Who killed Charlie Kirk?

Who killed Charlie Kirk?

At the time of writing, the gunman who shot and killed Charlie Kirk remains on the loose and he is someone who must eventually be brought to justice. But if, when he is, he is made to take full responsibility for Kirk’s death, then not only will he have been partially scapegoated, but we will have missed an opportunity, through a little introspection, to recognise deeper, more fundamental reasons for his assassination.

Because whilst the one who pulled the trigger is undoubtedly most at fault, he is not the only one to blame. 

But before I say anything more about that, let me first remind ourselves of something that is all too often forgotten in times such as these – that the person killed was an individual with hopes and dreams like the rest of us. Charlie Kirk was married with two young children and we should first spare a thought for them, and all the many others, who no doubt loved him too.

But that said, let me ask my question again. Who killed Charlie Kirk?

I wrote last week how we needed to be more understanding of the opinions of others, including those we may strongly disagree with. Up until yesterday I hadn’t heard of Charlie Kirk and knew nothing of his political opinions. Since then, however, having read a little about him, it is probably fair to say that I would be broadly in agreement with some of his views, whilst at the same time opposed to some others. As such he is not the epitome of all evil as some might suppose, nor the harbinger of a bright tomorrow that others might have considered him to be.

His grasp of the truth was no more complete than ours – close to it at times no doubt, but less so at others. As such he is no more to be hated for opinions we disapprove of than he ought to be lauded for believing things that we do too.

But therein lies the problem of our increasingly polarised world, one in which everyone is awesome until the second they think, say, or do something that strays from our own individual take on what is right and wrong – which is all too often the exact moment when they instantly become a pariah with whom we should have nothing at all to do. 

Those we disagree with then become, not simply our opponents, but our enemies – such that some of us, on occasions at least, may even find ourselves wishing they were dead.

All of which means that if we want to see an end to atrocities like the one we heard about yesterday, whilst it is absolutely necessary to do so, we need to do far more than simply make guns less available. We need a change of heart that brings about a whole new way of interacting, both online and in person, with those we disagree. And in order to determine what that might look like, perhaps we need to take a leaf out of someone else’s book – one that has already been written whose author lived out the advice he so freely gives.

Because we need to humble ourselves, and so stop arrogantly believing that our take on what is good and appropriate is in any way definitive. We need to consider others more highly than ourselves and seek to serve society rather than insisting that it serves us. And we need to love our neighbour as ourselves, even when they sometimes behave in ways that we think they shouldn’t.

None of which will be easy. Far from it. But if we don’t at least strive to make a change, then surely we condemn ourselves, not only to more incidents of isolated gun crime, but increasingly hostile global conflicts, ridiculously petty domestic disputes, and every conceivable unpleasant encounter in between.

Because the truth is that, though some are undoubtedly more guilty than others, we are all, to the degree we either engage in or condone such intolerant behaviour, partly responsible for the violence that we hear of daily.

And should you disagree with my analysis, as indeed you have every right to, I trust that you will permit me to accept my own culpability and conclude by answering my initial question as I do.

Who killed Charlie Kirk?

In part at least, I did.

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To read ‘On all those ecumenical matters’, click here