The Murder of Charlie Kirk

Right-wing influencer and shouting head Charlie Kirk, the head of the conservative youth movement Turning Point USA and vocal supporter of Der Furor, was murdered yesterday afternoon during a speech at Utah Valley University. 

Any murder is a heinous crime, and yet there are those who will celebrate Mr Kirk’s death. He was, after all, a mouthpiece for hateful political views, and was once quoted as saying 

"I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe." 

I wonder if he ever thought that he would end up as one of those whose death was rational and worth it.

Although I detested Charlie Kirk and everything he stood for, there is no - I repeat - no excuse for political violence in this country. When we have national leadership that not only excuses the violence of January 6th, 2021, but pardons and glorifies the participants, we encourage political violence at the expense of rational discourse. When the Air Force grants a funeral with full military honors for Ashli Babbitt, a woman who traitorously stormed the nation's capitol, we encourage political violence at the expense of rational discourse. When we fail to denounce the murder of political figures of any party, we encourage political violence at the expense of rational discourse. 

Political violence today seems to be excusable when it's one's own partisans who engage in it, but horrible when it's the other side that does it.

This has to end, but I doubt that anyone - particularly on the extreme MAGA right - will see it as a problem. It is, after all, the ultimate owning of the libs.

We would do well to remember the words of John Donne in his famous poem "No Man Is an Island:"

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

We need to stop the tolling of the bell.

Have a good day. Denounce all political violence, no matter who is engaging in it. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo