Charlie Kirk believed that gay people should be stoned to death, that the 1964 Civil Rights Act was a “huge mistake,” that we should legally be allowed to whip foreigners in the U.S., that Muslims only move here to destroy the country, that American Jews encourage anti-whiteness, that men should physically attack transgender people, that all women should submit to their husbands, and that Black professionals “steal” their jobs from more qualified white people.
Kirk used his massively influential, billionaire-funded “young conservative organization” Turning Point USA to spread these hateful views on a grand scale to a rising generation of copycat, crypto-fascist, edgelord trolls. And now that he’s been publicly slain in a horrific assassination, President Donald Trump has hailed Kirk as a “wonderful American” and a “martyr for truth and freedom.” Trump, gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), and others are flying flags at half-mast to commemorate him, and Kirk’s podcast bestie Gov. Gavin Newsom is telling people to “honor Charlie’s memory” by continuing his work.
Ummm… if I may be so bold to say: F**k that.
I didn’t celebrate Kirk’s death because I’m anti-murder (even when it happens to a**holes), and I legitimately feel sorry for his now fatherless young children and the numerous traumatized students who witnessed his slaughter. I’ve also warned friends that the lethal violence that ended Kirk’s life is regularly directed at political figures whom we do respect (and who could easily be killed next).
That being said, I did spend part of my evening yesterday making sure that my social media followers know what a bigot Kirk was and that it takes moral conviction and self-respect not to grieve him.
“When a public figure dies, you are not obligated to manufacture sorrow for someone who did not live in a way that earned your compassion,” wrote psychotherapist Dr. Dionne Mahaffey-Muhammad yesterday in a public Facebook post that I’ve begun sharing online. “There is a difference between refusing to speak ill of the dead and forcing yourself to honor a life that may have caused harm.”
“Choosing not to mourn someone who caused harm is not out of alignment with your spiritual beliefs,” she continued. “Grief is not a performance, and empathy is not an endless well. You are allowed to acknowledge limits. That doesn’t make you coldhearted, and it doesn’t mean you are wishing harm on anyone. It simply means you are being honest about your boundaries.”
At this point, I’ve heard more sympathy from the president and media about Kirk’s murder than I’ve heard about school shooting victims regularly gunned down in their classrooms, thousands of Palestinian civilians slaughtered in Gaza, or Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) being slain by a right-leaning assassin last June — as if Kirk’s life matters more than all of theirs. And then people wonder why some of us aren’t particularly saddened by the death of this one wealthy bigot.
We’re told we should be horrified because no one deserves to be murdered for their political beliefs, because Kirk’s killer is still at large, and because — in the words of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and countless others — “political violence has absolutely no place in our nation.”
But, as fellow journalist Hunter Walker pointed out yesterday, “Political violence has been a feature of American life from the Revolution, to the genocide of indigenous peoples, to slavery, mass lynching of Blacks and Latinos, the turmoil of the 60s, to mass shootings, to January 6, and Charlie Kirk’s killing.”
You’re telling me that I’m supposed to condemn the murder of a wealthy and politically super-connected bigot who spent every moment of his life actively vilifying and fomenting violence against the most marginalized among us, and then weep when his own hatred inevitably backfired against him?
Kirk’s murder is shocking, but no less shocking than the decades-long, state-sanctioned violence committed against whoever the police, the president, and other federal authorities consider to be worthy targets: We largely criminalize immigrants and the poor, neglect the sick and the old, and persecute those who protest for social justice, vilify them all as stupid and dangerous and then either jail them, mock them online, or otherwise leave them to rot.
We may not have viral video of these marginalized people being slaughtered (like Kirk was), but their brutalization and deaths — largely socially sanctioned and hidden away from public view — are no less horrific, brutal, or needless … and they’re far more worthy of social change pursued in their memory than the promised political retribution that’s about to erupt in Kirk’s memory.
You see, Kirk was part of a larger right-wing media echo-system that will continue to actively peddle violence and hate for dollars and clout. In that vein, just last night, President Trump used his own platform to blame leftists for Kirk’s death — even though investigators have yet to find the killer — and then promised to use the full power of his administration to find “those who contributed to [Kirk’s death] … including the organizations that fund it and support it.”
Trump’s threat to come after left-leaning activists and groups that accurately call out right-wing hatred would be far more shocking had he not used the last eight months of his presidency to declare war on Democratically-run cities; detain activists just for being pro-Palestinian; arrest people based entirely on their skin color and language; and persecute any groups with programs benefitting anyone other than cisgender, white, Christian men.
Meanwhile, Fox News’ own Jesse Watters said yesterday that the Left is “at war with us,” and asked his viewers, “What are we going to do about it?” ominously adding, “This is a turning point. And we know which direction we are going.”
So, no, I won’t be shedding any tears for Kirk, but neither will I mock those who feel sad, scared, angry, confused, or distraught at his terrible murder. It’s frightening all around, and one can feel horrified about his slaughter and what comes next while still ardently opposing the bigotry he stood for.
At this point, I am far worried about the groups who are about to be harmed in Kirk’s memory.
And I’m far more distraught that the huge, hateful (and wildly lucrative) right-wing media ecosystem that spawned him will continue to foment violence against foreigners, brown-skinned people, and the queers that they see as worthy targets, all while the government flies their flags at half-mast for a man who would’ve gladly considered my own death (and those of my neighbors, coworkers, and friends) as a proper and preferable part of American life.
