In the recording, the mother of two can be heard discussing with her staff the success of a TPUSA event and the strong sales of associated merchandise. She then appeared to dismiss her husband’s death during the discussion while emphasizing harmony between staff.
People grieve their own way. Being excited about how much money you are going to make from the memorial for your dead husband is not a normal reaction. It could be a mental retreat as a coping mechanism. It really could be. However, the way conservative identities act when they aren’t in mourning, highly suggests this isn’t a coping mechanism, just naked exploitation of other peoples sympathy.
Yeah, I have mixed feelings about this. People grieve in their own way. Some people throw themselves into work to avoid thinking about tragedy. Some people get drunk or high. Some people perform grief in an outlandish, over-the-top way because they want to be the main character.
We don’t know if maybe she was happy and excited at this moment, and then once she was off the conference call the reality hit her again and she was sobbing uncontrollably.
But, here’s the thing. Most people don’t try to monetize the death of a loved one, and as a result they’re not in the spotlight during their period of grief. Most people step back from the world and grieve in private, where there aren’t as many people judging them for how well or poorly they’re dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Erika Kirk brought this spotlight on herself by trying to monetize the death of her husband. And if people’s harsh criticism of what she’s doing means that the next person doesn’t try to monetize the death of a loved one, that’s probably a good thing.