Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by TheCoelacanth 277 days ago
He absolutely shouldn't have been murdered and the rise of political violence is terrifying for the country's future.

However, he has directly stated that empathy is bad and that shooting victims are an acceptable price to pay to avoid gun control.

I refuse to feel sympathy for someone who vigorously argued against doing anything to prevent what happened to him and who vigorously argued against caring about the people it happened to.
3 comments
daveidol 276 days ago
He never once stated that “empathy is bad”. He had plenty of bad takes, but no need to misrepresent.

He was simply saying that the term empathy is overused vs sympathy

link
dragonwriter 276 days ago
The terms mean different things, and he is very clear that one is good and the other is bad in his eyes, and that’t the reason for his opposition to the use of the one term.
link
diogenescynic 276 days ago
His argument was that we shouldn't disarm just because evil exists and guns can be mis-used. Using that as a way to suggest his death is justified or whatever people are implying is just gross and disgusting. Dude was 31 years old and had 2 young kids and simply went and talked to people. He was assassinated in front of his family for nothing more than talking. Nothing that he ever did was even close to deserving violence. If people can't take someone politely debating their ideas, then they're a whiny entitled baby and they're the problem.
link
soupbowl 276 days ago
People that don't like Charlie don't need to have sympathy for him, but not having sympathy and being douche bags in mass is something totally different.

"I can't stand the word empathy, actually," he continued. "I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that — it does a lot of damage. But, it is very effective when it comes to politics. Sympathy, I prefer more than empathy. That's a separate topic for a different time."

link
Yeul 276 days ago
How can you not be a douche bag to someone who wants to kill you? How are homosexuals supposed to feel about this guy?
link
soupbowl 276 days ago
Ah yes... he wanted all homosexuals murdered[citation needed]. Good thing the good guys killed him eh?
link