This is not a moment for dishonesty. Contrary to the hurried efforts of some Democratic leaders to eulogize Charlie Kirk, we don’t need to pretend the far-right activist engaged in earnest politics “across ideology, through spirited debate” as California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X paying tribute to Kirk.
Kirk, the founder of the far-right movement Turning Points USA, was committed to organizing America’s white young men, from college campus to college campus and beyond, into a politics of revanchist, resentment-fueled, patriarchal white nationalism.
At the time of writing, the person responsible for shooting Kirk has not been apprehended or identified. That didn’t stop Trump from delivering an official address unequivocally blaming the “radical left” for Kirk’s death in the broadest terms possible.
The Trump administration is a weaponization machine; it will transform all manner of things into an ideological arsenal to use against its opposition. Anti-genocide activism is antisemitism; immigrant workers are “the worst” criminals; addressing white supremacy is discrimination; war crimes are peace — all of these fascistic transmutations have become grimly common in the last eight months.
Trump was going to attack the left anyways. Like he does every day.
Centrist “You all don’t understand! The fascists are going to do something now! Violence is not okay.”
Any one with half a brain “Yeah, the fascists
were going to do somethingare doing it regardless.”The fascists were already doing those things.
You are right, so I edited my orginal comment to reflect that.
Well said.
And to all the centrists out there, please use your brain. The gun nuts never cared about human life. They don’t care about school shootings, they don’t care about you or me, and they certainly don’t care about Charlie’s death. He was a useful ally for some of them, but that’s all. A used discarded tissue, that’s all he means to them now. At most they’ll rant for a few days on some podcasts and put him on a poster before forgetting he ever existed.