I Was Wrong About Charlie Kirk

Mea culpa

There are a whole lot of people who need to make that admission in public more than I do. But I don’t mind being first. It’s the truth, and I’d like to explain why.

I never paid that much attention to Charlie Kirk when he was alive. I knew who he was, what a prodigy he seemed to be, and that more and more people on the right were listening to him. But I’m not his target audience: young. So I just said, “Okay, good luck,” and went on with my day.

But years ago, Kirk figured out something that most media figures on the right hadn’t grasped yet: Young people aren’t reading National Review. They aren’t reading Substacks by obscure, marginally employable shut-ins with nothing better to do. (Ahem.) They aren’t reading much of anything.¹

No, they’re listening to podcasts. They’re scrolling TikTok.² They’re going to big crowded conferences full of other young people they might get a chance to spend some private time with. So that’s how he reached out to them.

And, as I’m learning, he was a terrific messenger: young, articulate, knowledgable, rational, calm, focused. Every debate video I’ve watched so far has been very impressive. He was masterful at what he did.

I never believed he was racist, sexist, fascist, or whatever-ist, because liberals say that about everybody who ever disagrees with them. Like this guy, whose first reaction to Kirk’s murder was to whine about his own feelings:

In other words: “If you defeat me in a debate, I get to dance on your grave.” Two million views. A lot of people agree with that sentiment.

There are only two “kind words” you can ever say to these overgrown children: “You’re right.” Everything else is hate speech.

Charlie Kirk rejected that mindset. He wanted people to disagree with him. He welcomed arguments that he could examine. If they made sense, he said so. If not, he didn’t.

He was a debate nerd. He was murdered for winning.

Libs will point to this or that Charlie Kirk quote that was misleading or just plain wrong. I don’t know every single thing the man ever said. Go argue with somebody else about it.

But I regret not paying more attention to him when he was alive. I’m not MAGA, and a lot of MAGA people hate me for criticizing Trump when I think he’s wrong. So, I figured Kirk was akin to those clowns: “You’re owned, cry about it, cuck,” etc. Anger, resentment, spite. A thirst for humiliation. Some call it “Trumpism.” I put him in that category, if not the worst offender. Alex Jones Lite.

Now I know it wasn’t Kirk’s approach at all, and I wish it hadn’t taken his assassination for me to learn that.

“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire didn’t actually say that, but he should have.

And that’s exactly what Charlie Kirk did. He was murdered at the precise moment he ceded the floor to an opponent. Tyler Robinson could’ve waited his turn to debate Kirk, but instead he cut in line.

Big mistake.

The left has no idea what’s happening right now. They think they can steer this story. They think their usual game plan will work: attack, obfuscate, lie, censor, etc. They think they can shut us up, after we all just saw the end result of those tactics.

Nah, man. Publicly murdering someone just for saying, “I disagree, and here’s why” is...

Well, it’s a turning point.

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1. Which sucks, but scolding them doesn’t work. Young people, on the whole, tend to do the opposite of what old people want them to do. Come to think of it, so do old people.

2. Which has now been banned by Congress. It’s the law. Sorry, Mr. President. Sorry, MAGA.