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Actually, Elon Musk is the one who said "The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.", although Charlie Kirk did say something similar.
Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
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Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#902There was a school shooting on the same day as Kirk's death: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/students-wounded-shooti...
If he were still alive, he would be writing and speaking about how such violence is unfortunate but ultimately acceptable— even necessary— to "preserve our freedoms", brushing it aside to be forgotten. He of course did so many times in life, notably in 2023 when he was quoted doing so in the media:
https://www.newsweek.com/charlie-kirk-says-gun-deaths-worth-...
Kirk's death has already overshadowed the news of that school shooting, which will indeed be forgotten by most long before we stop talking about him.
One final victory for Charlie Kirk, I guess.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#903The sad irony is that he's at a college campus debating/arguing with people. At their best that's what college campuses are for. I know they haven't been living up to it lately but seeing him gunned down feels like a metaphor. I know he liked to publicize the exchanges where he got the best of someone, and bury the others, and that he was a far, far cry from a public intellectual. Still, he talked to folks about idea…
Feels like your second paragraph negates the first. That he wasn’t honestly debating ideas but fishing for soundbites to spread hate and appear intellectual, using the backdrop of college campuses to lend legitimacy to his divisive ideas. That is not what college campuses are for, and it is not a debate. I’m not American, I never heard of this guy before. But I saw the video of the last moments and it’s a telling sni…
He didn't deserve to die but I don't like how racist rhetoric somehow became honest political discussion. The elevation of racist ideology to being just another political opinion deserving of respect worries me.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#904But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poem, my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." What we need in the Uni…
> what we need in the United States is not hatred
What saddens me is people take different political views as hatred, and medias run with it. I can't remember how many times a person is labeled fascist or communist just because their views are different.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#905But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poem, my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." What we need in the Uni…
> what we need in the United States is not hatred What saddens me is people take different political views as hatred, and medias run with it. I can't remember how many times a person is labeled fascist or communist just because their views are different.
> What saddens me is people take different political views as hatred
Some political views are hatred, and ignoring that doesn’t serve any useful purpose.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#906Platforms like Reddit and BlueSky need to be held accountable for promoting violent rhetoric, as well as the users that openly call for violence. A child could write an LLM backed script that filters out calls for violence.
Attempts to do something like that "softly" via communication with the previous administration arguably boosted the vote counts of the party who came out strongly against that kind of restraint.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#907For the few that find this acceptable (or even celebrate this), then they must also be able to say: “If I say something that someone doesn’t like, then they are justified in killing me.” And accept it.
Kirk spread misinformation and voiced opinions that were contributing to making the lives of several demographic groups more unsafe, repeatedly, for years, to a massive audience.
Violence isn't the answer and I wish yesterday's event didn't happen, but his actions were a far cry from just "saying something someone might not like"
The first amendment is important, but it has boundaries, and Kirk made a living from being very close (arguably sometimes over) these boundaries. I think his message, which I wholeheartedly disagree with, will be carried on by others, as is their right. But I hope they do it in ways that are more firmly within the healthy boundaries of the first amendment. And if they don't, it should be the courts that decides if they should be penalized, not a lone armed civilian.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#908There was a school shooting on the same day as Kirk's death: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/students-wounded-shooti... If he were still alive, he would be writing and speaking about how such violence is unfortunate but ultimately acceptable— even necessary— to "preserve our freedoms", brushing it aside to be forgotten. He of course did so many times in life, notably in 2023 when he was quoted doing so in the me…
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Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#909Regardless of your take on political violence. Studying the history of especially the French and Haitian revolutions is instructive. Going down the road of civil war sounds good to some of us, but the reality of civil war is incredibly bleak. The Haitians have still not recovered after 225 years.
It’s mind boggling how violent and destructive it can get once people completely give up on the humanity of other people.
So, let’s keep trying for more peaceful lives. Even angry peace is better.
Re: Charlie Kirk killed at event in Utah
#910But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poem, my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." What we need in the Uni…
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