@kaufman

Charlie Kirk usually showed up on my social media feeds in videos where he confronted college students who vehemently disagreed with him, engaging in debate that — whether you felt it was in good faith or not — did often demonstrate opposing views of real issues in this country, albeit from a heavily partisan perspective. More recently I saw videos of him going head to head with right-wing antisemites, whose arguments about Jews controlling everything Kirk ripped apart. Seeing that helped me appreciate where he stood in broader right-wing political discourse — a populist, no doubt, but not one so craven as to abandon his principles to go to the furthest extremes his audience may go. His death is a tragedy. The photos of him with his kids made my stomach drop, and the videos of his shooting are going to haunt me for a long time. His death is an ominous sign of worsening political violence, a disease afflicting both sides of the spectrum. Consider the Palestinian child murdered in Chicago, and the Jews assassinated in D.C. and flamethrowered in Colorado. Recall the Democratic lawmakers killed in June in Minnesota, the assault on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the attempted kidnapping of Gretchen Whitmer. Think about all the incidents of drivers plowing into protesters in the street. We cannot sustain a democracy if people who peacefully gather to express their views and try to persuade others fear assassination. All that does is push evermore political discourse onto the social media platforms where vile extremism thrives. I pray those in power who knew and loved Kirk will honor the best part of his legacy by resisting the urge to carry out revenge or quash dissenting speech.

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