The reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk from the left side of the aisle as compared to the right side of the aisle is about what you would think it would be. The left demonstrates happiness saying he got what he deserved. Even those that say no one deserves to be shot will still say he was an inflammatory, divisive, polarizing figure. The right side of the aisle held peaceful vigils and condemned the shooting.
I have a few observations since the media is trying to push the narrative that Donald Trump's hateful rhetoric along with the hateful speech engaged in by Kirk led to his death.
Politicians and public figures on the left side of the aisle have engaged in the divisive, hateful speech that they put on Charlie Kirk. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Maxine waters, and members of the squad have all said that their supporters must do whatever it takes to fight against Donald Trump and his brand of fascism, Naziism, or tyranny. They have claimed that Donald Trump is not following the law although it has been shown clearly that he is enforcing laws passed by many of these people that have not been enforced for years. This rhetoric will push people that are already mentally unstable to take action to protect themselves.
Reverend Al Sharpton said that it was time to take any means necessary to fight the Maga forces. He said they may have all the guns but I have a slingshot and a rock and we know what can happen in the hands of a determined person with a slingshot and a rock.
Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi told their followers that anytime they saw someone with a Maga hat or someone that they knew to be a conservative they should not let them be comfortable in public. Harass them in the restaurant so that they know they are not welcome there. Harass them in the store so they know that we do not want their money.
When George Floyd was killed, his supporters or supporters of the black lives matter movement that was created as a result of his death, rioted. They destroyed the property of people that had nothing to do with George Floyd. They attacked people simply because of what they looked like not knowing if those people were there to support them or not.
When Charlie died, people held peaceful vigils. One such gathering in Idaho saw a man who supports LGBTQ rights begin filming himself as he approached the peaceful crowd. He rode his bicycle into the crowd knocking a couple of people down and began yelling and screaming at them. This was planned to disrupt them because he did not like Charlie.
One social media "influencer" who claimed to be the biggest thorn in Charlie's side even though he only has about 10,000 followers, called for people on his side of the political spectrum to calm down. While he said he would not miss Charlie, his fellow liberals must understand that they have given conservatives a green light to assassinate one of their political figures. It might be Alexandria Ocasio Cortez or Bernie Sanders because they are supporting political violence against conservatives. He completely projects the attitudes and actions of the left wing upon everybody else. We don't riot. We don't threaten people.
Several media figures have said it's now time to have a national conversation, a civil discourse, about the things that are dividing America. They wonder who will step forward to lead that movement. Well the person that stepped forward from the conservative side of the aisle was just assassinated. Charlie went anywhere and everywhere offering to debate anyone that disagreed with him. And when those people stepped forward, he treated them with respect and made sure that their points were heard. And then he would counter their opinion in a polite manner.
On the morning before he was killed, I was watching a snippet of his current disappearances. A young lady stepped forward wearing a homemade T-shirt with a collage of Charlie's pictures, a couple of Nazi swastikas, and the words 'F**k Charlie Kirk'. The first thing she said when Charlie acknowledged her T-shirt was, "this offends you, doesn't it? I can tell you are offended!". It did not offend Charlie. In fact, it amused him, because he was living in her head rent free. More importantly, he defended her right to say what she wanted and pointed out that for her to offend him, she would have to be right about him and he would have to care about her opinion.
Finally, to those people in our community who have blamed Donald Trump and his supporters for the actions of this assassin because of our so-called hate speech, if you believe that this is an appropriate response to someone with whom you disagree or says something that offends you, thank whatever God or fairy or deity you pray to that we do not hold the same principles or values that you do.
