Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, 31-year-old activist and author Charlie Kirk was publicly shot and killed in the midst of a debate session he called, “Prove Me Wrong” at Utah University. A bolt-action rifle shot Kirk in the neck leaving him dead before he reached the hospital.
Kirk was most known for his radical rightism. His fame through social media started with a Jubilee video, “1 Conservative vs 25 Liberal College Students”. From there, he became a frequent Jubilee guest, and had a popular rivalry with liberal activist Dean Withers.
Kirk had created a large crowd both for and against him through his extreme opinions and controversial takes – myself falling with the latter.
My goal here today is not to slander nor praise Kirk; it is simply to express my condolences as a human being. To explain the commiseration we should all have, not just to Kirk, but to the near 50,000 other Americans who lose their lives to bullets every year.
In attendance of the debate, over 1,000 college students were gathered. The gore alone was enough to traumatize every person involved and will be something which haunts the Kirk family for years to come.
You do not have to empathize; empathy is uncontrollable, but I do ask you to sympathize. To simply understand that the weight this public execution has suffocated so many, and refrain from making celebratory or mockery comments- especially online.
Kevin Downey, a Buena U.S. history and psychology teacher, brings up a point about democracy and humanity.
“When you become a vigilante and take justice into your own hands, you’re saying, ‘well my beliefs are more important than everyone else’s’…In a democracy, it should be the people, not a person,” Downey said.
So whether or not you mourn for someone, no one should be allowed to strip them of life, an unalienable right.
During an episode of the Charlie Kirk Show, Kirk says he doesn’t believe in empathy, calling it, “a made-up, new-age term that… does a lot of damage.”
The argument is often made that if he didn’t give it, he shouldn’t receive it. The issue lies with being the bigger person. If you truly dislike Kirk, you won’t use his own hate against him.
On that same note, celebrating his death online is harmful to his family who are innocent. If someone you loved passed away, the last thing you’d want to see is other people praising it.
Kirk thought gun deaths were a necessary risk in order to uphold our second amendment . As much as I disagree with that sentiment, his death only further shows how restrictive we need to be on our gun laws.
In no case is a gruesome murder by gun okay, and Kirk is no exception. If we truly want to stop gun violence, we can’t be selective with our disapproval.
Keep in mind that before posting mocking and celebrating his death, that violence is violence, and no one deserves to meet such a demise at the hands of another.
