In 2025, the Riyadh Comedy Festival made headlines across the world ā and not for the reasons comedy usually does. What shouldāve been a celebration of laughter, creativity, and cross-cultural performance quickly turned into a firestorm of criticism. Western audiences condemned it as propaganda, activists called it state-sponsored whitewashing, and comedians who chose to performContinue reading “The Riyadh Comedy Festival and the Possibility of a Silver Lining”
Tag Archives: empathy
HasanAbiās Career Should End ā And The Left Needs To Speak Up
Honestly, I think this should be the end of HasanAbiās career. Period. And I donāt say that lightly. Because if he is guilty of abusing his dog ā and to me, watching the clip and seeing how things went down, it seems like a real possibility ā then he really needs to step away. NotContinue reading “HasanAbiās Career Should End ā And The Left Needs To Speak Up”
Stop Excusing HasanAbi ā Animal Abuse Isnāt āWhataboutableā
You know whatās honestly wild to me right now? The number of people trying to excuse HasanAbiās alleged abuse of his dog by bringing up Palestine. Like, what are we doing? Iāve seen people online say things like āWhy are you focusing on Hasanās dog when thereās a genocide going on?ā or āThere are worseContinue reading “Stop Excusing HasanAbi ā Animal Abuse Isnāt āWhataboutableā”
If the HasanAbi Dog Clip Is Real, He Should Step Away from the Spotlight
Thereās a video circulating online right now showing Hasan Piker, better known as HasanAbi, and his dog Kaya. In it, the dog yelps after Hasan tells her to āgo back.ā Some viewers immediately claimed it was a shock collar moment; others said it was something else. Hasan himself denied using a shock collar, saying theContinue reading “If the HasanAbi Dog Clip Is Real, He Should Step Away from the Spotlight”
Compassion Beyond Condemnation: Why We Must Reject Hatred Even Amid Injustice
Recently, the world lost Jane Goodall, a towering figure in science, conservation, and the fight to understand and protect our natural world. She passed away at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy of insight, empathy, and tireless advocacy for life. Yet, in the wake of her death, a troubling phenomenon emerged online: someContinue reading “Compassion Beyond Condemnation: Why We Must Reject Hatred Even Amid Injustice”
Radical Empathy in a Time of Violence: Seeing Beyond the Badge and the System
The past week has been marked by unsettling headlines. In Dallas, Texas, an armed man fired on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, killing one detainee and wounding others before ending his own life. In New York City, an undercover NYPD officer was violently shoved onto the subway tracks, barely escaping with his life,Continue reading “Radical Empathy in a Time of Violence: Seeing Beyond the Badge and the System”
When Compassion Gets Dismissed
Iāve been thinking a lot lately about something that happened in the wake of Charlie Kirkās death. Two people I knew online, one a good friend of mine and the other just an acquaintance through that friend, had a falling out over the whole thing. And honestly, I wasnāt surprised. Not because I wanted itContinue reading “When Compassion Gets Dismissed”
When Politics Breaks Friendships: Reflections on the Fallout After Charlie Kirk
Sometimes the most unexpected moments reveal the fault lines that have been hiding beneath the surface of our relationships. Recently, I witnessed two people I knew onlineāone a close friend of mine, and another who was more of a mutual acquaintanceāhave a falling out. The reason? What happened to Charlie Kirk, and the differing waysContinue reading “When Politics Breaks Friendships: Reflections on the Fallout After Charlie Kirk”
Conditional Empathy Is the Language of Authoritarians
One of the most dangerous ideas creeping into our culture right now is the notion that empathy can ā or should ā be conditional. That empathy should be extended only to the people who ādeserveā it, to those who think like us, vote like us, believe like us, live like us. This mindset isnāt justContinue reading “Conditional Empathy Is the Language of Authoritarians”
There Is No Empathy Paradox: Why Humanity Cannot Be Conditional
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirkās killing, I saw a video from a leftist commentator framing the issue in terms of an āempathy paradox.ā The argument was that itās somehow contradictory to show empathy for someone who was not a good person, who actively caused harm, who dedicated his life to pushing a destructive ideology.Continue reading “There Is No Empathy Paradox: Why Humanity Cannot Be Conditional”