The op-ed by Jonathan Alpert says there is a movement underway that committing violence, and even murder, are not being dismissed as immoral acts. Those acts are being reframed as sympathy for the perpetrator and his motives.
His first example in the article is Luigi Magnione, the handsome, Ivy League-educated murderer accused of shooting and killing United Healthcare insurance executive, Brian Thompson, in Manhattan in 2024.
Citing his own writings, authorities allege Magnione's motive for the targeted killing is anger over the "greed-fueled health insurance cartel."
“We are no longer just trying to understand wrongdoing. We are rehearsing sympathy for it,” Alpert writes. “Over time, that sympathy starts to crowd out judgment.”
Later in the article, the psychotherapist points out how people celebrated the assassination of Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk and have openly expressed disappointment President Trump has survived two assassination attempts.
“In both cases, the reaction reveals the same erosion of moral restraint,” Alpert writes.
Shortly after Kirk’s murder last fall, AFN reported how numerous people - a firefighter, military service members, a university professor, a school board member, and many more – openly celebrated his death on social media.
A dark joke among the Far Left about President Trump is “8647,” a reference to wishing murder on the U.S. president who is described by his political enemies as evil and a wannabe dictator. Despite a policy vowing nonviolence, participants in the recent “No Kings” rallies demonstrated with “8647” signs.
Once public figures such as Kirk and Trump are “reduced to a symbol of everything people hate,” Alpert says, violence feels “emotionally satisfying” and is a sign that “moral boundaries are truly shifting.”
In a related sentence, he warns “moral boundaries” begin to loosen, including in politics, when opponents are viewed as “beyond redemption.” When your political opponent is defined as evil, he warns, almost any response can be justified.
Asked for comment about the Alpert article, Christian psychologist Dr. Ron Mumbower told AFN people claim they are victims of right-wing “evil” because the culture craves victimhood.
“It's not my fault that these things have happened to me. It’s because of what has been done to me,” Mumbower, citing the typical excuse, said.
That view is especially common among young people today, he warned. They are growing up spoiled by their parents and feeling entitled, which makes them impatient, envious, and ungrateful.
“They were given participants awards as opposed to learning that, in life, there's winners and there's losers,” he observed.
Asked how Christians should think and act in such an environment, Mumbower said to remember Jesus said this life is full of troubles but also said our peace comes from Him.
“We're not the center of the universe,” the Christian psychologist cautioned. “First Corinthians 12:18 says He put the parts of the body exactly where He wanted them. This is what you contribute to this world.”
