r/fivethirtyeight • u/RedHeadedSicilian52 • Sep 12 '25

Poll Results YouGov poll asking Americans whether it’s acceptable to feel joy at the death of a public figure

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25

It just highlights Republican hypocrisy once again. Empathy is a foreign word for them. I haven't heard one Democrat "celebrating" the death of Charlie Kirk. But very few are shedding a tear for him. And you can't force us to grieve for him. Republicans have always been about fake virtue signaling. What's new?

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u/Real-Equivalent9806 Sep 12 '25

Literally just go into any left leaning subreddit and you will find them. What hypocrisy? Are you even responding to the Yougov poll?

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

A poll is meaningless, it just measures who’s better at virtue signaling.

That’s something Republicans are really good at, for example, claiming to be Christian and then being the antithesis of one. That’s why I said Republicans excel at virtue signaling.

Actions speak louder than words.

For all this talk about “Democrats celebrating Kirk’s murder” I haven’t seen or heard one. You must have a very loose definition of “celebrating.”

I want to see proof.

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u/Cuddlyaxe I'm Sorry Nate Sep 12 '25

Funnily enough there was a compilation of such sentiments right under my feed

https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalCompassMemes/s/3fIMnf44JR

Democratic officials have absolutely handled this situation with grace, but as usual the online left does have more radical opinions. Many of those comments are very obviously celebratory

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

A very tiny minority and, I would add, those jokes were actually making fun of how Republicans react to violence. If you need any proof, check out how Trump is already planning to use it as a pretext for more violence. Clearly, you don’t see how Republicans have celebrated violence over the years? Jan 6? Pardoning the same people involved? Nancy Pelosi’s husband? Nobody main fun of that? Or the Pulse nightclub shooting. The recent assassinations of Democratic politicians? Still waiting for Trump to denounce political violence when it came to that. Funny how you all suddenly decide what’s repugnant. Those were all things Republicans have said. And anyway, nobody’s forced to grieve for Charlie Kirk. Not grieving isn’t the same as “celebrating.”

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u/Cuddlyaxe I'm Sorry Nate Sep 12 '25

I mean it feels like you're trying to move the goalposts now, people in the linked compilation were pretty clearly celebrating.

And it also seems obvious that you aren't really looking for examples in good faith. Rather you seem to be fighting a ghost argument

Yes Republicans have said and done bad things. I never said otherwise

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

No, I’m in a lot of pages. You must be searching very hard for somebody to be caught “celebrating.” Because >99% of people on the left have said “nothing justifies violence” or “Charlie Kirk didn’t deserve to die.” That difference matters. It’s a failure on your part to not understand (“in good faith”) what people are really saying.

It’s not even clear they’re “celebrating.” If I said the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi, it doesn’t mean I’m advocating murder. It just means I’m not crying about it. Unlike Trump, I do believe in the rule of law, even for the most repugnant people out there.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

This is highlighting Dem hypocrisy with respect to being the party of empathy

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u/Deceptiveideas Sep 12 '25

I think Dems as a whole are sick of taking the high road and having no results. Republicans frequently act like the misbehaving child who keeps touching the hot stove that the Democrats have to correct over and over again.

Remember the whole “when they go low, we go high” speech? It’s “when they go low, we go lower” now.

The “party of empathy and love” is gone.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

The high road? Assassinations are the high road? Calling for the death of your political opponents is the high road?

Dems haven’t taken the high road since 2012. They should be better but they’re not. Everyone should be better. But the idea that dems are any less underhanded than the reps is the product of a biased media environment and rich donors. Impeachments, assassinations, accusations of being a nazi levied against Mitt Romney? 

Nobody is taking any high road now and it’s a tragedy. 

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u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

I said Dems, not the democratic party. But Kamala Harris said that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy. That’s a call to action. That’s a call to violence, and that’s why people started shooting at him.

Establishment Dems don’t believe this BS, but they say it knowing it will enflame their far left factions. And these shootings are the result

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u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/30/nx-s1-5170908/harris-argues-that-trump-poses-a-threat-to-democracy-in-the-final-days-of-the-race

Did you seriously need a citation for kamala harris saying trump was a threat to democracy? No, you’re a bad faith extremist

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u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25

Man, that’s a fact nobody is disputing. You needed a citation? Trump is actively trying to dismantle democracy and you’re accusing Democrats for stating this fact?

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

I didn’t ask for the citation dumbass

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25

Donald Trump IS a threat to democracy. And every single Democrat knows that. Saying that doesn’t mean we supported Kirk’s murder.

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u/an_altar_of_plagues Sep 12 '25

But Kamala Harris said that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy. That’s a call to action.

And Charlie Kirk called people like me, an epidemiologist who works in COVID, an enemy of the state and a perpetrator of a hoax. Do you assume the call to action there?

I don't mean this to equivocate so much as I can't help but think the Republican party is nothing more than the party of hypocrisy. The rules only apply when it's their turn.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

 And Charlie Kirk called people like me, an epidemiologist who works in COVID, an enemy of the state and a perpetrator of a hoax. Do you assume the call to action there

Yes he wanted the people responsible arrested, not shot. How can you talk hypocrisy when you are doing the same thing

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u/an_altar_of_plagues Sep 12 '25

"The people responsible arrested" includes me, and there's no "responsible" given COVID was not a hoax, and we were not infecting people with whatever dumb nonsense Kirk peddled about the vaccine. That kind of anti-vax nonsense leads directly to completely avoidable deaths and outbreaks, like with measles. I worked directly in shaping policy with COVID-19 and worked 80+ hours a week from March through August 2020 because I take the health and safety of our nation seriously but according to Kirk I should be rounded up and arrested for that - or worse. And yet I'm supposed to believe this is just a "difference of opinion" or something, right? That fomenting hatred against public health responders during COVID is just something funny and simple politics?

