Dan M

The aftermaths of George Floyd’s and Charlie Kirk’s deaths unfolded in sharply contrasting ways. The Black Lives Matter movement was largely propelled by white guilt. It framed the lie of systemically racist America as an unchallengeable truth, relying on coercion and the charge of racism over genuine conviction. Its legacy transformed nearly every America institution and corporation, putting race and other immutable characteristics before other considerations. It also left us with a polarized discourse where questioning its has narrative been mostly taboo. In contrast, the aftermath of Kirk’s murder movement pales in scale. There are those who seek to exploit his death, but isn’t that part of the universal human condition? Like when Jesse Jackson smeared Martin Luther King’s blood on his shirt? But this exploitation in Kirk’s case has not remotely touched the levels of Black Lives Matter. A key difference is that Kirk had already built his movement before his death — one rooted in the voluntary embrace of individual liberty, faith and critical inquiry. Built on shared conservative values rather than enforced shame, it should not come as a surprise that the movement would surge after the tragic murder of its leader. What comes of this movement remains to be seen. But one certainty is that BLM’s foundation, steeped in white guilt, fueled ruthlessly anti-American priorities that assaulted merit-based traditions, while Kirk’s intellect, critical thought, and faith embodied the American spirit under siege by the Left since the 1960s.

I'm thankful I prevented my father, Shelby Steele, from being used by @RealCandaceO for credibility in 2018 or so. She demanded that he and Thomas Sowell take a photo at Hoover with her as an anointing of sort. The pressure from big money GOP was intense. Thank goodness both men saw her as a fraud. Maybe I'll share the full story someday.

Cancel culture is solely the Left's ideological weapon -- a brutal tool to silence and shame anyone daring to challenge its orthodoxies, from identity politics to endless grievances. But firing a teacher who celebrates or wishes for the death of an American like Charlie Kirk? That's not cancellation. No ideology is being protected here. Rather, this act upholds the bedrock American ideal of treating every individual with equal dignity and humanity. When a teacher crosses that line into ideological justification for murder, they have violated community trust. It's justice, not censorship.