Teachers, firefighters and military personnel among those who lost jobs after posting their opinion on social media
Reactions on social media to the murder of far-right activist Charlie Kirk have cost multiple people their jobs as authorities in numerous states clamp down on critical commentary.
Among those to have been fired, suspended or censured in recent days for their opinions include teachers, firefighters, journalists, politicians, a secret service employee and a worker for a prominent NFL team.
The dismissals come as the administration of Donald Trump promises to take action against foreign nationals it deems to be “praising, rationalizing or making light of” Kirk’s killing, himself a fervent free speech advocate.
It is almost tedious to have to say this every single time a political discussion comes up: Don’t make a perfect plan the enemy of a good plan. Inevitably the first response to an otherwise reasonable suggestion that statistically would address the significant drivers of a general problem (even if perhaps not this exact problem in this specific context) is to assert that it won’t work all the time or perfectly fix the problem in one shot and so it is not worth considering. Whether intentional or not, it is intellectually dishonest.
And yes I think there could very well be flags that could have delayed access to firearms in this case. But the point isn’t to solve the whole problem in every circumstance, the point is to change the gun culture in the US. Americans may think this kid was raised in a normal household in a normal culture, but this is not true. There are deep cultural problems. And starting with the most milquetoast responsible gun control that aims to reduce the number of Americans that use ownership to drive their identity is a reasonable place to start.
But if I’m being frank, I don’t really care about either Charlie Kirk or the kid who ostensibly shot him. I’m not American and thank fuck for that.