It’s almost a 9/11 moment — not in comparison to the number of deaths, of course, but rather in how the shock and horror has gotten our attention. While one motivated-by-evil man may have wanted to silence Charlie Kirk and allow his influence to extend no further, he was grossly naive and blatantly unsuccessful. Kirk’s influence is wildly far more now than it was when he was alive. Church attendance has swelled nationwide the last two weekends, and Turning Point, the nonprofit Charlie founded to converse with the younger generations, has seen national interest and inquiries unprecedentedly surge. Something is happening in our land.
As a current events blogger — and only a semi-humble one at that — it makes me ask a lot of questions, things like…
What’s happening? Why?
What’s good? What’s not?
Will things get better?
Or will they get worse?
So many things we don’t know. In all that’s happening with all those questions, there’s so much yuck, judgment and strong opinion espoused especially on the airwaves and social media, and also especially from those who didn’t know him nor listen to the totality of his message. It’s really easy to take things out of context.
I was thus struck by the Jimmy Kimmel situation last week. The late night ABC host was suspended for a week for misleading comments made about Kirk in his monologue shortly after Kirk’s death. Some cheered. Some jeered. Some decided to boycott ABC and Disney, ABC’s parent company.
A couple comments…
Did I care? Not really.
Did I think Kimmel should have been suspended? I don’t have a strong opinion on such — not one way or the other. Kimmel’s a comedian; he says all sorts of misleading, often insensitive things.
Do I think Kimmel is funny? Sometimes. Not as much as he used to be, but that’s a matter of opinion — not right or wrong.
Do I watch him? No. I used to years ago, but I lost interest when he chose to become exceedingly political. I don’t find politics my favorite thing to focus on prior to sleep; it doesn’t help with the rest.
Was it an issue of free speech? No. He’s employed by ABC. In an employee/employer relationship, there are things you can and cannot do; assuming no illegalities, the employer gets to decide.
Do I think he should have been allowed to go back on air? Again, I don’t care. That’s not my decision, so I try not to assume control in a place where I have none.
Should the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have pressured Disney to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel? No. The employer can decide that. And the public can also decide whether or not to watch.
What do I think Charlie Kirk would have said about Kimmel? Charlie once tweeted that “Kimmel isn’t funny.” Despite his personal comedic evaluation, Charlie has long been one of the most vocal, fiercest defenders of free speech. He was admirably comfortable with opposing opinion, knowing we can learn much from such. While Kirk would have recognized it wasn’t a freedom of speech issue, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Kirk would have invited Kimmel to join his podcast and also agreed to appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
What do I think about all those who did have a strong opinion — both thrilled that he was off or incensed that was gone? We all have different opinions. We all have hypocritical moments, too, unfortunately. What’s challenging is that the intensity of our emotional charge often has more to do with whether we found like or unlike thinking in Jimmy Kimmel. We’re not especially consistent in who we find courage to cancel.
Will I watch him now? Nope. I haven’t found Kimmel (nor many of those he most makes fun of) to be very well versed in respectful dialogue.
As said just a couple of comments.
Did I mention that something is happening in our land?
Respectfully…
AR