Political Violence Could Devour Us All

"Yesterday afternoon, at a Utah Valley University political event, hundreds of attendees watched the murder of 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, a conservative movement-builder and itinerant controversialist. Within hours, millions more had seen the gruesome video of the moment when, in mid-sentence, a bullet pierces Kirk's throat and streams of blood issue forth. It did not look like a survivable wound, and I am sorry to say that it was not."

"The public reactions have been, to my relief, generally nonsociopathic. Opponents of Kirk who have in other instances celebrated the murder of their enemies have, for the most part, remained decorously mute this time, and I suppose from some people the most precious gift one can hope for is total silence. Until recently, I would have assumed revulsion from everyone at the murder of a political figure at a public debate."

"From working on previous gory beats, I have seen horrible images. Ubiquitous doomscrolling now grants others the same awful privilege. In No Country for Old Men, a sheriff fresh from a grisly crime scene is asked whether he thinks one of the massacre's survivors knows the type of men he's dealing with. "He ought to," the sheriff replies, with a dryness only Tommy Lee Jones in West Texas can produce. "He's seen the same things I've seen, and it's certainly made an impression on me.""

A Utah Valley University political event ended when a gunman fatally shot 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, a conservative organizer, in mid-speech. A widely circulated video shows a bullet piercing Kirk's throat and profuse bleeding; the wound proved unsurvivable. Authorities have not identified suspects or motives. Immediate reactions were largely condemnatory and restrained, including silence from some previously vocal opponents. Observers felt relief at the lack of celebratory responses but also unease, recalling recent incidents that sparked glee. Graphic imagery spread via doomscrolling, exposing many to violent scenes. Cultural references to No Country for Old Men underscore lasting impressions of violent crimes.

Read at The Atlantic