Let's Have That Discussion

Right now, everyone is reeling over the death of Charlie Kirk. Many evangelicals see him as a martyr.[i] Mainstream media coverage focuses on the hunt for the killer and expression of repudiation for the violence. There’s very little discussion about the factors that lead to the violence. Matthew Dowd attempted to show the link between violent rhetoric and violent acts and was fired by MSNBC for doing so, with an apology from its president, stating: “Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he.”

But wait! How can we not address the several elephants in the room: guns and hateful rhetoric among them? How can we not react when confronted with statements like these:

“You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry, and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel. . . I 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. That is a prudent deal.”
Charlie Kirk, 2023 [ii]

Or Donald Trump’s “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS…” later accusing judges of protecting criminals and being “sick, and very dangerous for our country.” Those who don’t support him are "enemies" and "traitors." His violent messages to those he perceives as enemies are too numerous to cite here but are well known to anyone who follows the news.

We need to have that discussion. And MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times and other media outlets need to get over their fears and start dealing honestly with this critical moment in the life of our country.

[i] Kirk’s Christian Supporters Mourn Him as a Martyr, The New York Times, 9/11/2025

[ii] https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-its-worth-have-cost-unfortunately-some-gun-deaths-every-single-year-so-we