The death of Charlie Kirk stirred up thoughts and feelings for virtually everyone last week.
Here are seven things that came to mind:
1. We have often agreed that where social media is concerned, you do not have to post everything that you’re thinking, you have no obligation to comment on every story in the news, and silence is the safest option.
However, if you DO comment, remember, it’s only social media. Getting outraged enough to threaten someone’s job over a Xitter post ought to be reserved for the most egregious and extreme posts. Expressing dislike of the recently deceased is not in that category, yet there are lists being made of Charlie Kirk critics with the intent of hounding them out of work. They don’t realize that Charlie himself sought out opposing viewpoints; granted, he did so to “prove them wrong,” but naming-and-shaming his critics doesn’t follow what he did in life.
2. Lionizing Charlie Kirk and insisting “now is not the time” to criticize him is misguided. The list of controversial (racist, xenophobic, homophobic, Christian nationalist) opinions he espoused is a long one. You can’t ignore that, because that was who he was, not a generic conservative or a benign “great guy.” Most people are not immersed in political social media like you are. Those people probably never heard of Charlie Kirk before now, and feeding them all the positives without explaining the rest of his career or burying it is unfair to the people who are just now learning about him and his effect on American politics. Give them the entire picture, warts and all.
3. Nobody disagrees with the statement that no one should be killed for expressing their political beliefs. The trolls posting such things on social media are not representative of anything but their own mindsets. Ignore them. Decrying violence and noting that it is tragic that his wife and two kids are now without him is appropriate and human.
4. It is ALWAYS appropriate to wait before flying off the handle on anything in the news. Wait before identifying a suspect. Wait before proclaiming a motive. Wait before you report salacious details about the suspect’s personal life. Initial reports are often wrong, and you will not win any awards for being first, whether or not you prove to be correct. Just talk about what you know and hold out on everything else until there’s confirmed, solid proof.
At this point, we don’t even know a motive, or whether Kirk was shot for his opinions or some other reason. Assume nothing. Some random website isn’t an adequate source. Neither is a single national report. Confirmation is critical, especially in those early moments when there’s just confusion and a clamor for answers. You’ll get your answers soon enough.
5. On the other hand, news like this often brings out emotional responses from some folks, from gushing tributes to lacerating criticism. Try to understand that the impulse to have an extreme (verbal or written) response is human. Emotions run hot, filters are going haywire, and you may find yourself posting things that you normally wouldn’t. We ought to have amnesty for things posted within 48 hours of a major news story.
6. One thing to watch is how long the story remains atop the news. It’s sort of a social experiment. In this age, when news stories come fast and furious seemingly 24/7, will this one be talked about for a long time or will it be pushed back and largely forgotten as soon as the next big story hits?
It seems like the news media, and by extension the public, move on a lot faster than back in the day. School shootings have gone from lead story to below-the-fold in a shockingly short time. On the same day Charlie Kirk died, a Denver-area teen shot two students and then killed himself, not far from Columbine. You may have missed the coverage of that incident. There WAS coverage, but it was easy to miss. Anyway, follow these stories and note when the media and the public move on to the next story.
7. Don’t even THINK about saying that you hope cooler heads prevail and the discourse should be more respectful if you’ve just spent the last decade calling the other guys names. You are one of the reasons that’s not going to happen. You started the fight, and you don’t get to act like it never happened.
It’s been a tough week all around. The world needs a vacation, or at least a pause in the action. Too bad we can’t have that.
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Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