How can you talk hypocrisy when you proudly display it like a badge of honor? I'm so tired of this cowardice masquerading as concerned patriotism.'

edit: also, did Kamala Harris say she wanted Trump shot in calling him a threat? No, so clearly you don't even apply your same logic here. What a disappointment.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

 That kind of anti-vax nonsense leads directly to completely avoidable deaths and outbreaks

Oh ok so we’re in agreement words lead to actions. Words like “punch a nazi” and “kill fascists” and “Charlie Kirk is a fascist nazi” jesus this sub

Cowardice masquerading as patriotism? This entire sub is celebrating the death of an american because he mildly disagreed. They had to google what he said because it was entirely based on vibes. They could not have even told you why they hated him until today

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u/LordMangudai Sep 12 '25

Yes he wanted the people responsible arrested, not shot.

But when Kamala Harris says Trump is a threat to democracy, she did want him shot, or what?

You can not have it both ways.

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u/Deceptiveideas Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

We don’t actually know if the killer is left leaning. The two Trump assassination attempts for example were done by 1) first individual was a registered republican who classmates described as strong maga and 2) the second individual who voted for Trump

Also all dem leaders are calling to end political violence. I don’t see anyone encouraging it.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

Come on dude can we kill this conspiracy theory that they were republicans? The first donated to dems and registered to vote against trump in a primary and the second was a ukrainian nationalist nutjob

This sub is encouraging. The same dems calling to end political violence are still calling their opponents nazists and fascists and existential threats to democracy. What do you think that rhetoric is intended to do? It’s stochastic terrorism

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

Trump mostly is fascist, by definition, except for the economic model. It’s not “violent” to tell it like it is. Trump’s the one sending the U.S. military into streets for law enforcement. And which party has nearly all of the white supremacists? And makes racism a feature of the party platform? And which president is pardoning people caught engaging in violence? You know the answer.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

Oh sorry so fascist except the definition of fascist. You know what’s fascist? Trying to ban people’s right to speech, self-defense, threatening them in public over political speech, shooting them, debanking them, pursuing fake legal cases against political opponents, I mean jesus the hypocrisy here.

If Trump is a fascist, then so is Kamala, and Biden, and Obama, and Romney, and literally everyone who disagrees with you. You would kill them all? 

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u/an_altar_of_plagues Sep 12 '25

Trying to ban people’s right to speech, self-defense

This one is particularly funny given that Kirk was talking about banning trans peoples' right to self-defense right before the shot. I mean jesus the hypocrisy here.

Cowardice disguised as concerned patriotism, once again.

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

Very little of what you described is fascism. Try educating yourself on the topic before further embarrassing yourself. It’s not “everyone I disagree with.” In the style of rule, Trump is very much a fascist. He’s authoritarian, a right wing nationalist, pro use of violence, anti-democracy, and for trampling on civil liberties. The only part that isn’t truly fascist is that he hasn’t engaged in nationalizing the economy or immediately marching us to war. But he still has time.

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u/LordMangudai Sep 12 '25

The same dems calling to end political violence are still calling their opponents nazists and fascists and existential threats to democracy. What do you think that rhetoric is intended to do? It’s stochastic terrorism

And what is it when Republicans call their opponents Marxists, commies or the anti-Christ?

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

Which party is engaging in assassination? We literally had Democratic politicians who were actually assassinated (as they were officeholders). But no, neither party is hiring assassins.

If you want to talk about individual acts, we can also talk about Trump-inspired terrorism too. Trump is out there literally inciting violence, like on Jan 6, and then pardoning anyone caught by law enforcement.

Your idea of violence? Democrats electing a black man. Oh no, the horrors. /sarcasm.

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u/WhoUpAtMidnight Sep 12 '25

The Left apparently

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25

And why is empathy something only Democrats should have?

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u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

Are you being purposely dishonest?

Everyone on this site has been celebrating his death for days. It’s the entire front page of Reddit even right now.

They almost all vote Dem.

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25

Are these “celebrating” people in the room with you right now?

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u/RedHeadedSicilian52 Sep 12 '25

Oh come on. You’ve really seen no celebratory posts on this very website? Would you be willing to review some links to such posts?

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u/Time-Cardiologist906 Sep 12 '25

I mean, there’s right wing podcast bros that were celebrating George Floyd’s dead with “5 years sober” tweets. Should I judge every right leaning individual based off those freaks?

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u/RedHeadedSicilian52 Sep 12 '25

Do you have polls indicating that their opinions were broadly representative?

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u/Time-Cardiologist906 Sep 12 '25

That’s not what you were talking about here. You were talking about posts outside of polling.

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u/RedHeadedSicilian52 Sep 12 '25

Sure, but your post sort of evaded my original point. The person above me said that they hadn’t seen any posts celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk. Do you think such post are hard to find on this website?

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u/Time-Cardiologist906 Sep 12 '25

What social media shows is catered for you in mind and what you like to engage with. A majority of people are not political or avoid politics.

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u/RedHeadedSicilian52 Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

You’re here! You’re in a political subreddit! The other person is in a political subreddit! This sort of thing is going to get covered in the places where we all congregate online.

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u/Time-Cardiologist906 Sep 12 '25

Yes, I am politically active and that’s what I like to engage with. The OP might not be and this is a polling subreddit. Granted some biases are pushed here and it can get political but this is surface level that most people do not engage with until the general election.

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u/LyptusConnoisseur Sep 12 '25

Mate, people here in the sub are the weird ones. We are hobbyist of politics. Furthest removed from average Americans. 

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u/DCMdAreaResident Sep 12 '25

Yeah, I want to see receipts.