Witch Hunts, Blacklists And The New American Mccarthyism

2025-09-19 05:01:47

(MENAFN- Asia Times) A modern-day political inquisition is unfolding in â€œdigital town squaresâ€ across the United States. The slain far-right activist Charlie Kirk has become a focal point for a coordinated campaign of silencing critics that chillingly echoes one of the darkest chapters in American history.

Individuals who have publicly criticized Kirk or made perceived insensitive comments regarding his death are being threatened, fired or doxed . Teachers and professors have been fired or disciplined , one for posting that Kirk was racist, misogynistic and a neo-Nazi , another for calling Kirk a â€œhate-spreading Nazi .â€

Journalists have also lost their jobs after making comments about Kirkâ€TMs assassination, as has the late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel .

A website called â€œExpose Charlieâ€TMs Murderers â€ had been posting the names, locations and employers of people saying critical things about Kirk before it was reportedly taken down. Vice President JD Vance has pushed for this public response, urging supporters to â€œcall them out â€¦ hell, call their employer .â€

This is far-right â€œcancel cultureâ€, the likes of which the US hasnâ€TMt seen since the McCarthy era in the 1950s.

The birth of McCarthyism

The McCarthy era may well have faded in our collective memory, but itâ€TMs important to understand how it unfolded and the impact it had on America. As the philosopher George Santayana once said, â€œThose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it .â€

Since the 1950s, â€œMcCarthyism â€ has become shorthand for the practice of making unsubstantiated accusations of disloyalty against political opponents, often through fear-mongering and public humiliation.

Joseph McCarthy. Photo: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

The term gets its name from Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican who was the leading architect of a ruthless witch hunt in the US to root out alleged Communists and subversives across American institutions.

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