Greetings From the Left-ish: Charlie Kirk edition
Hey folks!
Today, I want to share another guest post from my good friend (and a fellow Haman Nature subscriber) who was a life-long Democrat until fairly recently. The murder of Charlie Kirk affected us all in deep and profound ways, and I think you’ll benefit from hearing her take on it.
It’s a fascinating perspective that hit me right in the feelz. I suspect it will you as well.
Enjoy!
It’s not hyperbolic to say that the assassination of Charlie Kirk, on the afternoon of September 10th, has left me feeling broken, lost, demoralized and frightened.
It’s much the way I felt 24 years and 1 day prior, when planes flew into the World Trade Center, leaving me stunned, unable to process what I knew to be true and feeling like nothing would ever be the same.
As the simulation winks, I contemplate Charlie Kirk’s life, his non-profit (so aptly named “Turning Point”), the uncoincidental date of his execution, the reactions of the American people, friends and foes alike, and what it all means.
Like Charlie, my son was born in 1993. Like Charlie, my son is conservative, outspoken and unafraid to speak his mind, even when it means losing friends or status.
Like Charlie, my son is pro-life, against illegal immigration, against the “trans-ing” of children, and passionately for open dialogue and debate. This brutal murder, and its celebration by the left, makes me want to hold my son close and beg him to be silent in the face of such horrific violence.
By nature, nurture, or both, I am averse to conflict, but I am too angry, traumatized, and desperate to make sense of this senselessness, to stay silent. I write this for my son, for me, and for all who are desperate to protect their loved ones until this, too, blows over.
Truthfully, I don’t think this will blow over, and I don’t necessarily want it to. I want Charlie’s death to mean something. I am presently concerned our government is about to use it, like they did after 9/11/01, to enact laws that will do away with the last vestiges of our freedom.
Trump, Vance, Miller, and Bondi all seem to be saying something similar about clamping down on “The Radical Left”. It’s got my Spidey senses tingling, and not in a good way.
Though I wasn’t a daily consumer of his podcast or video debates, I of course knew who Charlie was and admired what he’d accomplished. His political acumen was nothing short of miraculous.
I didn’t realize it was he who brokered the legendary Trump / RFK Jr merger, but it doesn’t surprise me. With the foreknowledge of hindsight, it’s completely on brand. He knew RFK Jr had captivated a segment of young voters and that joining forces with Trump would likely tip the election.
It brought this Gen X-er, who had never voted Republican, on board and without hesitation. I believed in RFK Jr and trusted that if he believed in Trump, I could as well. While the entirety of media and political operatives wrote my guy off as a kook, Charlie saw opportunity and turned the merger into election gold.
It was nothing short of remarkable.
I’m Jewish, and I’m sometimes conflicted by what that means to me. I was raised to believe that Israel was my homeland (though I’ve never been), so being pro-Israel has been my default. It hasn’t been hard for me to see Israel as “the good guy” or her enemies as evil.
Not yet sober on 10/7/23 (a story for another day), I didn’t fully realize the magnitude of what happened on 10/7 until I “came to” Monday morning, on 10/9. I attribute the devastation I felt that morning, and so many mornings thereafter, as one of the motivations that led me to sobriety, belief in God, and the emergence from darkness and despair.
Nearly two years later, my belief in Israel, its government, my government, and all its shady players, is on shaky ground. The polluted zone of information has retarded my ability to decipher the truth.
My heart breaks and my stomach churns by the images I’ve seen from Gaza, but I have no idea what to believe or how anyone might bring an end to the suffering.
I mention this, because it seems like Charlie Kirk may have been feeling less certain about Israel as well, and there is growing noise that this is another catastrophe we can lay at Israel’s doorstep. I don’t want this to be true, and I don’t think it’s true, but I have a nagging fear gnawing at the edges of my mind, and it scares me.
We humans are not meant to see a man assassinated on live video. I can’t get the image out of my head. Watching people celebrate his murder is almost more than I can bear. If it makes me, someone so risk adverse I hesitate letting Adam publish this, angry, what must it feel like to those itching for a fight?
I pray we find Charlie’s message in all this; that we continue talking to one another and learn to respect each other’s humanity, because as Charlie said, “When dialogue stops, violence happens.”
See? I told you that was worth it. Thank you very much for “guest-posting” today, dear reader, and for making Haman Nature that much better.
Naturally,
Adam
PS: Follow me on Twitter(X): “@Rerazer”
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She was able to so clearly articulate what so many of us are feeling. My thanks to the author for finding the courage to allow you to share, and to you, Adam, for doing so.
Beautiful written. Thanks for sharing!!