I appreciate that people are trying their hardest to express empathy to him, the family, and those affected by the tragedy. I saw the video myself and it left me shaken. I don’t think political violence is ever the answer and condemn it without exception. I do, however, understand why some people are leaning ambivalent to his passing. I’ve been following him from the opposite side of the aisle since he entered the scene as a young reactionary, and I think a lot of the people pointing fingers calling people calloused don’t reeeeealllly understand who he actually was and what he stood for. He had a long political career and a lot of damage and radicalization was done in that period, to an extent that can be safely said he contributed to right-wing stochastic terrorism. When people say it was just because he had a “different opinion” it tells me they didn’t really keep up with political discourse he was involved in or don’t fully understand how political levers of influence work or how it has rippled out. Charlie frequently scapegoated, lied, deflected, and dogwhistled, on top of calling for actual violence and revocation of rights of others. His position of influence yielded actual real-world power and negative consequences on a broader scale than the average person. People were harmed by him— it was NOT just hurt feelings and disagreement, and that’s something I wish more people understood. He lobbied for deaths of those HE disagreed with, and joyously mocked the suffering of others. He was not a good man, and people don’t need to minimize his actions just because he passed in such a horrific way. I know people may find it inappropriate to point those things out now, but sometimes difficult conversations can’t wait. (When a president uses it as an attack on dissidents…that is, in fact, the time, and that’s where we are at right now unfortunately.) I think it’s okay to have mixed feelings when a bad person dies, whether you knew them or not it is normal to question what they meant to you and what your authentic feelings are. I know I have complicated feelings about it, and do believe the horror of what happened shouldn’t be minimized and wish the best for his loved ones and I did pray for him as well. But I also don’t believe the damage he did should be minimized either, or that he deserves martyrdom and idolization. It’s just going to remain a complicated issue for a long while.
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Goodness Whitney I love you, but one cannot spend their life spewing bigotry and hate repackaged as Christianity and not expect to reap what youve sewed (although I do not believe it should be in the form of public execution). I am black woman who is left leaning with some conservative view points. His stance that certain prominent black women "stole" those positions they held from a deserving white person was disgusting & reprehensible. I do not celebrate his death, I don't mourn it. I don't celebrate nor mourn his wife's loss, just their poor child(ren) who will have to pay for all of this. I want to remind everyone of the "George Floyd challenge" mocking his death. Not that therefore THIS is okay, but we are all susceptible to being on the wrong side when you dont think it can impact you or those in your proximity. We have to remain vigilant that extreme harm will continue from all sides without reform and policy change.
2 weeks ago | 4
So very well said, Whitney. You are so right and you also have a tremendous way with words. Thank you for this thoughtful perspective.
2 weeks ago
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Hi love 💕 I understand that emotions are high and that everything is happening all at once; however, please remember this: there are things and people moving things behind the scenes…yes empathy and compassion matter but politics, policies, and strategies is what’s of upmost importance to the people who are in power. They want to create anger and unrest. Create chaos and leverage it. In military terms they call it “the fog of war”. Please do not buy into the illusions of this reality or the perceptions they want us to believe. Your message of love and compassion should still continue but just keep in mind that there are illusions and strategy at play. Please don’t buy into it. You are oh so brilliant so please do not participate. Sending you much love ❤️ I love watching your empowering, beauty, and feminine content
2 weeks ago
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Bullseye!!! Definitely keep sharing Whitney, you have a gift with words!
2 weeks ago
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Thank you for speaking out! I’ve seen other influencers post and delete messages that are in defense of Charlie. It’s refreshing to see a beauty influencer stand their ground with grace.
2 weeks ago
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With peace and love, his stance on empathy was not the part of what he said that was problematic. I don't agree with or celebrate what happened here, but I'm not surprised it did in the storm of elements that came together
2 weeks ago | 1
Beautiful comments, Whitney. Of course, there is already a dissertation regarding right-wing extremism in the comments. Look at all the burned cities, looting, and protest the right did over Charlie's murder. O wait, there were none. Who does those things? Who murdered Charlie? There is the answer on who are extremists. I wonder if all the moral folks who fly their stand with Ukraine flags through one of their famous protest over the young girl murdered in Charlotte. Of course not, wrong narrative. The selective empathy runs deep for them.
2 weeks ago (edited)
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Here’s the thing: A lot of ppl are actually asking for sympathy: they think the loss of life is something to be mourned regardless of whether they like that person or not. That is based on their own beliefs about the value of life. Empathy means seeing the other persons point of view and understanding where they are coming from. It’s doing unto others not as you would have done for you (that’s sympathy) but doing to others what they would have done for themselves. If I put myself in Charlie’s shoes I can imagine his last moments must have been confusion and terror followed by rage: he assumed the violence he talked about was only ever going to happen to someone else. I don’t think he would want our sympathy, but I’m sure he would appreciate the outpouring of support and attention he is receiving posthumously.
2 weeks ago
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That’s kind of you to say. He had a good heart and will be missed. ❤
2 weeks ago
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whitney hedrick
Per the empathy conversation that keeps going around there is a video in the comment section I would like you guys to check out but also...
Whether or not you agree with Charlie’s position on empathy (which he was 100% correct about—it’s being weaponized to silence people..its done in the macro and micro all the time. If you have been a part of or witnessed abuse you KNOW this is true), if you can’t muster basic empathy regardless of his stance, that says far more about you than it does about him. If empathy is a central tenet of how you claim to view the world, then the fact that it can be applied so selectively calls into question both your understanding of it and your actual access to it within yourself.
I’ve also listened to Charlie’s full position on empathy, and what’s being reported is a gross misrepresentation of his thesis. I encourage those of you who haven’t heard it for yourself to go and listen. Again—you don’t have to agree with him. I’m not saying that you must. But at the very least, understand the full context. Because, as always, context does matter.And this is the crux of my point. As I wrote yesterday, the extremism and the blindness to us becoming the very things we say we hate MUST be recognized. MUST be contended with. Because the moment we dehumanize others for disagreeing with us, we begin to lose our own humanity.
I’ve studied narcissism, abuse, and manipulation tactics for nearly a decade. It’s what I know best. And I’m telling you this: the moment you start justifying the very behaviors you claim to despise, one of two things is true—either your mind has been manipulated into defending evil, or you never hated those actions in the first place. You just wanted to be the only one allowed to use them.
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