How does society train young men to be safe and channel their energies for good and against violence? The answer is found in the formerly agreed-upon rules of decorum, which value societal humility – virtues which are obviously lacking in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
— A comment on Daily Wire: “My daughter was at a restaurant when the news about Charlie came on the tv screens. She was absolutely appalled when the two female bartenders clapped in response. Yes, there are monsters in this world and those two are examples.”
— A comment on my post remembering Charlie Kirk on Facebook: (more on this below): “Also RIP to Minnesota House representative who were gunned down in their home 12 weeks ago.
— Newsmax reports: “Ammunition found in the rifle believed to have been used in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was reportedly engraved with slogans linked to transgender and antifascist ideology.”
— Powerline Blog contributing attorney reports: Rutgers found that only 45% of those who described themselves as liberal (including those who said they were ‘slightly liberal) think that assassinating President Trump would be “not at all justified.” A majority saw some justification, and an appalling 13% said that killing Trump would be “completely justified.”
No wonder that two people, so far, have tried to do it.
It is not surprising that violence results as a significant fraction of our nation becomes unmoored from rules of decency, decorum, and trained to dehumanize their opponents. The reality is that our public discourse is now so coarse that dehumanizing your opponent is often the very first response to anyone who disagrees with a person on the left. The movements we elevate in schools include any number of false and dangerous us-vs-them propositions: transgenderism, anti-racism, anti-fascism, gender ideology, anti-colonialism, religious hostility, and economic Marxism. In each case, the leftist mantra is the same:
— Those with whom we disagree treat others inhumanely. Historical, religious, and societal norms need to be abandoned, and all opposing speech demonized.
— There is no possibility that we are misinformed. We are justified.
— Those whom we stand against will not stop or reform – grant them no safe spaces.
— We can treat those with whom we disagree as less than human. Rules are made to be broken, violently when necessary.
Satan underlies all these reactions, and he wishes for nothing more than for conservatives to lose sight of the humanity of our leftist brethren, just as so many of them have lost sight of ours.
The above comments and excerpts from Powerline Blog, Newsmax, and The Daily Wire are easy to understand. They are outcomes of a young man radicalized, justified, trained and set loose on society. I want to highlight this comment on my Facebook post, where I remembered Charlie Kirk: “Also RIP to Minnesota House representative who were gunned down in their home 12 weeks ago.”
The essence of this comment reveals a simple and powerful explanation of the first three principles above.
The commenter believes that a political assassination by an adherent to a violent ideology (sadly held by millions of Americans) is equivalent to a madman who had a personal disagreement with people and a gun. The societal norm here is that we expect human beings to be able to understand when things are similar or equivalent.
This inability to judge when something is similar shows the initial miseducation of the person who posted. If they can’t understand how Charlie Kirk’s political assassination is different, then they can justify any conclusion on any subject. They are primed to be radicalized. After all, if you disagree that a 12-year-old can have their breasts removed against their parents’ wishes, you are deleting that person’s essence. You are denying their very existence … right?
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Not only is this person fallaciously equating Charlie Kirk’s assassination to the tragic killing of the Minnesota Representative, but the person is also showing that there is no question of equivalency in their mind. You know that this person had made that insensitive, error-filled, and duplicitous remark hundreds of times. The poster was not confused about the violence of right and left. They felt justified in invading our stunned reaction to the political assassination of a beloved man, which resulted from a widespread, often violent, movement – not a lone madman who was universally condemned.
When a person is grieving, there are rules about attacking them, distracting them, and disrespecting their sorrow. This is normal human sensitivity. Decent human beings understand this in their souls – at least we used to. But the commenter on my Facebook is an adherent to the “no safe spaces” movement. Attack, distract, project, make nonsense arguments, use every one of the “rules for radicals.”
The above excerpts clearly show the results of abandoning the rules of decency, decorum, and dehumanization. Perhaps we can just post “3D” (Decency, Decorum, Dehumanization) as a quick response to these comments that justify violence through false equivalence and a lack of respect for grief or speech.
A final caution to those who feel overwhelmed by the evil forces that foment these increasingly violent movements. Satan underlies all these reactions, and wishes for nothing more than for conservatives to lose sight of the humanity of our leftist brethren, just as so many of them have lost sight of ours. While we dismantle the movements that created the fertile field resulting in this horrific outcome, we must not fall into the very error that has overcome a significant fraction of our opponents, lest the devil win twice.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
7 Comments
Thank you for this article! How true it is,,,,,,
Glen is spot on. Charlie Kirk would remind us, too: the Left still is human, even if they want to demonize us. The same was done to the early Christians. Everyone should see the classic movie (in color) “Quo Vadis.” Once people were convinced of the lie that Christians burned down Rome, all of Rome’s vaunted commitment to justice was abandoned, and you could do the most vile and inhuman things to them — en masse — for the sake of entertainment.
“Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland”
“Ordinary Men is the true story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police, which was responsible for mass shootings as well as round-ups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942. Browning argues that most of the men of RPB 101 were not fanatical Nazis but, rather, ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities out of a mixture of motives, including the group dynamics of conformity, deference to authority, role adaptation, and the altering of moral norms to justify their actions. Very quickly three groups emerged within the battalion: a core of eager killers, a plurality who carried out their duties reliably but without initiative, and a small minority who evaded participation in the acts of killing without diminishing the murderous efficiency of the battalion whatsoever.
While this book discusses a specific Reserve Unit during WWII, the general argument Browning makes is that most people succumb to the pressures of a group setting and commit actions they would never do of their own volition.”
John 10:10 Satan comes to steal and to kill and to destroy.
The Democrat Death Cult cannot murder all of us, but all of us can join Turning Point U.S.A. Please sign up now!
good suggestion
As a Christian, my heart goes out to those who suffer and die because of violence. As Christians, we grieve and sympathize with surviving families grieving their loss. One thing I oppose is political violence from the extreme left and extreme right. Most of which are adult men! It’s time to grow up men!
As first Alaskans, it is our plea that cooler adult heads prevail. Unnecessary political rhetoric and violence is unacceptable. It’s time to grow up fathers and grandfathers.