Most Mondays, Assigned Media runs the news aggregation column Leading Off. With the news dominated by the death of far-right podcaster Charlie Kirk, and amidst widespread fears of violence from the far right, we chose to feature this opinion column by our founder Evan Urquhart this week instead.
We’re not supposed to say it. It is terribly taboo. According to Reuters, at least 15 people have already been fired for saying it (reporting by NBC suggests it may be many more). And yet, and yet… there’s a stirring deep inside, a wild joy lifting our hearts, an impish gleam in our eyes as we say Charlie Kirk is dead.
How could anyone be sorry? How could anyone be mournful? A man who kept a watchlist of professors whose views he disagreed with (one that spurred endless death and rape threats), is now dead! A man who supported the January 6 rioters that chanted calls to hang our vice president is dead! A man who called for his supporters to bail out the attempted murderer of one of his political rivals is dead! A vicious and committed racist is dead!
He claimed a passage in Leviticus said gay men should be stoned to death, calling this “God’s perfect law”*—and now he’s dead! In part, I am celebrating the fact that, however much evil remains in the world, at least nothing can ever bring him back. But mostly, I’m celebrating because he’s dead and I am still alive.
In normal times, I’d work to keep my schadenfreude at the death of a terrible person under wraps. The man has children, after all, and it would be a terrible thing if they were to learn how joyful their father’s death has made the people who he hurt. That’s why, in the first 24 hours after Kirk’s death, I kept decorum. I refrained from saying anything celebratory or even negative about this awful man. (Most people on the left did the same.)
These, however, are not normal times. These are times when the right to say something the far right finds offensive is under threat. It’s under threat by the US government and by individuals in the far right who seek revenge. If they’re compiling a list of everyone who refuses to fellate the memory of the horrid, evil, violent, moon-faced turd then it’s a list I’d rather be on than off.
I am nothing if not a free speech absolutist. Freedom of expression is central to the ability of trans people to live our lives openly, freely, and with pride. And that’s why, however tasteless, however much I’d hesitate to say it in any normal circumstance, today I am determined to join the celebrants with my full chest.
All that said, let’s take a minute to be clear: There was no hotbed of violent transgender leftism that resulted in Kirk’s murder. Our community has always been peaceful, and only recently even begun considering the need for self-defense. Even if the young, white, male scion of a deep red state had a transgender partner (a claim that remains unverified by any reliable news organization), that is as irrelevant as the fact that his parents were Republicans. Attempts to blame the trans community on this pretext would be funny—if they weren’t putting us all in deadly peril.
For my part, I certainly never wanted Kirk to be shot—honestly I didn’t think about him much, except as one of a cadre of interchangeable dead-eyed far right toads. You know, the ones embracing Nazi analogies for the modern day US that casts them as the Nazis and trans people (and Jewish people, and immigrants, and Black Americans) as the Jews?
“This is our Reichstag fire!” they cried, as Kirk lay dead. Yes, you fucking freaks, we know.
I do not want and have never wanted any of them dead. I want them to chill out and be normal for the first time in their lives.
I know that some people who would usually be on my side may look askance at my strong words. But I have concluded that strong words are the only ones suited for this day. In the first months of Trump’s second term we’ve had far too many people tempering their tones, hoping to avoid the ire of the victorious far right. Each on our own we’ve been keeping our heads down, afraid to say the wrong thing, hoping things get better or, if they get worse (which we pretend not to expect), that we’ll be able to survive. As we cower we are losing the core freedoms that we learned in school made ours a country worthy of our love. We must be brave. We must not shrink.
That’s why I’ve chosen to depart from my normally measured tone. I have always believed in an American right to free speech which includes a right to be offensive. It’s not a right I’ve often exercised myself, but it is one I value highly, nonetheless. Today, this hallowed right is teetering on the brink. I think I’ll use it while I still have it, thank you very much.
Fuck Charlie Kirk, and fuck you, if you don’t like me saying fuck him. I’m not afraid to say I’m glad I’m still alive at 47 while he is dead at 31.
While I still can, I feel like celebrating.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that Leviticus calls for gay men to be stoned to death. While it calls for gay men to be executed, the Bible does not specify a method. Kirk was misquoting the Bible when he stated his beliefs about gay men.
Evan Urquhart is the founder of Assigned Media.
Bla bla bla
MAY CHARLES KIRK REST IN HELL!!!
Great freedom of speech you can say anything I want and I agree with you by the way
Hell is too good of a place for Charlie. May he and ALL MAGA supporters find that place and burn even hotter.
Persinally, I find it heartbreaking that Kirk can only die once.
That deplorable example of a human being got what was coming to him after all of the advocating he did and blather he spewed. Children of such a horrific example of human life will be better off. It is a pity his parents didn’t have the decency to raise a better human, or maybe they simply did not know how to raise a decent human, I do not know. What I do know is this: The USA is so much better off without this racist, homophobe with no ethical awareness and no regard for human life. In this life he was a true martyr – he truly did exaggerate the fake suffering he claimed to endure b/c he was white. Poor, poor chuck.
Shanah Tovah!
hear hear!!!!
That’s what I’m saying…If we on the left are damned if we do and damned if we don’t and being blamed for shit we don’t do, then I can stop with the performative condemnation of kirk’s murder. I will second your sentiment:
I’m glad Charlie Kirk is dead.
