Charlie Kirk and fascists created this climate of political violence [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.jphilll.com/p/charlie-kirk-and-fascists-created

The 47th school shooting of the year took place on September 10th, 2025. Three students were injured at a Colorado high school, and the shooter has now died from self-inflicted wounds. A kid with a revolver shot their classmates at Evergreen high for reasons yet unknown, and two kids are now in the hospital, thankfully with injuries that are not life threatening.

Half an hour earlier, the 46th school shooting of 2025 took place in Utah. Far-right commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, also for reasons unknown. Kirk and his organization, Turning Point USA, had become a force on the right, with chapters springing up on college campuses and even Donald Trump thanking Kirk for helping turn out the youth vote for Republicans in recent elections. Kirk was killed on the first leg of his “Prove Me Wrong” tour, moments after being asked a question about mass shootings.

His final moments were recorded, and they went like this:

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked. Kirk responded, “Too many.”

The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

He died as he lived. He died lying about trans mass shooters and spewing racism, core parts of the fascist project he had dedicated his life to. I don’t consider this speaking ill of the dead, but rather stating the reality of the deceased. Charlie Kirk was a fascist propagandist. That was his job, a job that made him rich and powerful in these bleak times. These are simply the facts of his life.

Charlie Kirk promoted violence against oppressed people and responded to school shootings by saying, “I think it's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.” That comment came a week after three children and three adults were killed at the Christian Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. He called his line of thinking “a prudent deal.”

*snip*