I wasn’t going to write anything about Charlie Kirk, partly because this kinda thing isn’t new in the United States. Violence is the norm here, especially gun violence. And as you might know, Charlie’s murder wasn’t even the only school shooting that occurred that day.
But people aren’t really talking about that. We’re all too distracted by the murder of an online personality. Or more accurately, we’re being distracted by politicians using this murder for their own agendas.
I’ve never had much hope that I’d see in my lifetime an American government that isn’t corrupt. The problem is systemic. It’s baked into the cake. Greed and abuse are features, not bugs.
Speaking of which, how about those Epstein files? The same day Charlie was killed – the same day the school shooting in Colorado happened – the Senate blocked the release of the Epstein files. That’s awfully convenient.
But I digress.
I wasn’t going to write about Charlie Kirk because, while his murder is obviously inexcusable, I never expected him to be elevated to this pseudo-sainthood status. I saw Charlie Kirk in the same realm of celebrity as Logan Paul, Adin Ross, Hasan Piker, Tucker Carlson, Rachel Maddow, or Ben Shapiro. I wouldn’t expect flags to be lowered to half-staff countrywide for any of them if they were killed. Their deaths would certainly be newsworthy and deserving of our attention, but I can’t imagine any of them getting beatified the way Charlie has been.
Especially at the cost of ignoring yet another school shooting that occurred the same day, within an hour of Charlie’s murder.
But I shouldn’t be surprised. The attention placed on Charlie and the politicizing of his death by our leaders to the point of imposing censorship and getting people fired over their opinion of the man is indicative of a systemic problem.
I wasn’t going to write about Charlie Kirk, but I felt this strong desire to exercise my first amendment right. We rage against the machine with the Bill of Rights over here…
… and listening to Rage Against the Machine of course.
Charlie’s murder feels like the first school shooting our government actually gives a damn about. And even then, they only care about pointing fingers and casting blame to further their “us vs them” campaign. I have yet to see them take any action to stop the violence. All we get are the predictable, trite, obligatory statements about how “violence isn’t the answer” and “this needs to stop,” while the violence itself gets turned into a useful political tool.
“Political violence is never okay.”
Yeah, we already know that. Now it’s time to actually do something about it. But they won’t. The so-called “elites” don’t have the same worries and struggles regular people have. They can’t relate. And why would they ever want to? Empathy is a sin, remember? Unless it’s for one of their own. Then we’re having moments of silence at baseball games.
The United States doesn’t feel all that united. The political climate is nearly dystopian. Social media and all these 24-hour news networks only fan the flames. Obvious facts get ignored and critical thinking gets discarded in favor of emotion-driven rhetoric.
Of course, our leaders are using this moment to further their own agenda, and what they will not do (and have never done because it’s not part of their agenda) is take any real action to stop gun violence. School shootings will continue. Americans will continue to die. The system will continue to operate as usual, because this is the system that benefits the rich and powerful. Again, it’s by design.
“It’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
— CK
The only reason you have your guns is because the government doesn’t see you as a threat. The moment they do, or whenever they want American citizens to see a group as a threat, they’ll move to disarm you.
That’s what Trump is trying to do with transgender people. Not because they’re an actual threat, but because he wants us to see transgender people as a danger. So we need to restrict their access to guns.
This is nothing new. Data gets dismissed or distorted. Facts become “fake news” because of course it does. Power corrupts. Greed begets more greed. Those with power not only want to keep their power but gain even more power.
The system allows them to do this. It always has. It’s all bread and circuses, misdirection, intentional confusion, and oftentimes just outright lies. Emotional appeals get boosted by the rejection of fact-based decision making. Empathy is a sin. Compassion is an inconvenience. Religion, particularly westernized Christianity, gets weaponized, not for righteousness, but for political gain. Governments have abused Christianity like this since before Emperor Constantine.
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.”
– Ecclesiastes 1:9, NIV
So where do we go from here? What do we do? I wish I had answers. I’m trying to avoid falling into a pit of hopelessness. We have to start by holding on to hope. Without hope, things are, well, hopeless. If we have any chance of making progress, we have to start with the assumption that progress is possible. That’s what hope is: the conviction to move forward with the belief that a better world is possible.
What should we do? We must hold on to compassion. There are a lot of hurting people out there. We need each other.
We must be more inclined to listen than speak. Listen to understand, not to debate. listen to empathize, not attack. Listen to learn and grow.
We must recognize each other’s humanity. Diversity is a good thing. It’s an opportunity to grow and learn and see the world through a different lens. We are all part of the same human race. There is no segregation without dehumanization.
We must be willing to be wrong. We must be willing to have our beliefs questioned. We must be willing to examine our own biases and challenge them. and when we gain new knowledge, we must be willing to adjust our views to better reflect the facts. That requires humility. That requires discipline.
And we must be patient. Wait for data to come out instead of rushing to conclusions. Don’t be so quick to accept what you see or hear, even if it agrees with what you want to believe. Be quick to listen, slow to speak.
After I was hit by the car a few years ago, the local news posted an article on Facebook about my accident. They didn’t use my name or show a picture of me. All it said was, “bicyclist struck by car.” The comment section was the funniest thing to read. One person said I walked away from the accident unscathed (I read this while in the hospital with a fractured skull and multiple injuries, btw). Another said I had died. If I remember correctly, one person said I was Puerto Rican for some reason.
People just say stuff. Don’t instantly accept what you’re being told. If the information matters to you, it should matter enough to compel you to look into it. Find the data. Look for the facts. Do your homework.
I know that’s the opposite of how social media is designed, but when you realize social media is designed that way on purpose, you will be less likely to get suckered by the schemes of the rich and powerful.
That’s merely the starting point. Beyond that, I don’t know what to do. But I’m willing to listen.
I wasn’t going to write about Charlie Kirk, but then it occurred to me: “Love your neighbor” seems like such a simple command, but humans have proven that it’s the most difficult tenet to follow.
And the easiest to ignore.
Dead-Logic 