Hearing about the shooting of Charlie Kirk yesterday, I was upset. Immediately I thought of his family and then my thoughts went to the thousands of young people that were gathered on that campus. In 2024 someone shot, then candidate, President Trump but killed an innocent bystander. Yesterday someone intended to harm Mr. Kirk and all those people gathered had no idea they were in the line of fire. The thought of it all disturbed me all afternoon. When I learned of Kirk’s passing, I could only think of his family and the devistation his wife must be feeling. I was frustrated. I remembered watching some videos of his talks. My husband recounted watching the youtube of his visit to College Station last semester. And my daughter reminded me how we were on the phone in the spring when she happened upon a crowd of people at A&M and how she stopped to watch Charlie Kirk speak to those gathered for a bit as she was on her way to class. Yesterday someone thought that it was justifiable to take someone’s life because of a difference of opinions and beliefs. This kind of thing should never happen – to anyone.
I happened to stop off at the salon on my way home and was seated between a younger and an older woman. The older woman conversed with a friend next to me and was told Charlie Kirk had been killed. She didn’t know the name. She didn’t recognize his photo. Her friend proceeded to explain who he was. She started to share her concern, but then stopped to ask “wait, did you say he was for Trump or against Trump?” After confirming he was a Trump ally, she continued about how terrible it was that this had happened. Her friend left, but the rest of us continued remarking about the ugliness of it all. She turned to the group and professed how it was probably one of those idiot democrats. She called them crazy, stupid and evil (full volume). I wanted to speak, but could only say how the tragedy was so wrong. She went on with her description of those idiot democrats and then it was the mexicans. I turned to the young woman to my left and we shared our concerns for Kirk’s wife, children and his mom and friends.
On my way home, I realized how upset I was at myself that I had bit my tongue. Upset that I was afraid to speak up for myself in a salon in Texas. See, I’ve gone there for years – it’s a friendly and welcoming place where I feel at home. Just like my neighborhood HEB. Just like my church. Just like most places I like to go. But, all to often, I am too afraid to speak up for myself in those places where I am otherwise at home. THIS is what I should have respectfully said:
Please stop. I am a democrat. I am a Christian. I like the Charlie Kirk videos I’ve seen of his talks. I don’t always agree – but I like how he listens, debates, engages voters, I respect the whole process. When I first heard about this, I was sad for him, his family, his fans. I was grieved. I thought it was a cowardly act that could have hurt others. I was mad that this kind of stuff happens at all – to anyone – to all of us. My parents are dems. I’ve worked for and with dems and republicans forever. I don’t know a single one of those people that would have been okay with what happened to Charlie Kirk. I don’t know a single one of those people that would have cheered or that would have encouraged someone to do this. This is the problem. The hate is the problem. You hate people because they have different opinions than yours. You have no respect for people that believe differently than you. You think it’s okay to disparage those people in public – in the salon, in the grocery aisle, at work, at church, anywhere, everywhere. You don’t care about the person sitting next to you. You don’t care why they vote the way they do or why they believe what they believe. You don’t respect their right to their own opinions and beliefs. You clearly don’t know what they believe or what they are about. I can’t go a week without hearing someone making the same declarations I heard you say about me. And I am always too scared to speak up for myself. Scared I’ll lose my job, scared I’ll invite violence. But this is my home too. I don’t say these things about you – I don’t think these things about you. I know there are radicals out there. I know there are crazies. I know that when someone went to the homes of Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman this summer, that person was nuts. I know that when someone took aim at Donald Trump in Butler, PA, that person was a wacko. Those people were looking for any excuse to hurt another person. They say politically motivated, but let’s be clear – they are already motivated to kill - they are just looking for any reason to take action. Those people don’t represent me any more than they represent you. The devil, real evil, will see a crack and rip it into a great divide. He’ll lie. He’ll pit us against each other. He’ll entice us, enourage us to hate each other. He’ll take our ability to reason. He’ll blind our hearts. He’ll alienate us from each other. He’ll make us fear each other. This is the problem. Stop it.
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