Shortly after I learned of the murder of Charlie Kirk, I thought of the manifesto from People Reluctant To Kill for an Abstraction. George Saunders wrote it in 2004:
Last Thursday, my organization, People Reluctant To Kill for an Abstraction, orchestrated an overwhelming show of force around the globe.
At precisely 9 in the morning, working with focus and stealth, our entire membership succeeded in simultaneously beheading no one. At 10, Phase II began…
It’s true. Millions of people around the world, despite whatever grievances they hold, somehow refrain from killing other people. Most people go through their entire lives without murdering a single person! If only this could be true for all people.
Since the world began, we have gone about our work quietly, resisting the urge to generalize, valuing the individual over the group, the actual over the conceptual, the inherent sweetness of the present moment over the theoretically peaceful future to be obtained via murder.
Do we all agree that words have meaning? Jamelle Bouie comments:
It is sometimes considered gauche, in the world of American political commentary, to give words the weight of their meaning. As this thinking goes, there might be real belief, somewhere, in the provocations of our pundits, but much of it is just performance, and it doesn’t seem fair to condemn someone for the skill of putting on a good show.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) uses this triangle as a model for our minds:
We can’t read minds, but we can infer what people are thinking about through their speech. Thoughts influence feelings and behaviors—and not just in ourselves, but in those who listen to what we say.
To be clear, no one deserves to be murdered because of what they say.
It is also true, though, that the words we use have the power to unite or divide, to cultivate love or hate. don Miguel Ruiz notes, “The first and most important of The Four Agreements is be impeccable with your word” because:
The word, as a symbol, has the magic and power of creation because it can reproduce an image, an idea, a feeling, or an entire story in your imagination. Just hearing the word horse can reproduce an entire image in your mind. That’s the power of a symbol.
We can cast magical spells with our words. How do you want to use the power of your words? What emotions or behaviors might manifest from the spells you cast?
Brian Kilmeade of Fox News cast a vile spell earlier this week in advocating that mentally ill homeless people should be executed:
Jones was talking on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday about public money spent on trying to help homeless people and suggested that those who didn’t accept services offered to them should be jailed.
“Or involuntary lethal injection, or something,” Kilmeade said. “Just kill ‘em.”
Should Kilmeade be killed for making this obscene remark? No.
If we believe words are thoughts embodied, then we must believe that these words have meaning and can manifest in behaviors. What we say can affect what we and others do.
This is why we hold Kilmeade and all others who make hateful comments accountable for what they say. We will not repeat the mistake that Kilmeade made: We will recognize the humanity of all people, including him. One of the best ways we can humanize other people is to believe they meant what they said, even if we don’t agree with it. What Kilmeade said is abhorrent.
Millions of people around the world, despite whatever grievances they hold, somehow refrain from talking about killing other people. Many people go through their entire lives without talking about murdering a single person! If only this could be true for everyone.
Maria Yang, MD 