I’m a liberal American and it really shocks me how many people on both sides are using this assassination to justify violence.
First of all, even though I disagree vehemently with Kirk, a lot of his quotes are being taken out of context. It makes me shudder to see people on my “side” swallow whatever sound bite will support their image. Most of their evidence about him being evil is based on half-truths and dishonest interpretations of his arguments.
I have seen his videos and there are many instances where he shows the ability to reason against his own side, admit someone made a good argument, and has offered arguments that have challenged some of my own views. I am almost a free speech absolutist and applaud his willingness to hold conversations with those whom he disagreed.
Having said that, I think Kirk did dog-whistle and that we can’t condemn his murder while also taking an honest look at his legacy. For instance, even if he wasn’t saying that “all Black women” lack the brain processing power to be leaders (like many on the left are alleging) but was instead questioning affirmative action and the competence of specific Black women like Joy Reid or Michelle Obama, it stills rings racist. He listed so many prominent Black Democratic women that it was almost impossible not to question how broadly he was speaking.
Especially when there are a lot of white men who share similar seats to these prominent Black women and have benefitted from white privilege and generational wealth. He neglects to mention those forms of affirmative action. Framing the issue as Black people stealing White people’s spots is going to stoke racial tension.
Also, Kirk called George Floyd a “scumbag,” as if that is reason enough to discredit Floyd’s humanity. Kirk similarly spread misinformation about Floyd’s death because he said that Floyd’s murderer was the victim of a “show trial” and that Floyd had actually died of a drug overdose… even though the medical examiners proved that asphyxiation was the true cause.
Or even Kirk’s argument that rap music is degenerative; on its surface, he can say he hates the messages it sends, but when he continually criticizes and invalidates huge parts of Black American culture (albeit under the guise of constructive arguments), it is no wonder that so many Black Americans felt targeted by him. We cannot venerate him as if he is MLK Jr. when he himself called MLK Jr. an “awful” person. Again, you can, in the abstract, make all these arguments and not be racist, but his arguments, on the whole, would leave a KKK member hooting and hollering. That’s not the effect we should have on society.
My takeaways:
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Kirk’s murder was unjustified and horrific no matter what he ever said
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Kirk should be quoted correctly and recognized as a man who could be fair in many ways, but we also should not whitewash his legacy (he did create a watchlist of professors because of their liberal beliefs, so saying he always championed free speech without any nuance is going too far)
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Both political sides have extreme corners that are willing to excuse violence. I’m most disappointed in my own side because I expected better — anyone who makes fun of Kirk’s death is deplorable; however, the Right should realize that they too have celebrated or tolerated violence against the Left (Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, Jan. 6th, Nancy Pelosi’s husband’s attack, etc.)
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Let’s work toward understanding why the other side is upset and validate some of our honest frustrations instead of trying to prove our superiority all the time
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We need gun control, better mental health services, fewer kids glued to their screens all day, and more governmental oversight of online fringe groups