Expected tragedy occurred yesterday in the US. Regular politicians and lots of creators condemned the assassination as political violence, almost as if political violence isn't occurring every day; they insinuate that ICE raids are peaceful, that the constant shouting of enemies within and minorities are violent from the bully pulpits are respectful and acceptable, that the only form of commentary and resistance are shares and donations.
In the words of k-dot, "the noble person that goes to work and pray like the 'posed to? / slaughter people too, your murder's just a bit slower. / I'm a killer, he's a killer, she's a killer, bitch / we some killers, walkin' zombies, tryna scratch that itch / germophobic, hetero and homophobic / photoshopping lies and motives / hide your eyes, then pose for the pic."
While I can't strictly say that this was a positive development, if you followed Kirk's ideals, he would advocate for a lack of empathy for his death. He proclaimed back in '22, "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'll quickly point out that I don't follow Kirk's ideals as he would advocate for me to be stoned to death because to be transgender is to be a "throbbing middle finger to God" and that "God's perfect law" "call[ed] for the stoning of gay people." Pundits and politicians alike are so quick to say violence against political figures is senseless, and perhaps without proper organization it is, but it is not undeserved. These figures call for the eradication of peaceful populations but claim protections should be made for the speakers?
After only a week past the shooting at Christian Covenant School in Nashville that left three adults and three children dead, he publicly proclaimed "It's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights." These quotes came from a powerful influencer worth over $10 million who clearly showed a disdain for empathy and an acceptance of gun violence against children, who actively called for the death, either physically through stoning or legally through medical care bans, entire demographics with whom he did not agree.
This is a man who argued for genocide. So far as I can see it, he would be proud to have died for his ideals, and in many ways, that's the highest honor America has to offer. He would additionally ask for my absence of empathy, and though I don't agree with this ideal on any level, in his case, I will grant him my lack of empathy. A person who champions violent rhetoric from a national pulpit cannot be personally surprised nor publicly mourned when the rhetoric bites back.
I don't know where this will lead us - we don't yet know the motivations, nor how the future will proceed. All we know is that there's more fuel thrown on the fire, and that this, combined with the assassination of Melissa Hortman in Minnesota, signals more bloodshed to come.