The New Cancel Culture

Trump and Republicans appear to be embracing limits on free speech protected by the Constitution. See articles in Newsweek and RNZ.

Trump even got ABC to pull the television show of Jimmy Kimmel off the air. The suspension is allegedly over his comments making fun of Trump.

Kimmel played a video clip of Trump’s response to a reporter who asked how the president was holding up after Kirk’s death. Trump answered: “I think very good. And by the way right there you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House which is something they’ve been trying to get as you know for about for 150 years and it’s gonna be a beauty.”

One doesn’t need to have mocked Kirk to land on the doxers’ list of offenders; All you need to do is repeat Kirk’s controversial remarks. Charlie Kirk was a bigot and a misogynist and a homophobe. But he had every right to espouse his beliefs without getting killed.

MAGA’s doxing spree in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s tragic death targets social media users who did not support the right-wing activist—and even some who didn’t. Conservatives force businesses to fire individuals who made posts over his death, fueling questions about free speech and cancel culture.

First Amendment applies only to the government, so companies have the legal ability to make these personnel decisions.

The AP wrote, “After years of complaints from the right about ‘cancel culture’ from the left, some conservatives are seeking to upend the lives and careers of those who disparaged Charlie Kirk after his death. They’re going after companies, educators, news outlets, political rivals and others they judge as promoting hate speech. As elected officials and conservative influencers lionize Kirk as a warrior for free expression who championed provocative opinions, they’re also weaponizing the tactics they saw being used to malign their movement — the calls for firings, the ostracism, the pressure to watch what you say.”