Charlie Kirk Shot

[Szdfan]

The man has not been dead for a day and can we not just be respectful until the funeral? Why must we point out all the negative as his family and others grieve?

I agree. I think the most constructive thing we can do right now is to respond in grief.

It also helps if we avoid asking questions or making challenges that end up steering the conversation toward the very debates we’d rather not have in this moment. That way, we leave room for lament and respect.

I think people are allowed to have complicated feelings about Kirk and his legacy. I think people should be allowed to express them. That’s part of grief too. It’s not tidy.

[R7ehr]

The handful of times I’ve watched him in college videos, he seemed to work quite hard at civility to his opponents, who in turn were outright profane and hateful to him. Kirk generally returned the hateful college broadsides he took with calmness and kindness.

I believe that there are quotes out there that “prove” he must have been a bad guy. But in comparison to the vast amount of material out there of his graciousness? Pretty small I bet.

Yes, I completely disagree with him trying to constantly marry the church and state. And I seem to remember Ken or someone on this forum showing Kirk flip flop hypocritically on some issue. I expect he did do those distasteful things. But - at least prior to a few years ago (I haven’t seen his stuff in recent years) - I think as a whole he was of pretty solid character and faith.
My impression has been that he was much less vacuous in character and faith than many of his contemporaries in that rightwing space he moved in.

Kirk also seemed to know a lot of the Bible. Clearly was familiar with it.

[Robert]

From what I have seen, Kirk often tried to be respectful toward the person directly in front of him. At the same time, he could be mocking or dismissive when speaking about those who weren’t in the room, using lines like “They are out to get you” or “Trump is the only thing standing between you and them.”

He sometimes framed churches as front lines in a battle, telling pastors they must “stand against them” or risk being complicit. That treats political opponents not as neighbors to love but as threats to defeat. He also used labels like “snowflakes” or “radicals who hate America,” turning contempt and mockery into a form of entertainment. Over time, this kind of rhetoric has become so normalized in some circles that many no longer notice it. Some even assume this is what churches are supposed to do, and view those who resist as unfaithful or suspect.

I think that kind of rhetoric draws hard enemy lines, stokes fear, and encourages hostility. To me, that feels at odds with Jesus’ call to love our enemies, to trust God, and to seek first the kingdom of God.

As we respond to events like this, we each choose which path we want to follow.

These are mild compared to what others and some in this thread has said about him. Again, can we give to a break for a couple of days out of respect for another human being who was murdered ruthlessly? I think we can and should.

[Robert]

I think people are allowed to have complicated feelings about Kirk and his legacy. I think people should be allowed to express them. That’s part of grief too. It’s not tidy.

We should exceed in our graciousness until the family has been able to bury him. Complicated or not, we should be able to be kind and gracious at least for a few days.

[Bootstrap]

I get it, some of you didnt care for the guy.

Actually, I kind of liked Charlie Kirk. He was intelligent, charming, and interesting — good at bringing people together, organized, disciplined. I disagreed with him about most things, but even so, I saw something to respect in who he was and how good he was at building a movement.

[Southerner]

I think people are allowed to have complicated feelings about Kirk and his legacy. I think people should be allowed to express them. That’s part of grief too. It’s not tidy.

We should exceed in our graciousness until the family has been able to bury him. Complicated or not, we should be able to be kind and gracious at least for a few days.

What a post! Do you know the funeral arrangements? I listened to him for hours...dead at 31.

[Southerner]

We have got to learn to disagree without being violently disagreeable.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I think the country is in shock. Charlie was/is a man of faith who has had opportunity few have endeavored to be a voice on college campuses, we hope and pray his death will make a difference as his life did. Sooo sorry for his wife & children.
Lord have mercy on America, we have listened our way.

As a millennial, I didn't find it shocking. Sad, but not shocking. For instance, 9/11 24 years ago was shocking to me.

[Southerner]

We have got to learn to disagree without being violently disagreeable.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Lord have mercy on America, we have listened our way.

"...we have listened our way."???

[Ken]

I think the country is in shock. Charlie was/is a man of faith who has had opportunity few have endeavored to be a voice on college campuses, we hope and pray his death will make a difference as his life did. Sooo sorry for his wife & children.
Lord have mercy on America, we have listened our way.

As a millennial, I didn't find it shocking. Sad, but not shocking. For instance, 9/11 24 years ago was shocking to me.

It has been on the news a lot the past 24 hours. But I doubt that even 10% of Americans even knew who he was. He mostly had a very partisan online following but that is a small fraction of the country.

[Southerner]

I think the country is in shock. Charlie was/is a man of faith who has had opportunity few have endeavored to be a voice on college campuses, we hope and pray his death will make a difference as his life did. Sooo sorry for his wife & children.
Lord have mercy on America, we have listened our way.

As a millennial, I didn't find it shocking. Sad, but not shocking. For instance, 9/11 24 years ago was shocking to me.

It has been on the news a lot the past 24 hours. But I doubt that even 10% of Americans even knew who he was. He mostly had a very partisan online following but that is a small fraction of the country.

Agreed, no one in my sphere knew him.