Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | September 12, 2025
People can get in trouble for things they say on social media. Sorry if I’m saying anything shocking there, but it’s true. It’s so true, in fact, that you’d think people would take that into account at this point, but they don’t. In some cases, it’s understandable. Folks may assume that their audience is small enough that they won’t receive any pushback. For others, the pushback is the point.
Farming outrage online is a whole-ass business model. Some people have made careers out of spewing f***ed up stuff on social media, refusing to apologize, and gaining followers who feel the same way. It is a central aspect of the far-right ecosystem. However, the far left is no stranger to it. Regardless of who’s doing it, when you’re just screaming into the void, it’s easier to get away with. If you work for a giant corporation, not so much.
Corporations have always had certain clauses to protect their image, and the age of social media is no different. The only difference is the degree to which people may be punished for their actions. In the case of someone like Letitia Wright, who shared anti-vax videos online, there was a slap on the wrist from Disney in the form of an apology and Wright leaving social media altogether.
Many people have been punished by their parent company for misbehaving online, but the Wright situation felt appropriate given its comic book ties. Yesterday, a comic book was cancelled at DC Comics because the author of the book, Gretchen Felker-Martin, made posts on BlueSky that celebrated the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. She wrote things such as “Hope the bullet’s okay after touching Charlie Kirk,” and “Thoughts and prayers you Nazi bitch.”
Felker-Martin was swiftly fired from her comic book about Batman’s supporting character, Red Hood, and the comic was cancelled, despite the first issue just being released on Wednesday. Felker-Martin’s BlueSky was also suspended for the posts. On its face, it may look like another instance where someone is punished for an upsetting social media post, but context is very important.
Gretch Felker-Martin is a trans woman. Do you know who hated trans people and spent a great deal of their energy trying to make their lives miserable? Charlie Kirk. Regardless of whether I or anyone else thinks it’s okay to celebrate someone’s death, how am I supposed to expect people to react? If someone were trying desperately to make my life hell, I certainly wouldn’t shed any tears if they were to pass.
That also isn’t to say that what the author said was right. Sometimes, it’s best not to just put your first thoughts on social media, especially when you work so prominently for such a public-facing company. However, it should be noted that we live in a time when companies are kowtowing to the current administration with pathetic vigor.
Charlie Kirk didn’t have to be careful about what he said online. He was one of the people I was talking about, who was rewarded for spewing hatred and finding others who felt similarly. Now, if you say something about him, you can find yourself paying for it.
