Derek Simon
@dcarter9.bsky.social
Reposted by Derek Simon
This gets to something that as a former stand-up I recognized but couldn’t name. A 31 year old professional content creator baiting 19 year old amateurs into the format of his choice isn’t debate, it’s crowd work. It’s debate-shaped crowd work farmed for content.
One thing that I think some not-youngs forget (and is different from 20 years ago) is that Kirk used his ‘debates’ to generate video that could go viral and, to use an old phrase, catapult the propaganda. His debates weren’t in any way, shape, or form educational.
When Charlie Kirk, who put together lists of professors he didn't like so people could target & harass them, used the phrase "free speech", he used it in the same way creationists use "teach the controversy." For Kirk, it was just another way to bludgeon the left and also to promote his propaganda.
September 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
This gets to something that as a former stand-up I recognized but couldn’t name. A 31 year old professional content creator baiting 19 year old amateurs into the format of his choice isn’t debate, it’s crowd work. It’s debate-shaped crowd work farmed for content.
Reposted by Derek Simon
Not what you think it is. Have a read:
"Charlie Kirk was a jerk. That’s not an opinion; it was his brand. He embraced it and the fame, riches and influence it brought him. He rejoiced in and profited from the pain of strangers. He trafficked in hate..."
www.thetimes-tribune.com/2025/09/14/c...
"Charlie Kirk was a jerk. That’s not an opinion; it was his brand. He embraced it and the fame, riches and influence it brought him. He rejoiced in and profited from the pain of strangers. He trafficked in hate..."
www.thetimes-tribune.com/2025/09/14/c...
Chris Kelly Opinion: Charlie Kirk and a nation in name only
This is not the column I planned for today. On Wednesday morning, I sat in Courtroom 1 of the Lackawanna County Courthouse scribbling notes on the latest episode of “Who Wants to be a Commissioner?…
www.thetimes-tribune.com
September 14, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Not what you think it is. Have a read:
"Charlie Kirk was a jerk. That’s not an opinion; it was his brand. He embraced it and the fame, riches and influence it brought him. He rejoiced in and profited from the pain of strangers. He trafficked in hate..."
www.thetimes-tribune.com/2025/09/14/c...
"Charlie Kirk was a jerk. That’s not an opinion; it was his brand. He embraced it and the fame, riches and influence it brought him. He rejoiced in and profited from the pain of strangers. He trafficked in hate..."
www.thetimes-tribune.com/2025/09/14/c...
@cptowers.bsky.social So do we know if Will Smith is in the contusion protocol? 😉
September 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
@cptowers.bsky.social So do we know if Will Smith is in the contusion protocol? 😉