I have been spending far too much time on X, also known as Twitter, lately. I find X to be a waste of time even under normal circumstances. In the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk, some of the worst people in the world are showing who they really are. I can only imagine what the open sewer known as Bluesky is like right now. The only good thing to emerge from this is that at least some of these individuals are facing consequences for posting truly vile comments on social media, which are visible to the entire world.
Here is a video I caught on X celebrating their comeuppance.
Unlike the compiler of this video, I am not celebrating the fact that these people are losing their jobs. I believe they probably deserve to lose their jobs. It is probably necessary that they should face some consequences for their action. But I do not take any joy in it.
Should these people be punished for what they say? Yes. This is not a free speech issue. These people are not expressing an unpopular or controversial opinion. They are celebrating the murder of a fellow human being. They believe that this person deserved to die because of his views. They have often expressed a desire for further violence.
This cannot be tolerated. I am against cancel culture in all its forms. I believe everyone has a right to express their point of view without fear of reprisal. I believe that even the vilest of viewpoints have a right to be heard. Still, there have to be some limits. I do not believe it is right or appropriate to advocate political violence, especially in these unsettled times. It is never appropriate to rejoice in the murder of our fellow human beings.
I do not advocate that we start punishing any speech by criminal or judicial means. The First Amendment should be absolute. I do suggest that people who express some of the worst sentiments should be ostracized. They have cut themselves off from the company of decent people by their own actions. I admit this dictum bears an uncomfortable resemblance to leftist cancel culture. I think, however, there is a clear difference between shaming someone for an ambiguously offensive statement made many years ago and a clearly contemptible one today.
Returning to the video, I have to wonder if these people seem incapable of learning from experience. They have lost their jobs by foolishly posting videos expressing delight in the murder of Charlie Kirk’s murder. Now they are making themselves even more unemployable by posting videos of themselves throwing tantrums over getting fired. No sane employer is going to consider hiring a person who is obviously unstable.
Why is it so hard for these people to understand that not every random thought needs to be publicly exhibited for the whole world to see? Why can’t they understand that posting a video sitting in their car screaming obscenities only causes others to regard them as insane? Perhaps they will learn a valuable life lesson from their experiences. Perhaps not
David's Commonplace Book 