Bill Maher discusses how memes inspire violence with internet culture researcher Aidan Walker on ‘Real Time’ following the Dallas I.C.E. facility shooting.
« Real Time » host Bill Maher asked an internet culture researcher Friday about memes to understand how people get « inspired to kill. »
Memes, or « historical documents » with various interpretations, were engraved on the shell casings of late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin, « Real Time » guest Aidan Walker said.
Kirk’s accused killer etched gamer-inspired and antifascist messaging on his casings, including, « Hey, fascist! Catch! » and a reference to a World War II anthem.
« But [memes] take on new meanings, I mean this is part of why people get inspired to kill », Maher said. « Because they get insulted by them, right? They get hurt by them. They have a meaning that a lot of us older people are not getting, correct? »
The discussion came in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Dallas I.
