December 19th, 2020.
I was serving as Erie County Comptroller. A rally was organized to protest the government’s lockdowns - shuttering businesses, churches, community centers, and gyms.
A small but furious pack of radical progressives showed up. That didn’t bother me. As a former journalist and firm believer in the First Amendment, I welcomed debate.
But debate wasn’t what they came for.
We quickly discovered they had zero interest in rational discourse. They came armed with ice balls — not snowballs, ice — ready to hurl at speakers like me.
It didn’t even get that far. The moment I stepped out of my car, one Antifa-aligned agitator got in my face and tried to start a fight.
I laughed. He weighed less than my right leg. I had socks older than him.
That laughter sent the mob into a frenzy. A scuffle broke out, and let’s just say the soy-latte warriors didn’t fare well. When police arrived, the remnants stuck around for my remarks.
And here’s the truth: I defended their right to speak. I told them face-to-face that even though their rhetoric was vile, I would defend their right to be heard.
But the line is crossed the moment speech turns into violence.
Fast-forward to today. After the horrific assassination of Conservative icon Charlie Kirk, the ghouls are out again — this time on social media. Thousands of soulless degenerates are celebrating his brutal murder, dancing on his grave with grotesque delight.
I’ve seen a lot in my years as a reporter and politician. But nothing prepared me for the sheer cruelty, the demonic joy these extremists spewed online over Kirk’s death.
A family-friendly paper won’t let me spell out “FAFO,” but that’s exactly what happened. The polite version: “mess with the bull, get the horns.” Social media sleuths tracked them down, and their employers took notice. Nearly 40,000 names are already in a database exposing these cretins for the world to see.
And when many were justifiably fired, they whined that their “free speech” was being silenced.
Wrong.
They weren’t fired for an opinion. They were fired for being heartless, soulless, and compassionless monsters. Fired for celebrating murder. Fired for exposing the black hole where their moral compass should be.
You were fired for being heartless vermin. For cheering murder. For showing the world your soul is rotted through.
So go ahead — keep cheering a man’s assassination, you vile and callous ghouls. That’s your right.
But it’s also your employer’s right to send you packing.
Meanwhile, those of us with hearts will do what the Left never does: grieve with dignity. We will mourn Charlie Kirk as a husband, father, and leader. We will turn to faith and family, not rioting and rage. We won’t torch cities or smash windows. We will mourn. We will pray. We will rally around family and faith.
Our response to tragedy is not burning cities — it is building hope. And in the days, weeks, and years ahead, we will honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy of love, service, and unshakable faith.
So yes — keep howling with joy over a man’s death, you hollow, soulless husks. That’s your right.
But don’t cry when your boss decides they don’t want a moral corpse on the payroll. That’s their right.
As for us, we will honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy not with hate, but with hope.
Because that’s what separates us from them.