Wake Up Call

I’ll admit that I’ve been a little blue, kind of “out of sorts” the last few days. This is unusual for me, as I am generally upbeat, or at least emotionally neutral as I go about my business from day to day. I am feeling this way because of a thought that’s been plaguing me: I wonder if any of my “friends” on Facebook actively want me dead, or would cheer for my death if it happened. I’ve been wondering this in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, and the grotesque display of online (and in-person) rejoicing that followed it.

If this rejoicing were confined to a few fringe elements, that would be one thing. But it seems that celebrating murder is rapidly going mainstream. Witness the social media post from Ambler, PA, tax collector Jennifer Stomsky, who is also a Montgomery County Democratic Party official. In an expletive-filled rant to fellow Democrats, she posted, “Grow a spine…. I’m so tired of being told that violence isn’t the answer. History is filled with blood. Let’s make some more martyrs.” The ensuing backlash was huge, and she stepped down from her party position, although not from her elected office. The salient point here is that this diatribe does not come from some twenty-year-old gamer holed up in his parents’ basement. It’s from an elected official.

It’s not just politicians. A Virginia doctor, an anesthesiologist, was fired for celebrating the assassination on line. So was a surgeon at Englewood Health in New Jersey. And a nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta said, “Eff Charlie Kirk [I’m not going to print the original expletive] .. Eff his children.. and eff the (expletive deleted, but rhymes with “witch”) who gave birth to him.” By the way, the children that she cursed are ages one and three. This hateful nurse was fired, too. But what about all the people who thought such vile thoughts, but didn’t post them online? If you’re a political conservative, do you now have to wonder what sort of care you’d get from healthcare workers like this if they knew your politics? Would you let any of these people near you with a needle, or a pill, or any other potentially dangerous thing?

I realize these are all anecdotes, a drop in the bucket in a country with a population of 343.6 million people. I further realize that the YouTube algorithm feeds you more of whatever you’ve been looking at, effectively blowing any viewpoint or problem out of proportion. Still, I take note of an academic study done by the Network Contagion Research Institute that found that 56% of Americans who identify as left wing support political assassination. Last I checked, 56% is a majority. And left wing people are 83% more likely to support celebrating the death of a political opponent than would a conservative. We need to stop pretending that this is a “both sides” problem. Because it belongs to one side far more than the other.

How about fans of Luigi Mangione, the killer who assassinated Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare? He shot him in the back in New York City on December 4 of last year. People, mostly on the left, celebrated that, too. On Facebook, there were over 71,000 laughing emojis in response, versus 6,000 sympathetic ones. His supporters have raised 1.2 million dollars for his legal defense fund, in spite of the fact that there is no doubt he committed the murder. By the way, did you remember Luigi Mangione’s name, but forget the name of his victim?

You would think that there must be something off-limits, some crime too heinous for anyone to celebrate. Say, the gunning down of children in a church, for instance. Yet in response to the two most recent church shootings, one at Abundant Life Christian Church in Madison, Wisconsin, and the other at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, the responses were not as sympathetic as you might think. Someone posted, “Glad those Bible thumpers got hit. Future Christo-facists won’t grow up now.” That statement got 186 likes and 87 re-posts.

So yes, I’ve been a little blue, a little out of sorts over the state of America. Over the fact that some percentage of my roughly 500 Facebook friends must identify as left wing, and it is therefore likely that some percentage of them would wish me harm. Maybe even try to do me harm. If I ever looked at life through rose-colored glasses, I’ve definitely taken them off now. I’m not going to live my life any differently. I’m not going to be frightened, and I’m certainly not going to be silenced. But I will be even more vigilant than ever, with my head on a swivel always. And I’m ready, willing, and able to defend myself against attack, whether from one deranged person or a whole mob.

Meanwhile, I’m going to disconnect from YouTube and Facebook for a while. Get outside, enjoy the autumn air and the beautiful scenery. I’m going to pray more and stew less. And I’m going to recover my mood. Because life is too short to spend it being unhappy.