Reuters:

Two months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a government-backed campaign has led to firings, suspensions, investigations and other action against more than 600 people. Republican officials have endorsed the punishments, saying that those who glorify violence should be removed from positions of trust.

The article goes on to mention that 22 academics were fired in 2020 for comments about George Floyd, and more than 160 people were fired in 2024 for being pro-Palestine. It appears the latest round of cancellation is the most successful yet. I think this is a great example of how the right-wing operates and how efficient they can be.

First, they spend years screaming about cancel culture. They talk about it as though everyone who is even slightly left of center are all engaged in a mass campaign to get people fired simply for being conservative. They make it sound like online lefties, media liberals, and the Democratic Party are all working together to take away free speech.

Second, they decide that they should use the tools of their enemy against them. However, their enemy’s tools are imagined. They believe they’re taking a page from the enemy’s playbook, but actually they’re writing the playbook themselves.

Third, they become the very thing that they claim exists on the other side. A highly organized group of people consisting of online activists, media personalities, and politicians, all working together to get others fired for political speech that they don’t like. I would say they’re no different from their enemy, but the truth is, they’re worse.

This also feeds into their attacks on education. From the article:

Teachers, academics and university administrators were among those most frequently punished for criticizing Kirk. More than 350 education workers were fired, suspended or investigated in the days following the assassination, including 50 academics and senior university administrators, three high school principals, two cheerleading coaches and a theology instructor.

It’s amazing how effective a movement can be when everyone works together to achieve a shared goal. If only this kind of energy could be put towards something that actually helped people.