One Pennsylvania school board member, Misty Hunt, has found herself thrust into the national spotlight. A viral social media post of hers was misinterpreted as a victory dance for the targeted assassination of far-right demagogue Charlie Kirk. We wrote in our original post, “one down, hundreds to go” to suggest a wave of windblown milkweed seeds. It has lit a firestorm of outrage and led to death threats against Hunt.
The day of the incident, Hunt threw himself into gardening and enjoying the miracle of nature. He didn’t find out about Kirk’s death until later that evening. She said that her social media presence was totally butterflies and creating spaces for butterflies. “A tragedy occurred. I was too busy enjoying nature to know what went down,” Hunt explained.
Her post ignited an immediate public outcry that flooded news channels and compelled public attention. In response, the school board immediately ordered an independent investigation. The objective is to discover more about the inspiration for Hunt’s message and what she hopes to achieve. Amidst the turmoil, law enforcement provided security at a school board meeting due to the threats directed at Hunt and her family.
Hunt has unambiguously denied that her post was intended to promote violence or death. She reiterated many times that she does not rejoice in anyone’s death and is against violence. Today she believes the safety of herself and her children are under threat because of the response to her social media posts.
In her next social media post, she unequivocally denounced all political violence. As she said, “No reason, no philosophy, no political opinion is more important than a human life.” This quote highlights her moral conviction that respecting all life – no matter one’s political party – should come first.
Recent events have served to highlight the burden of duty that comes with positions of great public influence. An unspecified speaker at the Homer-Center school board meeting remarked, “Every action has consequences, especially with being a public figure.” This feeling is indicative of the intense pressure being put on those in power.
Because of the outcry, Hunt decided not to vote at the school board meeting on September 18. As a consequence, he was booted off his community school board’s contract negotiations committee. This decision only serves to amplify and bring to the fore the continued impact of the event on her standing in the school board.
Shortly thereafter, Hunt released a statement of condolences over the death of right-wing firebrand Charlie Kirk. In doing so, she made it clear that her original post had no relation to this tragic situation. Her experience should remind us of the fundamental goodness that can be misconstrued, especially in an era of social media that becomes more polarized each day.