Charlie Kirk’s murder was senseless and horrific. We wish it could be undone, but it cannot. But it does offer us an opportunity to honor his legacy—by fostering a national conversation about our differences, by reaching across the aisle for unity, and by doing what Kirk did best: listening to others and giving them a turn at the microphone. To do that, we must stop looking at our adversaries as nameless and faceless enemies on a tiny screen.
Sadly, many have chosen the digital battlefield. It began with those who shamefully celebrated the death of a political adversary online. It continued as commentators rushed to deny that this was happening. Journalists at once venerable news outlets misquoted or mischaracterized Kirk, implying that the world was better off without his voice.
The alleged shooter’s left-wing beliefs and motives have become impossible to deny, but that hasn’t stopped many from trying. They have tried to shift focus to Tyler Robinson’s race (he was white, so he must be conservative), his family connections (his parents are Republicans!), or, in a bizarre twist, to his sensitive and fragile emotional state—epitomized by Montel Williams’s characterization of him as a “love-torn child.”
True, parts of the online Right aren’t covering themselves in glory, either. Posts with millions of views have alleged that the assassination was somehow the work of Israel. Many claiming to be close to Kirk are micro-analyzing his private messages, searching for far-fetched hints that suggest he shared their anti-Semitic worldviews.
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