightly be considered a lot more messed up than just political sectarianism. But in this case it's ok cos a sitting president tried to use a murder for political aims? And no, posting memes about murdered political enemies does not make the kids anti-authoritarians. Thinking for themselves does.
There’s been studied and documented definitions of a fascist for decades. Charlie Kirk was one of them. That you’re undereducated in politics isn’t the author’s fault. Him being a father doesn’t mean he can’t reap what he sowed. This idea he was just some free speech warrior is not what he was. He was a political operative for a fascist movement that aims to deprive people of rights. Him being out of the picture is a material benefit to humanity.
This idea that you can debate fascism away doesn’t work. A world war was fought over it. Get off your high horse. My views not being heard by fascists while they’re destroying families isn’t what concerns me. If those ghouls cared about facts they wouldn’t exist. They’re killing people because they’re brown under the guise of being drug traffickers. The time for debate ended. Charlie Kirk applauded it and embraced it. Your strategy lost. Insulting that white people like you still live in a world where politics is some nebulous game of ideas instead of a reality with consequences
great piece ✌️keep writing! and keep reading (^_-)
"an anti-establishment ethos has risen rapidly, and is as defining an element as there is to be had in our politics right now." That. That seems to escape so much of the mainstream and, obviously, being the mainstream, they wouldn't want to press the narrative that everybody fucking hates the mainstream right now. That said, substack and other "safe spaces" need to hear that more so that people recognize the left and right are largely responding to the same "burn down all this bullshit that hasn't served us normal people for decades," responses that have empowered both sides.
I'm glad the kids are alright, but with two months, or whatever the time that has elapsed, my thoughts haven't changed:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jamesmacleod/p/why-are-we-still-talking-about-charlie?r=8kg59&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
When he got shot, the Netanyahu/Trump regime claimed the gunman was a leftist.
A lot of people who consider themselves to be reasonable, mindlessly accepted that narrative. Despite the fact that the least honest & least competent "investigators" imaginable, produced the least convincing "investigation" imaginable. Despite the fact that the conclusion predated the investigation, and then the investigation was slapped together — by total clowns — to support that conclusion.
Now you're just accepting that a meme, on Netanyahu/Trump-owned platforms, is occurring naturally, and is driven by anti-fascists?
When Kirk got shot, fascists accused every manner of antifascist:
• Fascist propagandists were squawking baseless accusations at everyone from Antifa & leftists, to trans-rights activists. They even (unironically) accused anti-gun activists of being the sniper.
• Trump accused "the left" of his own stochastic terrorist-tactics.
• Netanyahu accused "Islamist terrorists" of being the (Israeli-esque) sniper.
Netanyahu/Trump seemed very prepared. Netanyahu/Trump didn't just have accusations ready, they both immediately co-opted Kirk's voice. Netanyahu/Trump edited out Kirk's recent criticism of Israel's Oct 7, 2023 stand-down orders & Hannibal Directive, and Netanyahu/Trump edited out Kirk's recent criticism of Trump's pro-war policies & Israel-first priorities. Netanyahu/Trump rewrote Kirk as having been unfailingly deferential to Netanyahu/Trump.
The minute Kirk started tugging at his leash — trying to express his first-ever legitimate thought, defying the Zionist intervention to shut him up, and rejecting Netanyahu's attempt to bring him back to Israel for a programming-update — he got shot in the voice-box & replaced.
So many people saw that so clearly, that Netanyahu had to deny assassinating Kirk.
And then deny it again.
Because no one believes him.
If mocking Kirk is a meme, on all of these fascist/Zionist platforms, then Zionist fascists have made it so. Maybe to claim the left is dehumanizing someone. More likely to make sure that Kirk is a joke, that no one cares about, in case the truth finally comes out about who commissioned his execution.
He was a prick. That doesn't turn murder into something funny.
Laughing at the act of murder — by making an entrance way out of a murder-victim's neck — just isn't a leftist's idea of "humour." There's no wit involved; it's just vulgar. Likewise, execution-by-sniper isn't a leftist thing.
Israel, on the other hand? Execution-by-sniper & revelling in the dehumanizing mockery of their victims, couldn't be more Israeli.
I"ve read many of your well considered, thoughtful articles. This is not one of them. It adds to division and polarization instead of seeing beyond it. In no discussion does name calling advance an argument.
You mean calling Charlie a fascist? He was a fascist.