Almost two weeks ago an unexpected shift happened in America, almost like when there is a shift in the earth’s tectonic plates. If you have studied science, you know that geological events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are caused by the shifting of tectonic plates. The shift happened when Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while publicly speaking to 3,000 people on a college campus in Utah.
When I first heard of Charlie’s death on social media, I thought the incident was just another tragic campus shooting. As just a few weeks prior, I heard about another horrific school shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota, where a transgender shot innocent children out of hate, then committed suicide. So, even though the story was tragic, it wasn’t personally relevant so I dismissed it… until I saw a social media post by a close friend. He said “…Charlie is a martyr for his faith.”
At that point I decided to learn who Charlie Kirk was. I didn’t know who Charlie was prior to his death, so I was unaware of the significance behind it.
I decided to write this blog to share my perspective about Charlie’s life and why his life was important to so many.
Who is Charlie Kirk?
In short, Charlie was an American right-wing (Republican conservative) political activist and influencer who was a key ally of President Donald Trump. When Charlie was 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA, which is an American non-profit organization that advocates for conservative politics from a Christian view to young adults primarily on college campuses.
In learning about Charlie a few things stood out to me.
Charlie Kirk’s family – Charlie was raised in a suburb of Chicago; so he probably grew up upper-middle class. His father was an architect who was involved in the construction of Trump Tower and also was a major donor to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. I personally remember that campaign and the great disdain many Republican conservatives had towards former President Obama.
How did Charlie get the money to create a political organization as a teenager? – Although Charlie Kirk co-founded a multimillion dollar non-profit organization, he never graduated college and dropped out of a community college. He was gifted a platform that he worked hard to build. This led me to my personal opinion that he was privileged… and he didn’t have the life experience nor in-depth understanding to properly debate many of the issues he argued. I believe he was financed and used by Republican donors to achieve their political objectives.
Why would my friends care about him? – I have a lot of friends who are conservative. Although I don’t identify as a conservative, I do share many conservative views. I feel Charlie Kirk was sort of like a “Malcolm X type of figure” to many conservatives, specifically white Christian Americans. As Charlie spoke boldly with strong conviction without fear of offending others and/or facing public scrutiny. He was truly a leader. He publicly echoed the inner feelings of many conservatives.
Was Charlie a Christian Evangelist or Political Activist?
My friend also said that Charlie was an evangelist who won tens of thousands of people to Christ. I don’t disagree with this statement… as I truly don’t know how many people he led to Christ. Even though I’ve never seen a video of him leading anyone to Christ, something in my heart tells me he cared about people.
I do know he was partnered with Liberty University (prior to university president Jerry Falwell Jr’s sex scandal). I believe Charlie primarily professed his Christian faith as a way to express the origin and validity of his political views, not necessarily to lead people in prayer and towards salvation. Even the organization he helped found, Turning Point Faith, is an organization built to help churches become more aware, involved, and united on political issues… it’s main objective is not to lead people to salvation.
Was Charlie Racist?
I do not believe Charlie Kirk was a racist. Primarily because I do not call a lot of people racist… I save this term for those I feel have a proven hate towards a racial group. And, I don’t feel Charlie hated the black community.
Growing up in Louisiana, the deep south, racism is normal. Slave plantations are honored and communities openly show prejudice in every way possible. It’s not just whites against blacks, it’s mixed-race against blacks and whites too… as everyone who knows Louisiana history, knows that discriminatory laws were created to classify blacks into categories (based upon the amount of white ancestry) so to deprive certain classes of blacks from receiving equal privileges. It wasn’t until 1967 that blacks and whites could legally marry or live together (Loving vs. Virginia).
However, I don’t mind other people calling Charlie a racist, because it depends on how they define what a racist is.
Racist – a person who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward people on the basis of their particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
I do believe Charlie said a lot of racist comments specifically aimed towards the black community. Here are two of his comments below.
If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 23 January 2024
If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now they’re coming out and they’re saying it for us … You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 13 July 2023
In conclusion of this blog post I want to acknowledge the deep divide in American politics right now. As a Christian we are called to love our enemies… no matter if we agree with them or not.
I personally believe Charlie and others like him, such as Candance Owens, are very necessary to American society… as they are people who boldly profess their Christian faith and they advocate for healthy debates between people who share different opinions.
Cancel culture, hate speech, greed, deception… I believe all of these things are evil. Let’s shift this… instead of spreading hate and division, let’s find a way to come together and bring unity into our American society. Spread love.
Jason's Journal 