# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/101 "2025-09-14T18:59:04Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Several people have mentioned Nick Fuentes. I wonder how many know that Fuentes and Kirk had a long running fued. So far unconfirmed reports are saying the shooter was a Groyper, one of Nick Fuentes minions. This I had not heard about. If you’re interested in a quai-real time discussion about Kirk, Fuentes, and Groyperism, you might want to skim the Talk page on the Wikipedia article: “Killing of Charlie Kirk”. In the middle of it (after a long discussion of whether the article should be moved to “Assassination of Charlie Kirk”; Wikipedia at its pedantic best!), there’s a section on Fuentes and Groyperism, and how the markings on the bullets should be interpreted: > **[Talk:Killing of Charlie Kirk | Nick Fuentes groyper news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Killing_of_Charlie_Kirk#Nick_Fuentes_groyper_news)** > > It might be time to start discussing this one. We've been getting a lot of news pieces over the past two hours about the shooter's connection to the Nick Fuentes groyper movement. Which also explains why Kirk would be the target, since they loathe him. There will likely be more mainstream coverage as such soon, so we might as well talk about this now for what and how info will be included. > Some examples of coverage: > 1.What Is a 'Groyper? What to Know About Nick Fuentes' Alt-Right Movement - Ne... (Link to specific topic included to spare you from having to wade through the killing v assassination debate.) ---
**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, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/102 "2025-09-14T21:08:05Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > 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.” That and, “I know about it, therefore it must be important.” Everybody has to do their own calculus about the extent to which they want to inundate themselves with information that enrages and terrifies them. I’m more sensitive than most, just “knowing” certain things causes me to lose sleep at night and distracts me from my job. The day Charlie Kirk was shot, I was so upset I was unable to get any work done. I think a lot of people confuse knowing something with having control over it. And I think they very frequently cross the line between knowing about something and ruminating pointlessly about it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/103 "2025-09-14T22:25:01Z")
As a friend of mine said after the Haiti earthquake: “Write a cheque, send it to disaster relief, and try to forget about it. Some other terrible thing will be along soon.” ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/104 "2025-09-15T04:27:33Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Not asked to me, but I’m of the opinion Kirk was better known overall than Miller. Yes, Miller sucks, but it’s because he keeps being in Trump’s administration. Kirk did manage to build his own organization (not solo, of course) and was active independently. Among those not steeped in Conservative media, I think Miller is probably better known, due to him being one of Trump’s top lieutenants since the first term, being the chief architect of his immigration policy, and looking like he came straight out of central casting for “evil henchman.” Anyway, I had heard of Charlie Kirk before, and had even heard some of his more infamous quotes, though prior to last week I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you who specifically said those quotes, only that it was some MAGA chud. I also doubt I would have been able to pick him out of a line-up before the shooting. ---
**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 16, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/105 "2025-09-16T17:22:09Z")
I also want to point out the rotating cast of characters that have always been around Trump and who eventually get fired or resigned. The turnover is so high, it’s hard for me to keep up with them all. Maybe a memory problem. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/106 "2025-09-16T18:17:21Z")
I had _heard_ of Charlie Kirk, but didn’t really know anything specific about him. He was mentally filed away in the same “Pay No Attention To” folder as Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, Steve Doocy, and other right-wing media christian-conservative blowhards that I don’t follow. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/107 "2025-09-16T19:45:42Z")
I was visiting my parents last week. When it came on the news, we all looked at each other. I broke the silence with “who the hell is Charlie Kirk?” My parents both shrugged. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/108 "2025-09-16T19:53:29Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > 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. Thanks for taking the bullet so i don’t have to watch him. I appreciate your description. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/109 "2025-09-20T05:17:21Z")
I knew of him, and the only US political news I consume is from brief, infrequent forays into P&E here on the SDMB - when I had read all the others. I did not know what he looked like; but I think I could punch that face with a degree of pleasure. Well. Not anymore, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003/110 "2025-09-20T14:47:36Z")
I had heard _of_ him, but he has such a generic name that it never stuck. Had someone posted about Charlie Kirk and what he said on his right wing podcast, I would be like “Yep, that sounds about right, I sort of remember that name”, but had you told me that he was a liberal TV opinion anchor, I would not have disagreed with that, either. Not so for a lot of other names in the same space that are more distinctive. For instance, I definitely know who Nick Fuentes is. Although possibly that’s cheating because one of the reasons I remember is because I always misread his name at first as _Vic_ Fuentes, lead singer of Pierce the Veil. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-you-heard-of-charlie-kirk-before-he-was-killed/1023003.md?page=5)