Charlie Kirk was shot dead Sept. 10 while speaking at a political event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities have arrested Utah resident Tyler James Robinson, 22. He allegedly confessed to the shooting to a family member.
Kirk’s shooting has triggered a national discussion about the political significance and/or impact that it will have moving forward. There are two basic elements of analysis of this event for me: the human element and the political.
From the human perspective very simply put, this was first-degree murder. It was the unlawful and intentional killing of a human being by another human being with malice and aforethought. Murder is wrong. I cannot condone it nor advocate for it in any circumstance. I believe even though it is not always apparent to us, the Creator will set things right. The scales will be balanced, but we must always work diligently and do everything in our power to balance them as well.
From the political perspective, we must be very clear. Charlie Kirk was no martyr. He was an angry, ignorant, intolerant, xenophobic, racist, hate-spewing white supremacist. There are far too many in mainstream media and politics who are doing everything in their power to turn the killer’s horrific act into a referendum or validation of whatever agenda they are trying to promote. Trump has ramped up his attacks on “the radical left.”
According to him, “We’re dealing with a radical left group of lunatics, and they don’t play fair, and they never did.”
Others, like Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, are trying to turn this into a discussion about political speech without examining the content and nature of that speech and too many on the so-called “Left” are allowing them to do this. Cox said, “political violence is different than any other type of violence” and that killing Kirk because of his speech “makes it more difficult for people to feel like they can share their ideas, that they can speak freely.”
In theory, Cox is correct, but political speech is not what this should be about. As citizens, we cannot afford to be lulled into this trap equating racist rhetoric and hate with protected political speech.
Kirk said on May 19, 2023, “it’s happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more often.” That’s not political speech; that’s unprotected racist hate speech. Isn’t it ironic that Kirk’s alleged assassin is not one of those “prowling Blacks” and is from Orem, Utah?
Kirk said on May 19, 2023, “MLK was awful. He’s not a good person.” That’s not political speech. Those comments have no social value.
On Jan. 23, 2024, Kirk said, “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.”
Does Gov. Cox agree with these statements?
The faux-martyrdom for Kirk reminds me of a scene from Godfather I. The character Hyram Roth was talking with the character Mike Corleone about the murder of Roth’s friend, Moe Greene.
Roth says, “When I heard it, I didn’t get angry. … I knew Moe, he was talking loud, saying stupid things, so when he turned up dead, I let it go. And I said to myself, this is the business we’ve chosen.” Kirk was talking loud, saying racist things.
When you make your living like the Charlie Kirk’s of the world, contributing to the ignorant, racist, xenophobic, intolerant white supremacist hate-filled mélange that passes for political dialog in this country, you run the risk of running up against someone who is just a little more intolerant that you; and bad things can happen.
Wilmer Leon is a nationally broadcast radio talk show host and author of the book, “Politics: Another Perspective.”
The following scripture first comes to my mind:
Mathew 26:52 A man who lives by the sword will die by the sword.” (King James Version of the Bible). Another saying most people believe is that we will all reap what we sew, inevitably. As small as it seems, a tiny acorn grows into a mighty oak tree.