Freedom of speech isn't tolerated by some

[WhatNextBanana]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/comment/2025/09/10/charlie-kirks-shooting-terrible-moment-american-democracy/

Political violence on the rise.

People are getting angry when people have Political views they don't agree with. Freedom of speech must be allowed not shutdown.

Tragic news of a young family man shot by someone today. Please remember he was a human with a family. Violence is never ok.

No, but there is obviously the chance that will be the outcome. And it is the outcome for over 45,000 people in the US each year. 45,000.

I know you’re being facetious, but people are capable of holding principles, unmotivated by self-interest.

Sick.

‘Let’s also be clear, it’s not just a political assassination but a religious one. He stood for living a Christian life and was a religious man.’

he was a religious bigot - openly homophobic, openly Islamophobic, wanted to see civil rights subservient to his extreme Christian nationalist views, thought women should submit to their husbands, thought the Civil Rights Act was a ‘mistake’ …none of the real Christians I know hold anything near these extreme views

a ‘religious man’? That’s questionable at best. A self serving man - definitely.

Did he deserve to be murdered? Of course not.

I despise guns. But if I had to move to America today, with my family, I would want a gun to protect them. Because they have gone too far. Guns are everywhere.

This was his trademark - set up "debates" (but wouldn't debate people who could hold their own calmly and logically, I do wonder if that's why he chose younger people), rage-bait people til they lose their cool, cut those clips into slick videos to post himself "owning the libs". Whatever happened on the campus today didn't have the chance to be cut into a viral video to push into certain algorithms. And I do know those algorithms because they show up in my 14yo son's stuff but not mine. It's pushed to specific people.

It's amazing how blind we are to the radicalisation happening in real time on all parts of the political spectrum. CK struck me as someone making bank out of it, and unfortunately it went terribly wrong.

@Idinnaenahwhat is a ‘real’ Christian, and who judges that?

I've posted on other threads previously regarding gun shooting. I didn't hear the story of Melissa Hortman. Did you set up a thread? If so, I'll look for it and post in a similar manner that violence is not ok.

I don't care about people taking me seriously. He had awful views on people, sexuality , abortion etc and whilst of course no-one deserves to be murdered for their personal opinions no matter how awful it's quite something else to see him almost raised to level of saint hood by some now just because he's dead

Yes, of course, I’m sure he accepted that was a possibility. Guns are so entrenched in the culture it will never, ever change. If Sandy Hook didn’t lead to any changes, nothing will.

Except the more likely outcome you owning that gun would be someone using it to commit suicide or a child dying in a gun accident or a family member being murdered.
I know you’re probably picturing some OK Corral
scene where you valiantly fight off armed intruders with your weapon, but you’re more likely to get shot yourself… the stats back that one up I’m afraid. Which is why most of my US family do NOT have guns in the house.

Douglas Murray is called a grifter. Would you say he carefully selects his opponents? I've never seen such a competent speaker, in his field.

What this has shown is that posters are using the gun laws and its advocates to dance on the soon to be grave of a conservative.

In the US, freedom speech does protect unpopular and even offensive speech. That doesn't seem to be the case in the UK at the moment, but Kirk was an America expressing American political opinions.

Your last statement seems to imply that his murder was his own fault, as if he "had it coming", which I find abhorrent.

Exactly and in fact, the strength of a principle often comes from the willingness to uphold it even when it runs counter to one’s own immediate interest. That’s what makes it more than just preference or convenience.

As it’s all made up it really is irrelevant I suppose. If you think someone who thinks gay people deserve to be killed for being gay is a good Christian then you do.

it’s just the logical conclusion of the position he held.

@Idinnaenahhe thought gay people should be killed?

It has really shocked me, I watched his content on tik tok.

What did always come across was that he was devoted to his family, he wanted families together, men/fathers to be present.
I felt he always debated respectfully and while his views were extreme he did always applause people for their questions even when they were on the other side of the coin, he opened up hard conversations allowed people to debate their own opinion and gave many people a platform.

We all deserve to hold our views, values and opinions, we should all have the right to speak on them without inciting violence.

I did not agree or align with his religions or political beliefs but quite frankly i think his murder is tragic and i feel very sad for his wife and children.

Awful views according to you. And a lot of people agreed with him and shared those views. They’re as entitled to their opinions and beliefs as you are. You don’t have the monopoly on truth or goodness.

No one is raising him to sainthood now he’s dead. They’re regretting the fact that a 31 year old with two young children has been murdered, whatever his opinions were. You agree he didn’t deserve it.

No, he didn’t.

That says it all. The fact that you don't even know her name. (I blame the media, owned by oligarchs/power-hungry men, not you, for not knowing her name.)

I don't post about news/politics here at all, but this thread caught my attention precisely because I'm shocked at how many people are responding to Kirk's shooting when they didn't bat an eyelid at Hortman's, or the two school children who were killed the same day as Kirk. It just shows how far the media manipulates us and our focus.

Ah, but a Muslim holding the same view will be different, of course. Is their faith good? As it's all made up, I can presume you approach all religious ideologies with the same level of skepticism.

Yup. In the name of being a Christian of course, because we all know that the all powerful god who created humans, somehow fucked up with the gays and made them bad and now they’re setting the American family… along with Jewish people and their ‘money’ According to Charlie.

but freedom of speech is freedom of speech and we’re all entitled to our views. Even if those views think that 45k + gun deaths is a reasonable price to pay for anyone, no matter how unhinged, to have military grade weapons.

I can’t see how people who oppose the death penalty can react gleefully to the murder of someone for their political position

Of course I do. Religious bigotry is religious bigotry wherever it comes from.