Charles Kirk was an American right-wing political activist, author, and media personality. He was shot and killed on Sep 10, 2025. He was 31 years old and had 2 kids.
I only knew him some from debates online. I thought of this video of Charlie vs 25 progressives YouTube clip. The part I’m remembering is 20-30 seconds in where he gets beat and says essentially “that’s a really good point” and shook his hand. He’s a very fast debater and that setup made it even faster and his quick acknowledgment always just stuck with me.
Bumping this thread because I don’t understand why this discussion is only happening in the Pit.
I couldn’t stand Charlie Kirk. I also note that he was less than sympathetic about attacks on Democrats, war crimes etc. I feel no need to go into obituary mode, where we sugarcoat his life and opinions.
But I am still dismayed by this turn of events.
Even if these are just lone nutters, it’s sad that we have the twin threats of a government willing to trample human rights and individuals wanting to take matters into their own hands around every corner.
What’s been going on is a symptom of a bigger problem. This is just the latest sign we are becoming (or already are) an unhealthy nation, and many indicators are pointing downward, like we are on a slippery slope.
Klein’s article would have been appropriate in about 2012. It’s at least a decade too late now. He’s fighting the last war and doesn’t even realize it.
We are past the idea of a shared enterprise called “the USA”. We now have two roughly diametrically opposed enterprises sharing one plot of land. And that won’t work for long.
The title of the article is “Charlie Kirk was Practicing Politics the Right Way.”
Charlie Kirk who organized harassment campaigns, says women don’t deserve rights, and called the man that cracked Paul Pelosi’s skull with a hammer a patriot. You’re out of your mind.
Not even remotely. What Klein should have written would condense down to this
Kirk was an irresponsible propagandist espousing violence and hate and ignorance. He has now reaped what he has sown. The lesson for all of us should be that espousing violence and hate and ignorance is something no civilized person should ever do. And something everyone in the public should reject, not applaud. The harm to our society from his shooting is real. The harm from his actions to date is vastly greater. And that’s the real shame of this whole sordid affair.
Its fair to highlight how destructive, violent, and awful Kirk’s political actions and cause were. But as long as we still stay on the side of assassination is bad. (I think the SDMB is doing this).
It’s not that we “want” it. The fundamental problem is this line:
This is increasingly untrue in the US, and it’s largely the fault of the Republicans. They’re the ones who started screaming that every election they lost was rigged, and then made great efforts to rig elections themselves. When one side is actively trying to destroy the integrity of elections, you can’t be surprised that the other side stops “believing in the promise of the next election.”
And you can see it happening here, in some of the right-wing reactions to Kirk being killed. Without any actual evidence as to who the shooter is, and what motivated them, some prominent Republicans have blamed this all on the Democratic Party, and declared that they must be destroyed.