"On Wednesday, while giving a campus speech, far-right activist and anti-LGBTQ+ influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a gunman-another grim marker of how political violence has become a recurring feature of American life. Quickly, political figures and pundits rushed to denounce the killing, as they should. But some went further, valorizing and lionizing a man who built his career on contempt of people he viewed as lesser."
"Political violence is corrosive and we must not excuse it-killing Charlie Kirk was horrific. But we also must not sanitize the memory of a man who wished harm on those he disagreed with, and who spread a message of hate to anyone willing to listen or pay him to so. We can denounce the violent killing of Charlie Kirk without praising his abhorrent legacy."
Charlie Kirk, a far-right activist and anti-LGBTQ+ influencer, was assassinated while giving a campus speech, marking another incident of recurring political violence in the United States. Political figures and pundits quickly denounced the killing, though some public officials and commentators urged honoring or continuing his work. Those calls risk erasing Kirk's record of promoting contempt and targeted hate toward LGBTQ+ people, racial and ethnic minorities, and others. Kirk publicly advocated harm and spread hostile rhetoric, including blaming transgender equality for societal decline and endorsing violent language. Denouncing the assassination and refusing to sanitize Kirk's hateful legacy are compatible and necessary.
Read at Advocate.com
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