Charlie Kirk is dead, shot in a violent act that I cannot condone. Let me be clear up front: I did not agree with him. I did not admire him. I am not of his religion. And I refuse to pretend he was a hero. But I also refuse to celebrate his killing. A society that cheers death, even of people we dislike, loses something essential. Violence is not justice. A life taken this way is a tragedy, even if the man himself spent his career promoting views that harmed and marginalized others.
His Beliefs, Laid Bare
Kirk made his name by building Turning Point USA and amplifying a brand of conservative politics rooted in culture wars. But beneath the branding were ideas that should be called out for what they were: bigoted.
- He preached that women should marry young and focus on having children, dismissing careers as distractions.
- He claimed birth control “ruins women’s brains” and makes them bitter. While there are some issues with birth control and not all women react the same to it, that’s the point it should be something between a woman and her doctor.
- He told audiences that women over 30 are essentially past their value in the dating pool.
- He denied the legitimacy of LGBTQ+ identities, called gender-affirming care harmful, and insisted that “biblical” gender roles — men lead, women submit — should define American life.
- He pushed anti-immigration fears, invoking conspiracy theories about demographic “replacement.”
- He called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives a threat to society, equating them with cultural collapse.
- And when it came to guns, he argued openly that some number of gun deaths each year are “worth it” to preserve the Second Amendment.
These aren’t harmless disagreements. They were beliefs that dismissed women as less than, that denied queer people’s humanity, that pushed a narrow religious framework on a pluralistic nation. That is bigotry. And it must be named as such.
Rejecting the “Hero” Narrative
And yet, in the wake of his death, I see voices rushing to crown him a hero. That is not only dishonest, it is dangerous. Kirk was not a hero. He was not a martyr for free speech. He was a man with a platform who used it to promote prejudice, and his death does not erase that legacy.
To call him a hero is to cheapen the very word. Heroes are those who put themselves at risk to protect others, not those who used fame and influence to divide a nation.
What We’ve Lost as a Nation
What troubles me most is how quickly we lose perspective. We elevate controversial figures into saints or devils, forgetting the complexities and the deeper lessons. We seem more eager to wage culture wars than to reflect on what really matters.
This week, as the anniversary of 9/11 passes, I think about what real heroism looked like. Firefighters climbing stairwells. Police officers and paramedics running into burning towers. Strangers helping strangers down smoke-filled staircases. People of every faith, every race, every political belief, pulling together in a moment of unity.
That spirit — of shared humanity, of courage, of sacrifice — feels absent today. We are so consumed by division that we forget what we are capable of when we stand together.
Where We Go From Here
I can hold two truths at once:
- Charlie Kirk’s views were harmful and rooted in bigotry.
- His death by violence is not something to celebrate.
If we want to honor heroes, let’s not do it by rewriting the legacies of divisive figures. Let’s do it by remembering the everyday people who gave everything on 9/11. Let’s do it by recognizing those who choose compassion over cruelty, unity over division, humanity over hate.
That is the perspective we desperately need to recover.