American and Delta are Suspending Employees Who Celebrated Charlie Kirk’s Murder Online

Charlie Kirk was a conservative political activist and the founder of the organization known as Turning Point USA. His rhetoric was fairly extreme and I am not going to pretend that I agreed with him. What I do I firmly believe is that he had a right to free speech and he did not deserve to be murdered as a result of his discourse (even when spewing negative statements about women, other races, other religions, and the LGBTQ+ community). While the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, private employers are not held to the same and can suspend or terminate employees that do not align with a company’s policies or values. Both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines are doing just that with employees that have taken to social media to celebrate Kirk’s death seeing their employment in jeopardy.

Delta circulated an internal memo on September 13th that reminded employees of its social media policies and told them that some employees had been suspended while an investigation looked into their social media posts around Charlie Kirk. The memo reads:

‘No one better connects the world’ isn’t just a catchphrase — it’s our mission. For 100 years, Delta people have been known for our spirit of service, making the world better one customer at a time.

 

Whether we’re in uniform and on the clock, online or out in public, our colleagues, customers and communities expect us to reflect Delta’s values — integrity, care and servant leadership — that we hold dear.

 

This week we were made aware of Delta employees whose social media content, related to the recent murder of activist Charlie Kirk, went well beyond healthy, respectful debate. These social posts stand in stark contrast to our values and our social media policy, and these employees have been suspended pending an investigation. Violations of our social media policy can carry meaningful consequences, including termination.

 

Remember that we all represent Delta, at all times, in any forum. It’s essential that we act in ways that uphold our shared values and the human connection that defines us.

 

Thank you for all you do, every day, to take care of our customers and each other.”

American Airlines has taken a similar stance and suspended employees that were found to be violating its policies. It posted the following on X:

American Airlines condemns violence of any kind. Furthermore, hate-related or hostile behavior runs contrary to our purpose, which is to care for people on life’s journey. Any such behavior is unacceptable, and we have already initiated action to address this with our team.”

The internet is vast, but anything that is put onto it can be found. Social media has given many voices and platforms to share thoughts and opinions. This can be great or become something dark and much more sinister. The division in the United States along political and ideological beliefs has never been greater. Some have called for civil war while others feel that our country will never heal. It’s a sad time regardless of the side of politics that you sit on. I’m not sure what will bring us together, but I know that this murder will certainly not help.

Anthony’s Take: I will never celebrate the death of anyone, no matter how much I dislike or disagree with them. I’m not going to mourn the political activist (that according to some reports was against the very existence of LGBTQ+ people), but I am going to feel for his family (including his children) and his right to his opinions and the expression of them. This country was founded on freedom of speech and that must always be protected.

(Featured Image Credit: Zoshua Colah via Unsplash.)