# Had you heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2025, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003 "2025-09-13T02:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/81 "2025-09-14T10:42:00Z")
“Christian nationalist/authoritarian shot by Nazi” is [not without precedent](https://time.com/archive/6894848/austria-death-for-freedom/). ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/82 "2025-09-14T11:28:37Z")
Heard him briefly, and unremarkably probably on Youtube scrolling. I also did watch the South Park Episode with him when it aired. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/83 "2025-09-14T11:30:08Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Presuming to comment on why the sewer is overflowing and nobody is doing anything about it, however, requires some basic knowledge about septic systems; otherwise it devolves into mere venting To be fair, that might suffice. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/84 "2025-09-14T11:54:38Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Disagree strongly. If you don’t know about the violent schisms on the right… I think it’s suffisent to know that there are such schisms, without knowing (before the event) the particulars, Also, Nick who? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/85 "2025-09-14T13:09:52Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Awareness of the schisms, by contrast, lets you recognize that the attack on Kirk was just as likely, if not more, to come from further right, and inoculates you against the propaganda. Huh. I am also on the “Nick who?” side of things yet my first thought after hearing that a RW celebrity influencer was shot was “I bet it is someone farther or different right …” (And my next was guessing that it more likely it isn’t really political at all, just a crazy person glomming onto someone in their news feed.) There are schisms on the Right!?! Amazingly most of already know this without giving a rat’s ass about who the specific player’s are. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/86 "2025-09-14T13:18:53Z")
I’d hear of him, in fact I was fairly familiar with his schtick, but I never really gave him much nevermind. I always just placed him in the same old group of internet shit-stirrers we’ve seen for the last decade or so. I thought he was full of shit and a downright shitty person for making money off his awful bullshit. But I cried when I saw his neck explode. That was awful. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/87 "2025-09-14T13:19:01Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Disagree strongly. If you don’t know about the violent schisms on the right, it would be easy to make the superficial assumption that Kirk’s assassin was motivated by simple left-right opposition, and to accept right-wing propaganda to that effect. Awareness of the schisms, by contrast, lets you recognize that the attack on Kirk was just as likely, if not more, to come from further right, and inoculates you against the propaganda. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to unwittingly vote Republican because I fail to understand the true motive of Kirk’s killer. I’m hard pressed to think of _anything_ that could happen that would make me vote for a Republican. But also, I am following the story now, so I am no more in the dark about the killer’s motive than anyone else. I very recently subscribed to the New York Times in an attempt to abandon my Google News feed, so maybe, given time, I would have eventually heard of this person. I am not on social media (unless you count the Dope) because I have a serious problem with compulsive social media use. My husband did know about Kirk, but he didn’t consider him anymore influential than say, Jordan Peterson. I know Peterson, Rogan, and probably some others if name-dropped. I’m more interested in the man-o-sphere stuff, the tech bros, incels, PUAs etc. This is another on-ramp to right-wing extremism. Kirk sounds like a raging asshole, but it also sounds like he genuinely valued free speech. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/88 "2025-09-14T13:28:44Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Kirk sounds like a raging asshole, but it also sounds like he genuinely valued free speech. Oh, no no no. Not at all. He and his organization maintained hit lists of academics and other left-leaning intellectuals, doxxing them regularly so their mob of cultists could generate relentless pressure to shut down and obstruct those people’s ability to express themselves. He created a straw man of free speech by “debating” selected _college kids_ who were unprepared for his avalanche of fallacies. He had less than zero interest in facing an actual argument with qualified opponents in the marketplace of ideas. He was not any kind of free speech believer. He was a dangerous christofascist. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/89 "2025-09-14T13:35:17Z")
Okay, so a typical MAGA, then. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/90 "2025-09-14T14:57:17Z")
Over the years I’ve run into the “It can’t be important because I never heard of it” attitude around here a lot. I’m sure it’s everywhere but I’m not everywhere. I will say it’s better than “It can’t be true because I never heard of it.” > [@JKellyMap](#): > > > [@Cervaise](#): > > > > Disagree strongly. If you don’t know about the violent schisms on the right… > > I think it’s suffisent to know that there are such schisms, without knowing (before the event) the particulars, > > Also, Nick who? Knowing the particulars about the destruction of the SA leading to the rise of the SS isn’t important as you go to your job and go to the supermarket and hang out with your family. It is important if you want to understand the most critical events of the last 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/91 "2025-09-14T16:14:02Z")
