Nobody deserves to get shot, and violence is completely unacceptable. I fear this terrible incident is putting a target on everyone, left and right.
That said, nobody should get a pass for deliberately spreading destructive mistruths and lies, and everyone with a platform is ultimately responsible for their public pronouncements.
Mr. Kirk frequently dismissed concerns about climate change, even as polling showed that young conservative voters prioritize the issue. He said incorrectly that there was no scientific consensus on global warming.
He also rejected the idea that climate change posed an existential threat to humanity, describing it as “complete gibberish, nonsense and balderdash” in December 2024 to members of Turning Point UK, the British offshoot of Turning Point USA.
Last month, Mr. Kirk’s podcast featured Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has called global warming “not incredibly important.”
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I’ve made the connection many times between racism and climate denial, and Charlie Kirk fits the pattern. Mehdi Hassan has a collection of gems.
Black people
“Happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more.” (source)
Black pilots
“If I see a Black pilot, I’m gonna be like, ’Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’” (source)
Black women
“They’re coming out, and they’re saying, ‘I’m only here because of affirmative action.’ Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.” (source)
Civil rights
“We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the mid-1960s.” (source)
The death penalty
“[The death penalty] should be public, should be quick, should be televised… I think at a certain age, it’s an initiation… At what age should you start to see public executions?” (source)
Democrats
“The Democrat Party supports everything that God hates.” (source)
Empathy
“I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made up new age term that does a lot of damage.” (source)
Feminism
“Reject feminism. Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.” (source)
Gay people
“You might want to crack open that Bible of yours. In a lesser referenced part of the same part of scripture, is in Leviticus 18 is that, ‘thou shalt lay with another man shall be stoned to death.’ Just sayin’! So Miss Rachel, you quote Leviticus 19… the chapter before affirms God’s perfect law when it comes to sexual matters.” (source)
George Floyd
“This guy was a scumbag.” (source)
Great Replacement Theory
“It’s not a Great Replacement Theory, it’s a Great Replacement Reality. Just this year, 3.6 million foreigners will invade America. 10-15 million will enter by the end of Joe Biden’s term. Each will probably have 3-5 kids on average while native born Americans have 1.5 per couple. You are being replaced, by design.” (source)
Guns
“It’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment.” (source)
No, some people do deserve to get shot, and even that may be too quick a way out.
The fact that a Groyper did it is the best of all possible scenarios.
Even ignoring the Golden Rule, or that political violence has a long history of breeding more political violence – for every action, there is reaction. The shooter didn’t do liberals any favors. If anything, the right is even more sure they hold the moral high ground and that leftists are evil. The guy wrote petty and mean-spirited messages on his bullets. It pretty much rules out that he was a John Smith in the Dead Zone, doing something reluctantly, and because he felt he had no choice.
The chances that the left and right can come together for at least some common sense solutions (in climate change, for instance) is even more frayed today than it was just a week ago.
Plus, he’s made a martyr out of Kirk, which really sucks, and the fallout from this is going to be significant. There will be at least a hundred more guys like him in the future – and they’ll probably be worse to boot. The right will feel more and more justified in imposing proto-fascist steps:
https://x.com/RepClayHiggins/status/1966114479042593251
Groyper? All indications are that he was antifa. Or are you talking about Kirk there?
Groyper – ah, okay, I looked into that. It’s a possibility that the shooter was a Fuentes follower – but it’s not a certainty at this point.
Here’s the thing – if the shooter was far-right, the Trump Administration will not release that. It doesn’t serve their agenda. Nothing has come out since it actually happened over a year ago about the motives of the Trump shooter in Pennsylvania, who was almost certainly on the right politically. It’s a black hole in the media and from the government.
And practically, to most in the public, the bullet messages look for all the world like antifa rhetoric, even if they are actually highly obscure video game and Groyper memes.
If you look into the messaging that is used in the groyper movement you can see how the messages on the bullet casing match. Not only that, but the pepe the frog costume that the shooter wore matches the groypers. Now, there are reports he told the police that he follows Nick Fuentes and said he did not think Kirk was conservative enough. Fuentes and the groyper group did not like Kirk. The shooters dad wore a 3 percenters shirt. A lot of this is circumstantial. But there is more and it sure does look that way.
Beware motivated reasoning + internet rumors. There are also reports that his roommate was transgender and there’s a photo of him in a furry costume, which also matches one of the bullet’s inscriptions. Since the shooter is alive, his political alignment will probably come out in time one way or another, though (but don’t count on the Trump Administration to tell us he’s far right).
Certainly seems to have energized some of his followers:
“When you try to silence a voice like this, they don’t go away – you only amplify it,” the second-year student said. “There are now going to be a million Charlie Kirks, and I feel like that’s the thing that we need to do.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dxexl7glvo
While I never advocate for killing anyone at any time for any reason (this includes government death penalties), I see karma at work every day.
SHHH – Think it by all means, but not aloud if you work for the secret service or any other government body.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-secret-service-agent-put-on-leave-for-karma-post-after-charlie-kirk-s-murder/ar-AA1Muzp4
Private jobs, too:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-karens-go-full-cancel-culture-on-charlie-kirk-critics-by-trying-to-get-them-fired/
Needed to be put down.
Results most likely to be negative.
Ahh shit!