Staff Reports
Victor Davis Hanson sat with Megyn Kelly to give a blunt diagnosis: something is seriously wrong on parts of the political left. Their conversation pulls no punches — calling out a pattern of online celebration, threats, and moral outrage that looks very different when aimed at conservatives. If you want to understand the cultural rot that keeps showing up in media mobs and campus mobs, start here.
Hanson’s Diagnosis: Not Just Rhetoric — A Pattern
Victor Davis Hanson calls it a sickness because the behavior isn’t random. He and Megyn Kelly point to repeated episodes where anger becomes glee, and disagreement slides into celebration of a political opponent’s misfortune. That’s not debate. That’s tribalism with a megaphone. For conservative readers worried about free speech, public safety, and simple decency, Hanson’s description should ring alarm bells.
Social Media Celebrations and the Culture of Schadenfreude
Kelly and Hanson highlight troubling posts and reactions online where some people cheer when a conservative figure is criticized, threatened, or smeared. This is the sort of social media schadenfreude that passes for moral high ground among the righteous left. It’s not just mean — it’s dehumanizing. When one side starts celebrating the downfall of the other as entertainment, democracy loses its referee and becomes a blood sport.
Violence and the Left’s Problem with Boundaries
The conversation moves past insults into behavior that fuels real-world harm. Hanson warns that the rhetoric and the memes feed people who are already primed for violence. Call it what it is: a culture that soft-pedals threats when they come from the right and applauds them when they come from the left. That kind of double standard is dangerous and undermines the rule of law.
What Conservatives Should Do About It
Conservatives have to stop playing defense and start setting the terms. Push back on bad actors, call out mobs on campuses and in media, and demand consistent enforcement of laws and platform rules. Also, keep the moral high ground — we win more when we point out the hypocrisy instead of matching the ugliness. The left’s excesses are their own worst enemy; exposing them matters more than indulging them.
In short, Hanson and Kelly aren’t just complaining for ratings. They’re highlighting a trend that threatens civil discourse and public safety. Conservatives should take note, speak up, and refuse to normalize the celebration of political harm. The next time someone on the left laughs at the idea of a rival’s ruin, don’t laugh back — expose it, condemn it, and hold institutions accountable. That’s how you fight a sickness without becoming one of its symptoms.
