Social media’s deranged Charlie Kirk responses, assassinations and history’s hinges, and other commentary

Libertarian: Social Media’s Deranged Kirk Responses

Many social-media users “are going off the deep end” in response to the murder of Charlie Kirk, and “some are even making a mockery of the very ideas” he stood for, chides Reason’s Robby Soave. “The unhinged responses” include “suggesting that Kirk in effect brought this on himself,” like lefty artist Andrea Junker, who posted that Kirk had “been inciting violence for years.” Notes Soave: “If you feel inclined to say a victim of violence was essentially asking for it — you should probably stop talking.” Another bad reaction: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) calling for “sweeping legislation” that would “effectively criminalize any mocking of Kirk’s death.” “Anybody celebrating Kirk’s assassination” should be roundly criticized, but “it’s pretty clear that Kirk would not be in favor of” quashing speech. 

From the Right: Assassinations & History’s Hinges

Upon hearing the news “that Charlie Kirk had been shot and killed,” First Things’ R.R. Reno “thought again of Martin Luther King Jr.” Despite obvious differences, “we are living through another revolution in American public life.” But this time, “it’s not Southern whites who are outraged.” Rather, “educated elites, especially Baby Boomers” are baffled by society’s turn away from “the now-dying multicultural and open society consensus.” Crucially: “Assassinations are symptoms” of “passionate conflict over the future of our nation.” We absolutely should seek to “bring civility to this conflict,” yet we mustn’t “temper our convictions.” Nevertheless, “innocent blood is a powerful reality” and “turns the wheel of history.” Perhaps his murder “will expose the desperation of the old and failed consensus that Kirk opposed.”

Court watch: Perilous Judicial “Resistance”

“Lower-court judges have become brazenly defiant, not only of the administration’s agenda but also of high court opinions,” fret Elizabeth Price Foley and Mark Pinkert at The Wall Street Journal. The Supreme Court has had to remind other federal judges “of their constitutional role and chastise them for resisting court precedent.” Worse, “the resistance continues, threatening to erode the judiciary’s ability to function”; troublingly, some judges seem to think it’s “their job to resist.” Congress can’t do much to “solve the problem,” but the justices themselves “could be more proactive in offering clear guidance to the inferior courts” and “avoid writing opinions that contain obvious ambiguities.” For now, “lower-court resistance will continue, and the court will risk leaving a legacy of confusion and lost opportunity.”

Reporter: Missed Chances on Minneapolis Shooter

A look at Minneapolis shooter Robin Westman reveals “a troubling record of violent ideation, instability, and missed opportunities for intervention,” reports City Journal’s Christina Buttons. A seemingly self-aware “Westman wrote that he avoided therapy and confiding in family because he feared being ‘reported and put on a watchlist.’” In a Facebook post, Westman’s 9th grade art teacher noted “the central issue was the absence of timely, intensive mental-health support.” Likewise, “First Lady Melania Trump called for more early detection and awareness of behavioral warning signs in youth.” Westman’s “profound distress” went unaddressed, a warning that continued failure in treating serious mental illness means that “more young people will fall through the cracks, and more communities will grieve preventable tragedies.”

Culture critic: Hollywood Ignores Real Genocide

“If you’re a Jew in the arts these days, it’s hard to keep track of all the people and industry groups that are boycotting you,” grumbles Commentary’s Seth Mandel. The latest one requires “Jews in the arts [to] renounce the Jewish state.” None of the artists pushing this “is sacrificing; they are simply Jew-baiting.” And both the United States and the United Kingdom have accused China of “crimes against humanity and genocide” against the Uighurs, yet it’s hard “to find the Hollywood boycott of Chinese film institutions,” though “unlike the fabricated accusations of genocide against Israel, the accusations against China are true.” In short: “Real genocide doesn’t bother much of Hollywood,” but “the existence of Israelis does.” 

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board