In 2025 believing that all people are equally valuable is difficult.
The student at school. The shopper at Walmart. The parishioner at church. The racist, sexist, bigoted guy at a speaking event. They are all people who should be safe because they are people.
Someone could be the most vile human on the planet, and I still do not believe they deserve a violent death.
And.
My compassion is limited. My empathy is restricted. How much harm does someone do before I refuse to grieve their violent death?
- “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.”
- “Interestingly, I think there’s an argument to bring back the ‘MRS degree.’”
- “There’s a lot of violent fantasies, unfortunately, among the trans radicals.”
- “The trans movement is almost on a jihad. They have been told that people like us want them dead and I’m afraid they’re on some sort of unholy crusade.”
- “We are such a decent, not racist country, that the incentive structure is to fake your own hate crime.”
- Transgender people are a “throbbing middle finger to God.”
- “Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.”
- “MLK was awful. He’s not a good person.”
- “This is a Christian state. I’d like to see it stay that way.”
- “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.”
- “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”
These are just a sample of quotes from Charlie Kirk. While a few quotes do not summarize someone’s life, they do indicate the amount of hate he had in his heart for those he did not agree with. And he shared it with millions of followers.
And.
No one deserves to die a violent death. I saw the video – what a gruesome way to leave this world. As horrible as his views were, he was a person. Even if he denied my humanity as a progressive American woman, I will continue to value his.
And.
I will not grieve for him. I feel content with this. However, I feel unsteady as I see those who cry tears over this man they never knew. How much harm does someone do before I judge those who grieve him?
I don’t know.
I open my social media the afternoon of September 10th, and I see tribute after tribute after tribute to a man who I knew of as an angry radical influencer. The people posting these tributes? I know them to be kind. I know some of them care about inclusivity. They serve people in our community who struggle the most. They are compassionate. They are not bad people…
And.
I’ve never seen them post about a national violent death. Not the Covenant shooting in Nashville. The Annunciation Catholic Church shooting. Not the assassination of Melissa Hortman, former Speaker of the House in Minnesota. Not the school shooting that happened the same day in Colorado. They have never publicly declared how terrible these losses of lives are.
And they definitely do not post about Palestine. Over 60,000 Gazans, including Christians, have been killed by Israel. They never publicly declare how terrible this loss of life is.
But.
Their favorite podcaster, political pundit, and founder of Turning Point USA is shot and NOW they care about the loss of life. NOW they care about the violence that guns cause. NOW they care about the children who do not have a father due to a gun. NOW they care about freedom of speech because a man they agreed with was attacked.
I am seeing post after post after post talking about how his death proves that the First Amendment is in danger. That people with conservative views are not protected by it and cannot express their viewpoints safely. I have no desire to analyze the meaning of the First Amendment, but I will leave it here:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
If you supported Charlie Kirk and currently support this Administration, I urge you to think about what the First Amendment actually means for everyone – not just for you and your views. What does it mean for people who protest this Administration? What does it mean for people who do not look like you? What does it mean for those who are not Christian? While this might be the first time you have seen someone who looks and thinks like you be killed, it is not the first time we have.
You are allowed to grieve for a person who expressed views I find abhorrent. People are complicated. If you felt a personal connection to him, there’s likely nothing I can say to change that.
And.
I beg you to also grieve for everyone else who dies preventable, violent deaths.
I beg you to also care about the First Amendment rights of people different from you.
If I can believe all people are equally valuable, I promise that you can too.
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