Karen Attiah had been a columnist for The Washington Post and its global opinions editor for over a decade when she posted a paraphrased quote from recently murdered media figure Charlie Kirk.
In the quote, related to the debate about “diversity and inclusion” hiring practices, Kirk said a group of prominent black women (including former first lady Michelle Obama and broadcaster Joy Reid), did “not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously”.
Attiah has been fired, becoming the latest in a raft of people apparently sacked across the United States for “inappropriate” responses to Kirk’s death, and the most recent concession the paper behind breaking the Watergate scandal appears to have made to Donald Trump under tech billionaire Jeff Bezos.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1220887
US Vice President JD Vance guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast on Monday from his White House-adjacent office. On that podcast, he insisted that Kirk had never said what he had demonstrably said. Vance argued that “there can be no unity” with people “who celebrated” Kirk’s death: “We have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and, I believe, is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet.”
Vance promised to target progressive and liberal institutions, saying the administration would “work to dismantle the institutions that promote violence and terrorism in our own country”. Trump adviser Stephen Miller, probably the most openly white nationalist member of the current administration, also appeared, saying there was an unspecified “vast domestic terror movement” in the US. He added that: “With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks.”
Independent. Irreverent. In your inbox
Get the headlines they don’t want you to read. Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletters for fearless reporting, sharp analysis, and a touch of chaos
By continuing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
This continues the rhetoric that started within minutes of Kirk’s death, and has not slowed despite the lack of clarity about the exact motive and political leanings of the alleged shooter.
At the time of writing, neither Attiah’s sacking nor the VP’s statement is on our own ABC News’ website, which has otherwise closely followed the aftermath of the murder — including the manhunt and, later, the tearful first public statement of Kirk’s widow.
Nor does it appear to have made The West Australian, which has dedicated three front pages to Kirk — a figure they don’t appear to have covered in any detail before September 10, but have written about in great detail since — including the “allegation” that “alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, was seen with his transgender partner weeks before he shot conservative commentator Charlie Kirk”.
(Image: The West Australian)
The West — as well as The Australian — have at least mentioned, via republished articles from Reuters and AP respectively, the flurry of Kirk-related sackings. The ABC does not appear to have found this development newsworthy.
Perhaps taking their cues from this slightly lopsided response, Australian politicians have taken a huge interest in an overseas figure the vast majority of their constituents would have never heard of prior to September 10.
Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd was perhaps just reading the room when he posted that the thoughts “of all Australians” were with Kirk’s family and loved ones, while acting PM Richard Marles and Liberal MP James Paterson all delivered variations on the expected script for politicians after events like this.
“There is absolutely no place for political violence,” Marles told ABC TV on Thursday. “That’s the message that we have to take from this … that is not a way in which to resolve arguments and disputes and discussions in society”, while Patterson told Sky News the event was “a reminder for all of us in public life to be measured and calm”.
None of these figures, as far as we can see, has made any comment on the murder of Democrat lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband. Nor, presumably, did anyone in the media ask them to.
But nothing compares to Andrew Hastie. Hastie, spoken of as a potential future leader of the Coalition, which is currently subject to the worst polling in its history, posted a long, elegiac note to his various social media platforms, which discussed Kirk in explicitly biblical terms:
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1220854
Faith. Reason. Inquiry. Debate. Persuasion.
Charlie Kirk modelled all of these things.
…
Not everyone agreed with [the Apostle] Paul.
But some believed him and joined him. (Acts 17:22-34)
…
This pattern of violence is growing.
How did we get here?
Many of our intellectual class no longer believe in Western values.
Students have been severed from the great Christian tradition depicted in Raphael’s painting.
That’s why we see the pronouns, the grievance, and the violence.
When a commenter on Instagram argued that Kirk’s legacy had more to do with “misogyny, homophobia, racism [and] glorification of firearms”, and that Hastie had “lost” him, Hastie replied: “The next leg of the journey won’t be for the faint-hearted mate. Glad you’re tapping out now”.
Over the weekend, The New Daily quietly took down a piece by columnist Amy Remeikis headlined “I am sorry Charlie Kirk is dead, but I cannot mourn him”, which “[refused] to see the greatness” in what Kirk put his life to. This morning, the process which may result in the first Australian sacking related to posts concerning Kirk commenced: South Australian police are reportedly investigating an employee’s social media posts, after they allegedly made a post celebrating Kirk’s murder.