Hasan Piker Is the Enemy

Contrary to the mewling declaration of that eternal political weathervane, Ezra Klein, it seems clear to me that the most apposite way to describe the online left’s latest darling, the Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, is, indeed, as “the enemy.”

In a rambling group chat that was filmed and transcribed by the New York Times this week, Piker repeatedly made it clear that he is disdainful toward the fundamental rules that keep our society together. Inter alia, Piker defended the murder of the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, whom he deemed to have been guilty of “a tremendous amount of social murder”; suggested that he would happily “steal a car” if he “could get away with it”; and laid out a complex framework for when it is acceptable to shoplift (when the victim is “big corporations”) and when it is not (when the victim is “taxpayer-funded” with “union labor” and “adjusted prices”). Also “okay,” per Piker, is “I.P. theft, stealing movies, things like that.”

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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Contrary to the mewling declaration of that eternal political weathervane, Ezra Klein, it seems clear to me that the most apposite way to describe the online left’s latest darling, the Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, is, indeed, as “the enemy.”

In a rambling group chat that was filmed and transcribed by the New York Times this week, Piker repeatedly made it clear that he is disdainful toward the fundamental rules that keep our society together. Inter alia, Piker defended the murder of the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, whom he deemed to have been guilty of “a tremendous amount of social murder”; suggested that he would happily “steal a car” if he “could get away with it”; and laid out a complex framework for when it is acceptable to shoplift (when the victim is “big corporations”) and when it is not (when the victim is “taxpayer-funded” with “union labor” and “adjusted prices”). Also “okay,” per Piker, is “I.P. theft, stealing movies, things like that.”