The year politics became brainrot

"In a good and just society, it would have been possible to bury Charlie Kirk without either threatening mass violence toward his enemies or making light of his death with a furry sex meme. But America in 2025 did not remotely resemble a working society, let alone a civil one, and Kirk's killing came prepackaged with its own desecrating shitposts."

"Politicians, celebrities, and other public figures - even those not aligned with Kirk on the right - rushed out with condolences and grief, painting completely unrecognizable pictures of a man who was a once-in-a-generation talent at getting a rise out of other people. "Kirk was practicing politics in exactly the right way," wrote the liberal pundit Ezra Klein in The New York Times, describing him as "one of the era's most effective practitioners of persuasion.""

"A Reuters investigation would later find more than 600 people who had been fired, suspended, or investigated for social media posts they made about Charlie Kirk - some of them merely quoting Kirk, a professional asshole who, among other things, pushed the " great replacement" theory and myths of white genocide. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel became the most prominent victim of this crusade after making a fairly mild joke on his late night show. The actual upshot of the quip - which mocked Trump for his apparent disinterest in K"

Charlie Kirk's killing in 2025 exposed a fractured society where mourning coexisted with online desecration and threats of violence. National symbols of grief, such as lowered flags, and public condolences contrasted with social media shitposts and celebratory memes. A megachurch memorial drew attendance while a Reuters investigation later identified over 600 people fired, suspended, or investigated for posts about Kirk, some merely quoting him. Kirk had promoted the "great replacement" theory and related myths of white genocide. High-profile figures, including comedian Jimmy Kimmel, became targets of punitive responses after relatively mild public comments.

Read at The Verge