I can't believe I am talking about it again, but here I am. A local man was 'doxxed' for a social media post on Charlie Kirk. His wife lost her job over it. They are receiving death threats.
Now the first thing I want to clarify is that I do not know what the social media post said. It is down now. Maybe he crossed a line. I don't know. What I do know for sure is that things are getting pretty heated.
A family member posted something that complained that the left is taking the things he said out of context. My response was, 'okay...so what is the proper context for "Passing the Civil Rights Act in 1964 was a huge mistake."
Instead of answering the question, he blasted me because I was here talking politics on his post, and I had said sometime back that I wasn't going to talk politics...yet despite that, here I was again.
I said 'pardon me, I thought we were talking about a man. I don't see this as political at all.'
And I honestly don't. People are trying to make it political, granted, but it is a simple matter of how you see God.
Now a great many ministers have come forward to say that Charlie Kirk's podcasts were riddled with angry divisive language, and he used the Bible to try to legitimize MAGA, but just as zionism has little to do with Judaism, Christian nationalism is a very perverted take on Christianity.
We have people who believe that they are better than others. Who believe that they are doing God's work when they vilify others, or they mistreat them. Or ignore the struggles of the poor. "Thou shalt not judge," but he did over and over again, passing judgement on others in public settings, calling them out by name even.
Another relative felt strongly that it was wrong that such a good man should be so savaged after his death. She echoed the claim that his death was being celebrated by "the left".
Except it isn't, not by anyone I know. There is a huge difference between celebrating it and not mourning it.
As for me and my house, we are NOT mourning it. We are sorry for his children, of course. No kid should see that. Sadly, way too many children have.
We see Charlie Kirk as a man who amassed a 12 million dollar empire bringing his version of God's word to a target audience: the young. His "debates" were done alà Jerry Springer.
Did you know that there are rules for debates? Wanna see them?
The five fundamental rules of debate are
1) to prepare and research your topic, to anticipate counterarguements. To be clear, I will give him that.
2) to speak clearly, respectfully and avoid interrupting your opponents. He deviated from that format regularly.
3) to focus on arguments and evidence rather than personal attack or emotions. His "debates" were contentious and he interrupted. He also didn't hesitate to deviate from the truth to make his point. Moreover, he used his audience to pile on aad heckle his opponents. That's not a debate. That is an ambush.
4) to stick to the topic. No matter what topic was brought up, he swerved from it to showcase his opinions, and opinions are not facts, no matter how forcefully you are saying them.
5) Stick to the allotted time for each side. He never did that. He leaped in to derail the conversation as quickly as possible at his audience loved it.
He did it MAGA style. Might makes right. Drown out the opposition. Loud and proud.
He was furthering the kingdom of Donald tRUMP, and made no bones about it. He became very rich doing that. He was the darling of the GOP. Who is going to argue with a man of God who is legitimizing your own ungodly agenda? In the Bible, these people were called the pharisee.
But, in these strange days, people are insistent that he must be mourned. I understand that some people grieve his death more than I do. i respect that. Charlie Kirk was a man. An imperfect one. The hateful things he said in his podcasts were not one offs. He has been spreading his message for years andvmy opinions were formed while he was alive. His death has not changed them.
He was not a saint but may he rest in peace anyway.
Asep? Are you okay out there?
Charlie said many, many horrible things. He was racist, sexist, and transphobic from what I read. Should he have been shot for those things that he said? No, but he was. He also said that Americans should have to the right to carry guns and if some people died as a result of that, he was okay with that. I don't imagine he thought it would be him.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard or seen anyone celebrating his death. It's sad.
trump and his minions are dividing a nation for their own gain, or sport, or insanity, or because they can, to prove they have power. Whatever. It's sad and of course deflects from what's really going on, rich getting richer, poor getting poorer.
I agree with your thoughts. Too many times ideas are completely bent out of shape. Christianity has been twisted by whoever wants to twist it.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard or read anything by Charlie Kirk, so cannot comment on what he has said. However, in a civilised society, no-one should be assassinated for what they say. Freedom of speech works all ways, we have to accept that it applies equally to all points of view, those we approve of, those we abhor, and those we are indifferent about. And when that speech strays into illegal realms - libel, incitement etc- then there are appropriate measures that can be taken.Our differences should be resolved, if resolution is possible, through discussion and debate, and not through recourse to violence.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, all sides in the political arena today seem to have their "storm trooper" elements, prepared to use intimidation, 'cancelling' and now ultimate violence to crush anyone with a different point of view. This contrasts with my recollections of political debate in the 1960/70/80 eras, at least in the UK there was debate between the various points of view, the protagonists in general accepted that their opponents had opinions valid in their minds, and sought to change that through verbal dialogue. However, to be fair, there were rogue elements then , with assassinations of Martin Luther King, several Kennedy's.
I suspect that the nature of social media, with it's limitations on length of post and anonymity, is not helpful in this respect, people make posts on-line that they would not do face-to-face.
Thanks Debby. Your clarity is (as usual) refreshing.
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
Nicely written Debby. I would not want to be associated with anyone who celebrated Kirk's death, but nor would I want to be associated with anyone who thought he was a good man. He was a simply a vile preacher of hate and division.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I am not celebrating, but not mourning, either.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about that lady you mentioned who had never even heard the vile, unchristian things he had said. Did not have the information. I am really sad for the people who DID have the full picture and yet still treat him like a holy man of God. I pray for their souls. Beyond my understanding.
Well said. An awful person, but noone deserves what he got
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of the man prior to his death. Now I have read of people receiving horrible abuse online for being both pro and anti Kirk. The man seems to have become a MAGA martyr. I am sure that the young man who shot him didn't expect that to happen.
ReplyDeleteWatching here in UK, your orange leader is showing all signs of a dictator, and as with all successful dictators, he has a backup of fools and yes people. It is right Charlie's vile rants should be silenced, but not by murder, sadly I suspect they have been seen by more people now. Orange man's divide and conquer is working and it stretches across the world.
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