For those living under a rock, political commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10th.
Social media reactions to said assassination have been varied and brought swift consequences to many. Among those who have faced consequences for social media posts is writer Gretchen Felker-Martin, whose latest work was Red Hood No. 1 published by DC Comics.
Felker-Martin’s words saw her, as well as the rest of the creative team, out of a job due to all future issues being cancelled.
All shops who purchased copies of the first issue credited, including copies already sold, due to comments made shortly after news broke surrounding Kirk.
Felker-Martin took to BlueSky on September 10 stating “Thoughts and prayers you Nazi bitch” and “Hope the bullet’s okay after touching Charlie Kirk.”
This is not the first time Felker-Martin has made inherently inflammatory comments.
To quote another of her social media posts, this one in regard to the opening page of Red Hood No. 1 where a cop is depicted committing suicide: “…it opens with a bunch of cops shooting themselves. i don’t really consider them people.”
I would hope that anyone could read these tweets and see the inevitable impassioned responses to them. I agree with Felker-Martin on a number of issues, yet even I cannot pretend that these tweets are anything but crude, crass and inflammatory.
All said, I think Felker-Martin’s biggest mistake was voicing these in the venue of social media. Social media is a place entirely unconducive to good discussions, particularly on the topic of politics. People say the most extreme opinions for views and likes, and the algorithms encourage this behavior.
Considering Felker-Martin’s long history with social media and controversial comments, I think she is aware of this.
She’s on the record in regards to her controversial social media presence, “We had a conversation about it, and I told [DC], ‘As soon as you hire me, you’re going to get between five and a hundred of the craziest people you’ve ever met in your life, screaming for my head and yours.’”
I also don’t believe Felker-Martin when she says, “It just didn’t strike me as an especially hot flashpoint.” Charlie Kirk, prior to his assassination, was one of the largest right-wing content creators.
To think that his assassination would not spark intensification of the American political landscape is, at best, naive, and, at worst, a poor attempt at a lie.
Frankly, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of the consequences that will be incurred from Kirk’s assassination.
I fear what political actions, whether it be further extremism or routine bills and executive orders, will be justified by invoking Kirk’s name.
So while I do not mourn Kirk after his assassination, I most certainly do not celebrate either.
Good things are celebrated, and nothing good comes from his assassination.
If I could impart one lesson from this whole situation it would be to leave social media behind. It’s a failed experiment that only sees us dehumanize each other for clicks and likes. Consequences of the moment need not be such historically.
That be as it may, those consequences will still be incurred, and one must consider if they care for the consequences of free speech.
