Empathy isn’t feeling bad. Its understanding why someone else does. As powerful, angry people see us as less than human, the way to assert our humanity is to assert his. That’s hard, I know. But it’s dignified and STRATEGIC. A lot of you lack a way to speak to the hearts of the republican working class. We cannot afford to be out of touch here. Charlie’s dead. If you thought the rhetoric was bad before, just wait and see. “Fix your hearts OR DIE” -David Lynch
22 hours ago (edited)
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While people like yourself might be happy watching the Overton window glide exponentially out of view and argue for compassion in the face of people actively teaching of the dangers of empathy, there's some of us who see how the rhetoric Charlie Kirk espoused has already led to enough violent praxis against minorities in the US to make murdering him a thousand times still unequivocal to what he cheerled in his lifetime. While the celebration of such brutal acts is also quite a blunt consequence of the shifting Overton window, it was him who started and nursed this fire to the blaze it is today and seeing him get burnt is a just consequence. For him to be commemorated by Liberals who rarely pay a second thought to the people murdered through state violence let alone a tweet of "thoughts and prayers" is a sickening attachment to a status quo that many of us acknowledge is deeply broken.
1 day ago | 11
You dont have to feel bad for him, but if you think there is a justification for murdering someone, your ethics are inhumane. A leftist should recognize the equal right of existinse for everybody
1 day ago
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Celebrating it goes beyond the line for me. Before I say what I am going to say: we are not at this level, I want to make that abundantly clear (and I hope we never are), but to me I think it is worth reflecting on the "fighting violence with violence never solved anything" line by remembering what WW2 was at its heart. To me the "Ideal Allied WW2 Soldier" may be forgiven for "celebrating" how many SS officers one has "taken out" especially if that same soldier, before falling asleep each night, inwardly or outwardly wept for the children of those they slayed. Jojo Rabbit is a good film to watch with that in mind. Again: we are not at that level... but this is more me expanding upon a friend of mine who earlier brought up that "fighting violence with violence never solved anything" thing which caused me to bring up WW2 or slave rebellions (we are both generally pacifists, both leftists and both gender-queer). I am a pacifist but I try, to the best of my abilities, to not be naive either... and I very well still might be but I'm gonna keep trying none the less. Love is complex and isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Protecting love, and loved ones, doublely so.
1 day ago | 3
I cannot feel anything for a man's death when that man spent years arguing that my existence be criminalized. I will never glorify violence, but I also won't shed a tear when a person who unabashedly lives by the sword dies by the sword. He had the choice to stop at any time, after all.
1 day ago (edited) | 56
"It's think 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." - Charlie Kirk
1 day ago | 11
Here let me make a hot take: Political Violence is bad. There I said it.
1 day ago | 5
I might feel a little bad for him if he didn’t spend his entire career ensuring that countless men, women, and children also died in front of their families too because the “cost” of their lives are “worth it” for the 2nd amendment. I find it truly ironic that the ONE thing that could’ve prevented his death would’ve been the gun control he so VEHEMENTLY spent his career espousing against. I won’t sit here and say I’m glad for it because I don’t want literally anyone to die, but I’m not going to pretend like the public reaction to his death is worse than the output of his life.
1 day ago | 7
I appreciate your sentiment but you clearly do not understand what walter benjamin was trying to say.
1 day ago | 5
Gonna be honest, it's hard to have sympathy for someone dying, when what they did contributed to the deaths of many other people. Maybe schadenfreude isn't politically helpful or useful, but when things are this crappy for so many others, partially because of the actions of people like this, I think you'll have a tough time getting people to feel bad.
1 day ago (edited) | 24
I would say that Charlie Kirk did more than just air his opinions; he basically organized stochastic terror threats against marginalized groups, especially trans people like myself, but killing him was still obviously and unjustifiably wrong.
2 days ago (edited) | 32
Sir, with all due respect, I’m not gonna feel shit for a guy who pretty much wanted me and my people dead. Good riddance to bad rubbish
1 day ago | 7
If this was just a middle class dad who talked shit at the dinner table maybe I would feel differently, but this take is ignoring the people directly affected by his hateful organization and actions. No sympathy for fascists.
1 day ago | 8
Empathy for the victims of this dude's rhetorical and ideological violence: of the dude himself, I'll let God sort it out. Not wasting time or energy on faux outrage to appease those who'd feed my family to alligators. We shouldn't waste our time with this guy, but we shouldn't suddenly be friendly with those who would see us dead.
1 day ago | 17
Oh, this is not an incident that brings applause. This is an incident that brings, "oh, no." It's never good to make a martyr.
1 day ago | 6
Love this my man. Thank you. As a leftist in an extremely far right family, today was a bit difficult due to hearing all the hatred and extremism this act has incited in my family.
2 days ago
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To all of you who support this violence because “he was violent with his words“ What is wrong with you? I didn’t agree with Charlie on a lot. In fact, I was opposed to many of his views but killing someone because their opinion is different than yours is inhumane. He was just a guy who talked about his opinions with others. Civil discourse is the way that we solve problems. You cannot justify violence against one group without justifying violence against all groups. When we stop being civil and stop listening to opinions that are different than our own, that is war. Rest in peace, Mr. Kirk
1 day ago | 11
Jesus christ Clark, youre accusing the left of not loving its enemies? Are you gonna whip that one out against any right wingers? You're aware we still have no idea who perpetrated this shooting? You're honestly parroting the PRESIDENTS line at us?
1 day ago (edited) | 6
I will never love or mourn the rich and powerful individuals who prop themselves up as leaders and turn the average citizen into a vile, hateful shell of themselves. They made a choice in how they choose to lead their lives, and they have hurt countless others in the process. It’s the lives that they have influenced, changed, hurt, damaged, and ended who are the enemies we should love.
1 day ago | 12
Clark Elieson
Walter Benjamin wrote that every wave of fascism is a failed revolution. I say something similar. The left has failed insofar as it has not loved its enemies.
No father should violently die in front of his family for his beliefs, even if those are hateful or wrong. Any applause for such an act is inhumane, unneighborly, unjust. When you speak to persuade, speak with empathy.
2 days ago | [YT] | 136