Lost and All Alone
Behind the memes and the politics lies something heartbreakingly simple: a generation of young men who feel like they’ll never have a future. I recently came across a TikTok (I don’t know the creator’s name, but the insight deserves credit) that unpacked the surreal details of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The shell casings weren’t random — they were engraved with memes: a 2013 furry joke, a Helldivers 2 command line, the anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao , and a crude “you’re gay” punchline. For those who don’t follow U.S. conservative politics, Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a youth-oriented right-wing organization that has long tried to mainstream ultra-conservative values on college campuses. Meme Culture, Loneliness, and the Result of Weaponized Despair At first glance, it’s incomprehensible. But the TikTok creator pointed out: this was a shitpost . A killing turned into an inside joke, cloaked in layers of irony, signalling allegiance to the online culture th...
