It’s a sign of just how singular the reaction has been to Charlie Kirk’s assassination that even the institutional tables have turned on the Left.
Time was when a conservative could be fired from his job for posting a politically incorrect utterance about, say, DEI or illegal immigration — or even “liking” such an utterance — on a social media platform. These firings were all part of a cancel culture contagion that, thankfully, has since passed.
Recently, though, a new strain has cropped up, and hate-filled leftists seem especially vulnerable to it. As Fox Business reports: “Employers across the country are taking disciplinary action against workers who mocked the assassination of Charlie Kirk, with many going as far as firing. At least eight companies and organizations have given employees the axe so far after the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA was shot and killed [sic] during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.”
First things first: Let’s dispense with the “shot and killed” garbage. To say that Charlie Kirk was “shot and killed” cheapens what happened to him, and it does a deep disservice to his memory and his mission. Folks get “shot and killed” in hunting accidents and random acts of street crime. Words matter. Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and we can’t ever let leftists and their fellow Democrats forget it. Which is why we should interrupt, mid-sentence, every attempt to paper over that brutal reality.
As for the Kirk Whirlwind, it might seem contradictory to grimly pump our fists at these firings while at the same time continuing to fight for the First Amendment and for free speech. Remember, though: These are two different things. The First Amendment protects us from government sanction, not the sanction of private parties. And while “free speech” means we’re free to say what we want, it doesn’t mean we’re free from the workplace consequences of what we say.
Take Nasdaq, for example, which posted the following to its X feed on Friday: “We are aware of social media posts by an employee regarding the shooting of Charlie Kirk that were a clear violation of our policy. Nasdaq has a zero-tolerance policy toward violence and any commentary that condones or celebrates violence. The employee in question has been terminated, effective immediately.”
Same with Perkins Coie, the Seattle-based law firm that helped perpetrate the Russia collusion hoax.
If you think these employers have stepped over the censorship line, think again. Because “commentary that condones or celebrates violence” can be reasonably construed as commentary that threatens violence. In essence, these sickos are saying Sic semper Christian conservatives, and they’re being held to account for it. Other employers who’ve taken action against the ghouls in their midst include Office Depot, the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, Clemson University, Middle Tennessee State University, United Airlines, and MSNBC, which last week fired a particularly vile talkinghead, former George W. Bush chief strategist Matthew Dowd, for first suggesting that the fatal shot might’ve come from a Kirk supporter and then suggesting that Charlie had it coming to him.
As one attorney explained it to CBS News, “If someone says, ‘Thank goodness this person was assassinated,’ then generally their employer can fire them. That’s because most workers are employed at-will, meaning either party can terminate the contract at any time, for any reason. So, most employees in the private sector can be disciplined based on what you say on social media, even if your account doesn’t identify you as an employee.”
So before we applaud the likes of Perkins Coie and MSNBC for doing the right thing, we should consider that both businesses might’ve merely been doing the right thing from a PR standpoint. Keeping a cretin like Matthew Dowd aboard would’ve been bad for business, and MSNBC knows it.
CNN, for one, isn’t happy about it. In fact, its headline suggests a conspiracy: “People are getting fired for allegedly celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder. It looks like a coordinated effort.”
Ya hate to see it. Hate to see the Left at long last getting a taste of its own medicine. CNN’s indignance continues: “Dozens of social media posts and messages about the murder of Charlie Kirk, including some that celebrated his death, are being spotlighted by conservative activists, Republican elected officials and a doxxing website as part of an online campaign to punish the posters behind the messages.”
Sadly, though, the Left’s sickening celebrations seem to be more the rule rather than the exception. For every one of these cockroaches that gets squashed by an employer, there are thousands more who peddle their hatred with impunity and then scurry back into the cracks — such as those who teach our children that the death of Donald Trump would be “the best news ever.” And that the death of JD Vance would be “the second-best news.” And that the death of Elon Musk would be “the third-best news.” The video is out there, but I refuse to share it.
Here, then, is a word of advice for Democrats and the haters in their midst: Repent.
