Charlie Kirk Shot

[Grace]

Praxis+Theodicy
Commentators (including Kirk) have spent several years now demonizing the concept of empathy and encouraged dehumanization of people who are outside the demographic of the "correct" sort of American.

Blaming the victim (Charlie Kirk) for his own brutal murder is just wrong on so many levels. What is more dehumanizing than being killed for ones' beliefs?

[Ken]

Just a few comments:

#1. This was not a "mass shooting".

#2. This was not a "school shooting".

#3. This was an assassination, performed by a professional.

#4. The assassin landed a shot from 200 yeards - no simple feat - and successfully got away. This indicates a professional assassin, possibly with additional support to get away.

Those who choose to try to make this about "school shootings", "mass shootings", or gun control simply reveal their own political agendas.,

We don't actually know any of that yet.

The nutcase who shot at Trump in PA made a similar distance shot from a rooftop using an AR-15 with a laser sight that his daddy bought him. He was a garden-variety mentally ill 20 year old with incoherent politics whose parents bought him weapons. So basically the same exact profile of many school shooters (someone who should never have been near a weapon) and certainly not any kind of professional assassin.

[barnhart]

Praxis+Theodicy
Commentators (including Kirk) have spent several years now demonizing the concept of empathy and encouraged dehumanization of people who are outside the demographic of the "correct" sort of American.

Blaming the victim (Charlie Kirk) for his own brutal murder is just wrong on so many levels. What is more dehumanizing than being killed for ones' beliefs?

Grace, we rarely agree but on this point I think you are right.

[QuietlyListening]

This was posted on Facebook by a guy we know at church, and had to agree with what he said

I stay out of politics as a matter of practice, but the assassination yesterday compels me to say a few words.

Someone far wiser than I’ll ever be once said that if you hate someone, you’ve already murdered them in your heart. We saw that play out in real time yesterday. We don’t know the exact motive yet, but for whatever reason, hate led to a finger on a trigger and a bullet in a neck. It is right to grieve for the loss, grieve for his family, and grieve for a society which promotes such hatred of those with whom you disagree.

But the same man of infinite wisdom also said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”. He then lived that message when he was being murdered, praying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We would do well to follow this example.

And as the arguments about what policies or ideologies are to blame for this unfold, we already know who’s to blame for this.

I am.
And so are you.

Every time we attack our fellow countrymen and despise those on the “other side”, we cultivate the same hatred that put a shooter on a roof, for not the first time in the last 365 days. Every time we let our echo chambers convince us that those who vote differently from us are out to destroy the country, we come one step closer to another would-be assassin looking at a public figure through a scope.

We are the problem, and we are the only ones who can fix it. And the solution hasn’t changed from 2000 years ago. “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

[Praxis+Theodicy]

Praxis+Theodicy
Commentators (including Kirk) have spent several years now demonizing the concept of empathy and encouraged dehumanization of people who are outside the demographic of the "correct" sort of American.

Blaming the victim (Charlie Kirk) for his own brutal murder is just wrong on so many levels. What is more dehumanizing than being killed for ones' beliefs?

Are you accusing me of blaming Kirk for his own murder? I'm sorry if it came off that way; it was not my intention. I was not thinking or writing about blame at all. If you meant that towards someone else (though you quoted me), I agree with you. With rare exceptions (I've heard of people hiring hitmen to target themselves as a sort of assisted suicide), no one is to blame for their own homicide.

[Bootstrap]

Blaming the victim (Charlie Kirk) for his own brutal murder is just wrong on so many levels. What is more dehumanizing than being killed for ones' beliefs?

Amen. And there are people out there doing that right now. Let's not be like them.

And while many disagreed strongly with Kirk, it seems fair to say the controversy was not simply about his beliefs but often about the way he expressed them. That’s a good reminder for all of us to be thoughtful in how we express our own convictions.

Praxis+Theodicy
Commentators (including Kirk) have spent several years now demonizing the concept of empathy and encouraged dehumanization of people who are outside the demographic of the "correct" sort of American.