The right has declared war on us. I will fucking take them at their word…
Wow, such hatred. I feel bad for you and all of the commenters. It must be so awful living such a hateful /miserable life. So miserable that you have to take joy in someone dying. I had no idea that sociopaths were on the rise but here we are!
I hope you realize that people in the right had the same reaction to the death of Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark (and their poor dog).
Mrs. Hortman volunteered at her local library, was an advocate for children and literacy, and a lovely human. Charlie Kirk said that passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake and that gun violence every year was worth it because it protected his second amendment rights. He was a vile person, and the world is now free of this racist.
How are you so comfortable defending someone who promoted violence, hatred, and division? What does that say about you? I had no idea that sociopaths were on the rise, but here we are!
If you spend your life going out of your way to spread hatred, meeting a violent end isn’t much of a shock. Just something brought down upon yourself. If he kept his hate to himself he’d still be alive. Charlie brought down his own demise…hope he’s uncomfortable in hell.
This my friend was a disgusting hate speech. And we are going to find you … Cyber forensics of your ip address will lead us to you. It’s simple.
Dear FBI fake account:
NO WORSE THAN THE TANGERINE TERRORIST’S FILTHY MOUTH!
I’ve reported YOU for harassment, threats of bodily harm, and A FUCKING FAKE ACCOUNT, you chicken shit cockwomble…
You know what hate speech is?? YOUR IDIOTIC RESPONSE! You Fourth Reich Nazi pendejos cry about not having free speech? You most certainly DO…Even Charlie Kirk had the right of free speech…HOWEVER, SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE, INCLUDING THE LEFT, THE MIDDLE AND THE FORTH REICH! Go fuck yourself with a Trump hat!
You wanna come at me, bro/gal/thing? LET’S RUMBLE, BITCH!
Came here to type my daily "fuck Charlie Kirk". Feels really liberating, in such a tightly controlled society.
What about Emmett Till…? Or the Indians oh right right racism was legal back then.
Kirk embodies the type who weaponizes “freedom of speech” debates to stay relevant—a fitting figure in a nation suffering from chronic eleutheromania.
What a disgusting rant that is full of lies – and displays your own lack of humanity.
There are many opinions with which to disagree but I have never wished anyone dead and I have never celebrated the murder or death of anyone – no matter what they might have said or done.
So, a true pacifist, then? Against the death penalty? Never celebrated when the US killed Osama Bin Laden?
Admirable, certainly, but outside the norm. Most people celebrate when an evil person perishes.
You wouldn’t celebrate Hitlers death?
Sometime ago when I heard about a crusty dinossaur of a homophobe died I said this and I will say again:
May we all outlive every single of these bigoted motherfuckers and make their life´s work irrelevant and relegated to the dustbin of history
I just started watching your interview with Brad Polumbo. I am reading this article based on the interview. To be fair, I don’t know Brad Polumbo, YouTube just fed this video to me. However, you’re about ten words in and I already see a big issue. I am not sure if you’re intentionally lying or if you’re simply misinformed. Taking the best possible view, the view that you’re misinformed, I will do what I can to se things straight.
You said that this is an unprecedented time of attacks on American’s free speech. Which implied that Charlie Kirk had been trying to stomp out free speech. That’s simply not correct, it’s wrong. College student and college faculty are the ones trying to stamp out free speech. Your claim is inaccurate. You can look at dozens of videos showing college students and professors physically attacking people who were trying to have open discussions along with speakers who had been invited to lecture on campus.
Kirk repeatedly spoke about wanting open dialogue and cordial debate. If you’ve never heard him say it he said, "I go around universities and have challenging conversations. Because that’s what’s so important to our country is to find our disagreements, respectfully, because when people stop talking, that’s when violence happens." So, I politely submit to you that you’re wrong. You’re spreading false information and the misinformation, intentional or otherwise will probably lead to more bloodshed.
BTW here is a link to his quote. Get your fact straight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xTChC4rTk
Kirk called for his supporters to bail out the far-right extremist who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband while looking for Pelosi. His organizations funded the buses that shipped a horde of extremists to our nation’s capital, chanted for the hanging of our vice president (Pence) and sought to overturn an election.
Yes, at times he gave lip service to free speech. But he egged on violent extremists every step of the way. You may be too steeped in right wing propaganda to understand, but the truth is that the far right is threatening the freedoms of all Americans and a couple kids acting foolish on college campuses were only ever a couple kids acting foolish on college campuses.
They’re overthrowing democracy and crying "look what you made us do." Wake up before it’s too late.
Piece of shit scumbag who thought he was just another gleeful grifter, set to live the good life by the willful hand of the wanton destruction of America. Like Falwell and Limbaugh before him will only be remembered as a piece of shit scumbag. Fuck him and all the villains. He lays with the murderers, pilferers and pedos. In a world where good and great people die everyday to no fanfare or adulation, this one caught a fully righteous end to his despicable lineage and personal choices to end in this specific way. He asked for, and God obliged. The irony is not even worth my words. To better people, who warrant the sympathy, and empathy. Not the grifters and scumbags. Ever.
ding dong the witch is dead 🙂
I don’t celebrate his death nor do I mourn it.