Another worrysome thing about the Kirk incident is how many young people

[drray23]

were eager to be there, cheering at this despicable white supremacist. This really puts into perspective how the RW manosphere has managed to capture a sizeable fraction of the youth. It's not beneficial for the country's future.

[Ocelot II]

1. It happened in a very conservative part of a very conservative state.

It's not typical of many other places. Kirk wouldn't have been welcome at colleges in my state.

[Lovie777]

7. Not to many....

[newdeal2]

9. He goes to blue state schools too

And gets sizable crowds, and has a large online following. I don’t like the guy but he is a pretty important part of RW media.

[PCIntern]

23. Yeah....not anymore he's not....

[Iris]

2. I was shocked at the number - 3,000 attendees

When Turning Point was at an institution where I once worked, the "group" was usually small - maybe 5 students a campus of 10,000

[Klarkashton]

3. He was seated on a throne like Jim Jones.

That's a goddamn cult he was running no shit.

[Tree Lady]

6. I saw pic of him and his wife

Reminded me of the couples in The Righteous Gemstones on HBO. My hubby loves that show.

[RockRaven]

4. In general I share your concerns. OTOH, it's Utah.

Not only one of the most conservative states, but one of the most brainwashingly cultish environments for young people in the country. I am not surprised in the slightest the KKirK could draw a crowd there.

[berniesandersmittens]

5. Watched a vigil earlier at the Univ of Alabama

Those kids were devastated. They have a martyr now.

[obamanut2012]

8. It's Orem

[pstokely]

10. how much were students or just people who followed him around?

?

[Bev54]

11. They weren't all there to cheer him on, there were some there to genuinely debate his positions.

[drray23]

12. debating a nazi, mysoginist, homophobe, xenophobe, etc.. does not work.

Hopefully, people will start to realize that. People like Kirk need to be ostracized and ignored, not made legitimate.

[Bev54]

14. They are young people, still very idealistic.

[H2O Man]

16. Thank you.

I appreciate your posts here.

[Bev54]

17. Thanks, I was once that young idealistic person

[H2O Man]

21. I was once an idealistic old man.

Now I am an idealistic really, really old man! But today we are witnessing a terrible time in society.

[Alice B.]

13. Someone who claimed to be an attendee called in to Dean Obeidallah today

And estimated the crowd was half supporters, half curiosity-seekers / not supporters.

[NJCher]

19. well, that's a bit of a relief

Last edited Thu Sep 11, 2025, 01:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Because as an academic, I'm very familiar with the crowds that student programming brings in. I was surprised at the large number of students this event attracted, and I'm talking about comparisons with universities that have a similar number of students (30-40k).

The comments on this thread somewhat alleviate my concerns. I saw a few interviews with students on television and there were 3 young women who seemed like they showed up to debate. Yes, agreed, it's a waste of time to do so with someone like Kirk, but that's beside the point. it sounds like it attracted numbers of people from different points of view.

I still have a concern, though. Every student programming organization has a faculty adviser or more likely, a director student activities. This person, whoever it was, did not do their job in vetting Charlie Kirk. The remarks he's made about gun rights and sacrificing lives should have taken him out of the running for a campus appearance.

If you watched the videos on the Axios story, though, he is clear about the number of campuses he wanted to visit. They may have put the sales pressure on the school to let him make an appearance.

This needs to be looked into. It's an angle of the story that hasn't been reported on yet.

-----------

post below deleted because it was a duplicate

[Alice B.]

22. I hear you!

I need to find the post again but the clip with the caller was shared to Bluesky (as I sneak a quick doomscrolling peek at my phone upon arriving at work).

[BigMin28]

15. I recently

Started a new job. Quite a few young people work there, especially 20 something young men. I was quite surprised, none of them cared for him. That is putting their comments in the nicest way possible. Considering it's texas, I was pleasantly surprised.

[oldmanlynn]

18. I almost disagree

I think there has to be anger and hate for what’s happening to our country. It is so serious that people lying and bringing about all the chaos and turmoil that we’ve seen, would qualify at the top level of that anger and frustration.

I do understand the gravity of losing a father or losing your life. I get it.

But I can understand people cheering as well.