Today, Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while at a speaking engagement. Broad daylight, hit in the neck. There’s footage online but I don’t recommend seeking it out unless you have a strong stomach. The clip I came across was five seconds long.
Kirk was my age, 31. Born just half a year before me. He and I chose different paths in life. He was more politically active than I was in high school, and became a Tea Party activist instead of pursuing university like I did. I burned out for several years in my mid-20s; he was a CEO of Turning Point USA—an organization he founded. He continued to rise, and I did not.
Yet his legacy is one of fostering extremism, supporting fascism and spreading virulent hate. He tacitly supported white nationalism and I personally think calling him a Neo-Nazi is more accurate than not. Most poignantly now, he has a 2023 quote related to gun rights:
I can think of no better quote for his Epitaph. At the same time, he was someone shot and killed for speaking their mind. Retaliatory killings are a very real concept, and vengeance only leads to more vengeance. In a vacuum, I’m glad Kirk is dead. I hope he burns in Hell, but I hate that he was killed. In the greater context of our society, where a chunk of the population supported him—whether his right to speak, or his beliefs outright? This is one step closer to a war that’ll make our last civil war look quaint.
I’m reminded of a bit of information I’ve heard, about the Battle of New Orleans during the early 19th century. The British were attempting to reclaim land, and the nascent United States was on defense. Among the defenders was the famed French pirate Jean Lafitte, who had very unconventional yet impressively practical approaches to siege defense. He ordered the cannons on his ship to be brought to the walls, and instead of traditional ammo, they used whatever was laying around. Splintered wood, broken glass, rusty metal, random rocks—as long as it would survive the cannon fire, it was used.
The British were slaughtered. The Americans lost many troops as well, but those cannons created a hurricane of blood and gruesome death that embodied the true spirit of war. Death, bloodshed and carnage for no purpose but victory. The wisest course of action would have been for both armies to stand down and walk away. No one needed to have died, but unfortunately when the choice to fill cannons with broken glass is made, you’ve passed the point of wisdom. There’s no turning back.
Violence is the last resort. That means it is an option when all other options have failed, but we’re not there yet. We are close, and now closer — but killing a man for hosting a college speaking event isn’t the right call. When collective nonviolent action isn’t taken, some individuals will feel that violent action is the only recourse left. I’m glad Kirk is dead, but I wish it was because of his own stupidity and not someone else’s hand.
