Rebuilding Rob

I’m sure I’ll probably get torched for this…

I must admit that I didn’t really know a whole lot about Charlie Kirk. I’ve heard of him, but what I also heard that he was an another political blowhard in the ultra right wing echo chamber, I basically ignored him. I didn’t really know much about what he said until the last 24 hours, but I could pretty much assume his political stance on a lot of issues. I’ve been waiting to say anything in the roughly 18 hours since his death; mostly because a lot of people are still running high in emotion. That, and I knew that anything I did say would get torched on social media But there are a few things I want to get off of my chest.

I absolutely detest gun-violence, in any form, committed on any person.

Maybe it’s because I read too many Batman comics. Maybe it’s because I know that violent deaths – particularly those of people in positions of political or social clout – tend to elevate the victims to a martyr status. But I hate guns. To quote the old 311 song “guns are for pussies”. I think it’s a cowardly weapon. I think most weapons are cowardly. And I absolutely hate the fact that this country will do nothing to solve the gun epidemic. We don’t do anything after Sandy Hook, we won’t do anything this time either.

What I find…interesting…is the number of people who are distraught over Kirk’s death, but couldn’t find it within themselves to care about the recent school shootings in Minneapolis, or any school shootings for that matter. Granted Kirk was shot in a public gathering – one that was at least being filmed.

2 young children have lost their father; a wife, her husband.

I can say all the things I want to about Charlie Kirk, and I probably will, but I do feel for his wife and children. His wife has to put the rest a man who she probably considered to be the love her life. His young children are learning a brutal lesson, not only about death but violent death. Regardless of my thoughts on Charlie Kirk, the man, I feel for his family.

Reaping what you sow

Charlie Kirk was a hatemonger. He suggested that members of the LGBTQ community should be put to death. He blamed transgender people for mass shootings. Kirk also falsely claimed that white people were killed by people of color more than they were by other white people. These things are simply not true.

I find it grotesquely ironic that this man was gunned down while he was, quite literally talking about gun violence. On his eponymous podcast Kirk said of empathy:

I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that — it does a lot of damage

I am neither celebrating nor mourning the death of Charlie Kirk.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:

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• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

The article “living by the sword” first appeared in Rebuilding Rob.