I don't think that's what P&T was doing. I think it's really easy to read into what other people write here, and this is a very emotional time, so let's be gentle with each other. I hope we can assume good intentions and keep the focus on caring for one another in the middle of grief and anger.

I think it’s really helpful to let ourselves mourn and grieve and face our fears and anxieties head-on. That kind of honesty builds insight and strengthens relationships. When we don’t allow space for grief, it often leaks out sideways in denial, anger, or division—and that ends up wounding the very relationships we need most right now.

[JohnL]

It would be dark indeed…but I’m not sure we know enough to assert this motive just yet.

The man who shot president Reagan wanted to impress a movie star. People are very complex.

It is also okay to let people vent a little without having to correct them.

We grieve and express ourselves in those moments. Constant correction minimizes the grief process. It actually builds frustration and with frustration, people often strike out in pain for vengeance.

Sometimes it best to just shut up and listen.

Again, THANK YOU, ROBERT.

[Grace]

Praxis+Theodicy
Commentators (including Kirk) have spent several years now demonizing the concept of empathy and encouraged dehumanization of people who are outside the demographic of the "correct" sort of American.

Blaming the victim (Charlie Kirk) for his own brutal murder is just wrong on so many levels. What is more dehumanizing than being killed for ones' beliefs?

Are you accusing me of blaming Kirk for his own murder? I'm sorry if it came off that way; it was not my intention. I was not thinking or writing about blame at all. If you meant that towards someone else (though you quoted me), I agree with you. With rare exceptions (I've heard of people hiring hitmen to target themselves as a sort of assisted suicide), no one is to blame for their own homicide.

You accused commentators, including Charlie Kirk of "demonizing the concept of empathy and encouraged dehumanization of people who are outside the demographic of the "correct" sort of American". To me that sounds like indirectly blaming Kirk for his own assassination, due to his rhetoric.

However, if I read too much into that comment, I apologize. Sometimes I write things, and I don't express my thoughts in a clear concise manner. If that was the case in your post, I also apologize for not understanding.

[Jazman]

#3. This was an assassination, performed by a professional.

#4. The assassin landed a shot from 200 yards - no simple feat - and successfully got away. This indicates a professional assassin, possibly with additional support to get away.

Is there additional info that hasn't reached me yet? It sounds like it was a sniper from this description. For some reason I was under the impression it was a close range attack. This means it was WAY more pre-planned than I had understood.

I'm sure this was planned, but 200 meters is not exactly a hard shot. Most hunters could do it with a 22 without too much difficulty. Marines train at 500 meters with the M16. I could hit a soda can at 200 meters with a 22. Beats me if I still could given my tremor. Likely done with tripod in a near by building. Preplanned egress.
Seriously, its not like they had dedicated secret service ready to go, likely it was campus security and then 911 dispatch police. The shooter would have had several minutes to leave and unless someone saw them...

And a pretty easy walk-in, setup... considering Utah is an open-carry-on-campus state. It's probably not uncommon, at certain venues/certain states to see open-carry bros walking around at CK events... This is why, unlike Charlie, I support gun controls/restrictions/accountability. And his death has further solidified my desire for policy changes, for cultural (hearts&minds) changes and american Church thinking & attitude changes regarding guns...

CK and his family did not deserve this and this isn't a right way to deal with any political/cultural opponent; none of the recent assassinations or attempts are/were deserved, including the recent Democrats killed.

[Robert]

I share your grief, and I do think we can honor Charlie Kirk’s courage and the good we saw in his efforts. At the same time, I don’t think “asking uncomfortable questions” is what made him controversial, and it wasn’t the Gospel or Christianity either. His controversy came from the way he engaged in culture wars and tied Christian faith to a particular political program.

Honoring his memory should mean naming clearly what is faith, what is politics, and what is grief—so that we do not confuse them. It means honoring what is good, and also learning from the rest.

But maybe that comes after a time of grief and lament. It's harder to do well in the heat of the moment.

I have listened to hours of his discussions on college campuses. Have you viewed any or are you just forming your opinion from other talking heads?

If not, then shut up and listen is fitting.