September 10th

by: @shadesofpunky

Today is the 24^th anniversary of 9/11, which is already a hard day for many Americans. Yesterday the world watched Charlie Kirk be assassinated in cold blood while doing what he loved; speaking to young people on a college campus. We saw the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte light-rail, and before that we saw the absolute agony of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting. The previous few weeks have been brutal.

I followed Kirk on Twitter, but I don’t think I ever saw an entire speech or lecture he gave. I’ve seen many clips of him speaking over the years and he was a highly gifted speaker. His ability to remain calm, polite and treat the other speakers with dignity and grace is unparalleled. Even when the person asking him questions or debating with him was blatantly hostile to him. Charlie stayed calm and spoke beautifully from the heart with truth and wisdom. 

I feel his death hit me so hard because it was so senseless and tragic. Charlie was all about dialogue; talking, having an exchange of ideas, even if they were opposing view points. He didn’t hesitate to walk onto a college campus and answer questions. Charlie was the best of us in his ability to stand before a crowd and keep talking even if no one else agreed with him. He was the guy having a ‘national conversation’, and he was executed. 

As of the writing of this, the shooter has not been found. The FBI apparently has ‘good images’ of the shooter. And they have palm prints, shoe impressions, the gun used and other evidence that is being analyzed right now. I truly hope the FBI finds the person or people who killed Charlie, but the identity of the person doesn’t really matter. Their name will never matter as much as his will. Charlie Kirk is a name that will forever be remembered. The shooter will never understand what they took from us. To the shooter, Charlie was just a guy who said things they didn’t like. To his family he was their whole world, a father and husband. He was a devoted servant of God. He was a beloved son. 

Charlie won’t get to see his children’s first days of school or their accomplishments. He won’t be there for the big questions, or to share the joy of watching his children grow with his wife as they take their first steps into the big wide world as adults. He will never get to see prom, or a graduation. He won’t be able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He won’t get to teach his son what it means to be a man, a father, and a husband.

I’ve seen a lot of social media posts from Democrats/Liberals talking about ‘turning down the temperature’ and the ‘rhetoric’. Amusing considering it was that side of the aisle which regularly called Charlie a ‘Nazi’ and ‘fascist’, despite the fact he was neither of those things. Starting as far back as President Obama, the left took a position that half of us were “bitter Americans who cling to our guns and religion.” Hillary famously called us an “Irredeemable basket of deplorables” and Biden referred to us as “dregs of society” Add in the dozens and hundreds of political commentators, reporters and journalists who called us ‘white nationalists’ for believing in God and country. For over a decade the left, including politicians have called Donald Trump “Hitler” or that he was a “fascist”. 

You can’t say those things and not have the wrong kind of person take them as more than political venom. 

They take it as gospel truth and act on it. 

We saw that in Butler, PA a year ago when Trump was nearly assassinated on national TV. Now we must live with the images of seeing Charlie killed in a similar fashion. Gunned down while giving a speech. Using words to convey his position and emotions. Not screaming for violence. Not telling people to get in the faces of politicians. Not burning down cities in protest. Not looting or destroying businesses. Following the heinous death of Charlie Kirk you saw candlelight vigils and calls to pray for the family. You did not see businesses boarding up their stores or writing notes pleading with people not to destroy their livelihood. 

Because despite what the media tells you, the Right isn’t the side of violence. 

Sure there are people on the ‘right’ who think every person who cheered about Charlie’s death should be arrested, fired, or banned from social media. But if you listened to even ten minutes of Charlie Kirk speak, you know he would be wholly opposed to taking away someone’s ability to share their own point of view, even if their ideals do not match ours. Charlie would not want his death to be the reason to take away someone’s voice, so we must honor that.

Do not be violent, but protect yourself and your family. Do not be hateful; but understand that they will not hesitate to put you in the crosshairs for your views, your opinions, your politics. Charlie has said before “What we have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option.” I truly hope that if nothing else, his death will help make people remember that it’s okay to not have the same views. It’s okay to have different opinions and politics. We can’t immediately condemn someone or use violence just because we voted differently, or we believe in God and they don’t. Our differences shouldn’t divide us as much as they should bring us together in a tapestry of humanity.