For the record, I also have never heard of Nick, Laura, or Stephen. Ben Shapiro I’ve heard of before merely due to having seen his name on here before, that’s the extent of it, I couldn’t have told you anything about him other than “I’ve seen that name mentioned”. Then again, I’m one of the least political people in the US, I think and don’t follow politics. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/92 "2025-09-14T16:37:27Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If you mean how it affects your life on a daily basis probably not. But if you don’t understand how Kirk and a few others are important than there is no way you can understand politics today. I have to ask, why is it important to understand politics today? I could get by with the simple mantra “Democrats: good. Republicans: bad” and ignore everything else. My life would hardly change at all, but I’d be a lot less angry at the world. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/93 "2025-09-14T16:43:29Z")
I am long past having any desire to understand politics. I have limited time and energy and don’t want to spend it aggravating myself unnecessarily. I will always vote Democrat until the day I die. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/94 "2025-09-14T16:47:04Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > If you mean how it affects your life on a daily basis probably not. But if you don’t understand how Kirk and a few others are important than there is no way you can understand politics today. > > I have to ask, why is it important to understand politics today? I could get by with the simple mantra “Democrats: good. Republicans: bad” and ignore everything else. My life would hardly change at all, but I’d be a lot less angry at the world. Ditto. I don’t know why breathlessly following all the insanity of various online rwnjs would do me any good whatsoever. What am I supposed to “understand” about them? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/95 "2025-09-14T16:54:14Z")
I’ll freely admit I don’t understand our current politics. It’s a puzzle, that’s for sure. Learning more about Charlie Kirk over the past few days hasn’t illuminated the situation to any significant degree. It all boils down to “too many voters are evil and/or stupid.” Kirk spoke to those voters. I knew someone was. Now I know who. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/96 "2025-09-14T16:55:38Z")
I had never heard of Kirk before he was killed, so I am puzzled by all of the fuss. To relieve my ignorance I spent this morning watching YouTube videos. Amid the trash there are some videos that cover entire debates. The best I watched was Cambridge 400 + 1 Professor. Kirks schtick is that he can maintain his composure no matter what the exchange. He smoothly uses deflection and ad hominem in place of facts and logic and when challenged retreats to the shelter of western christian morality. Kirk was performing, the students were debating. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/97 "2025-09-14T17:37:26Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > If you mean how it affects your life on a daily basis probably not. But if you don’t understand how Kirk and a few others are important than there is no way you can understand politics today. > > I have to ask, why is it important to understand politics today? I could get by with the simple mantra “Democrats: good. Republicans: bad” and ignore everything else. My life would hardly change at all, but I’d be a lot less angry at the world. It is my sincerest wish that your life remains unchanged due to politics. My day to day life has largely remained unchanged by current politics. That hasn’t been the case with many. And some of us want to be aware when things get worse. Things can always get worse. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/98 "2025-09-14T17:42:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > > [@suranyi](#): > > > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > > > If you mean how it affects your life on a daily basis probably not. But if you don’t understand how Kirk and a few others are important than there is no way you can understand politics today. > > > > I have to ask, why is it important to understand politics today? I could get by with the simple mantra “Democrats: good. Republicans: bad” and ignore everything else. My life would hardly change at all, but I’d be a lot less angry at the world. > > It is my sincerest wish that your life remains unchanged due to politics. My day to day life has largely remained unchanged by current politics. That hasn’t been the case with many. And some of us want to be aware when things get worse. Things can always get worse.. Speaking for myself I have family and friends I am concerned about. I remain sufficiently aware to take action/warn if needed but I don’t feel the need to immerse myself in the minutia of it all. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/99 "2025-09-14T17:48:15Z")
Of course, things might affect me badly. In fact there is a very good chance that my health insurance premium will skyrocket because of the ending of certain ACA credits. But if it happens there is absolutely zero I could have done to prevent it, aside from voting straight Democrats, which I already do. It’s not that I think politics doesn’t affect me, it’s that I think I have no control over politics anyway. The history of humanity will do whatever it does. For good or bad. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/100 "2025-09-14T18:13:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It is my sincerest wish that your life remains unchanged due to politics. Piling on … of course my life is being impacted by politics. That really is not the issue. My life is _not_ however impacted by my knowing the names of the specific current monkeys throwing which exact Bristol chart sorts of shit. Now I think my political leadership and their operatives formulating strategies and tactics should know that level of detail. Those specifics though neither interest me nor present me with anything _actionable_ for _me._ Here’s the thing though asking around - when the news first reported on this I thought I must be amazingly out of it to not have known who Kirk had been. But asking others at work and in my circles the numbers here are pretty typical. He is a big name if you are in the MAGA social feeds or follow who is with bated breath, but large numbers of us in the middle who reliably vote and generally pay above average attention to political and world events have been busy enough reading and learning about other things than spats between RW provocateurs and who has the biggest feeds. He is both more well known than I had realized and much less than you think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003.md?page=6)