Dear Editor,
As the anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s death approaches we feel called to share some considerations. We would like to encourage our community to approach the anniversary with compassion toward those affected by violent death, while not losing track of the fact that Charlie Kirk promoted racist, sexist, violent, and other harmful ideologies.
While we believe that Kirk’s murder was abhorrent, against our American ideals, and should not have happened, we also believe that lionizing a man who spoke hatred into the hearts of those who followed him is a dangerous stance for our towns to take.
We are concerned that many residents of our community are not aware of the harmful and destructive rhetoric Kirk stood for, and we hope that our letter helps to educate. We understand that some people will say that Charlie Kirk’s words are taken out of context, but “context” doesn’t change words, and words carry weight.
We hope to encourage non-Christians and Christians alike to consider the damage Kirk’s words and actions have done toward children and adults of all nationalities, genders, and religions, people who carry intrinsic value and worth. While there are numerous cited examples of Kirk’s words, we are choosing not to republish them in this space, as doing so only gives them more power. Should you want to read for yourself, there are many places to find these citations online.
Instead, we are encouraging all people within our community to care for our neighbors, act with compassion toward all people, and to consider the weight of our Words.
— Indivisible Tewksbury-Wilmington
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The fact that you slander a man without actually giving concrete examples in context, and you somewhat justify his assassination despite saying it shouldn’t have happened. Since his death I’ve watched hundreds of his videos, I don’t see a man spewing hate at all. I see a man who invited people who disagreed with him to debate him, engaging in conversation because he believed that when conversation stopped violence begins. He actually showed amazing amounts of compassion to those who struggled with things including their gender identity. He based his beliefs on his faith, but he loved people who were of different faiths. We should mourn his death, not just because of the man that we lost but because of the reason he was killed and the setting where it happened. If you can’t debate on a University campus where can you debate?
not some seemingly anonymous group