Wrong Alive, Wrong Dead
What Charlie Kirk Stood For
TODAY'S RAMBLINGS
4 Minute Read
Sorry to start the week on such a sour note, but I am disgusted by the repositioning of Charlie Kirk as some kind of national treasure, important intellectual and all-around good guy.
He was anything but.
Before starting, I will repeat: there is zero place in the U.S. for political violence against anyone, no matter how wrong they may be. Freedom of Speech is at the core of everything we are and have as Americans.
And I feel badly for Mr. Kirk’s family and friends.
But with that out of the way: Fuck Charlie Kirk - what a complete asshole.
Oh, Portico, you are being so disrespectful of a man murdered in his prime.
Disrespect?
I’ll show you some disrespect - here are the words and beliefs of Charlie Kirk.
On Abortion
Any abortion is a “murder”
Abortion should be illegal be in all circumstances, including in cases of rape or incest
Kirk stated that if his own 10-year-old were raped and became pregnant, “the baby would be delivered”
On Gender Roles
Women should be “wives and mothers”
Kirk blamed birth control pills for making women “angry and bitter”
Kirk claimed birth control pills “screw up female brains”
On Gay Rights
“A marriage is one man, one woman,” and is in favor of overturning the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, which legalized gay marriage nationally in 2015
Gay people want to “corrupt your children”
Called for “Nuremberg-style” trials for doctors providing gender-affirming care
Thinks transgender women in locker rooms should be "taken care of the way we used to take care of things in the 1950s and '60s”
On the 2020 Presidential Election
Repeatedly lied that it was stolen
Announced that his organization would send "80+ buses full of patriots to D.C. to fight for this President"
When questioned by the House Select Committee investigating January 6th, Kirk invoked his Fifth Amendment rights rather than answer questions about his involvement
On Race
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr “was awful and not a good person”
"We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s”
Kirk said federal courts treat the Civil Rights Act "as if it were the actual Constitution of the United States" and viewed the legislation as a means to "eliminate the First Amendment”
"If I see a Black pilot, I'm gonna be like, 'Boy, I hope he's qualified'"
On Immigration
Kirk promoted the "Great Replacement" theory, a far-right conspiracy claiming that immigration policies are designed to replace white Americans
Kirk said the Biden administration's immigration policy "is about bringing in voters that they like and, honestly, diminishing and decreasing white demographics in America"
Immigration is an “invasion”
Pro-immigration policies are a part of a “deliberate plot to undermine white political power in Western countries”
On Religion and Christian Nationalism
Claimed the separation of church and state was "a fabrication and not mentioned in the Constitution"
Kirk promoted the "Seven Mountains Mandate," a philosophy calling on conservative Christians to claim positions of power in government, media, business, and education
Advocates "spiritual warfare" against the "dehumanizing" and "Satanic" tactics of the "woke left"
Kirk encouraged his followers to "reclaim the country for Christ"
On Climate Change
Described climate change activism as "a Trojan horse" for Marxism wrapped in "pseudo-paganism"
Described global warming concerns as "complete gibberish, nonsense and balderdash"
Kirk said often that climate change is "a hoax, a left-wing ploy to expand control over citizens"
Kirk dismissed scientific consensus on climate change, arguing that "science says nothing,” and said there was "highly questionable data" supporting climate science
On COVID-19
Charlie Kirk spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and opposed pandemic public health measures
He urged "peaceful rebellion against governors" in response to lockdown measures
Kirk argued that pandemic responses represented an authoritarian threat, promoting conspiracy theories about a "great reset" using COVID-19 as a smokescreen for implementing "an authoritarian communist state"
On Jewish People
Mr. Kirk said “Jews control . . . the colleges, the nonprofits, the movies, Hollywood, all of it"
Kirk claimed "Jewish donors" were the "number one funding mechanism" for "radical, open border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies"
Kirk said that "Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them"
On Guns
Kirk said increased gun ownership was the solution to reducing gun violence
Kirk proposed arming school security as a solution to mass shootings
In 2023, Charlie Kirk said "I think it's worth it, 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"
I am not the first to note the irony in the last quote.
So no, I do not and will not mourn the passing of Mr. Kirk.
If there is a reader willing to defend some or all of these words, I will publish your rebuttal in its entirety and with no commentary of any kind.
Because - given his words and deeds above - I sincerely want to understand the adoration for Charlie Kirk.
FROM THE UNWASHED MASSES
Wow. This came late Saturday via the modern telegraph regarding Friday’s post, To Charlie Kirk’s Mourners:
LOL you speak of unity then immediately proceed to post this. Classy stuff!!!
‘I have never killed anyone, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction.’
Indeed, Alden Michaels accusing me of having no class was the nicest thing he had to say, going on to issue a torrent of ever-nastier insults over the course of two hours. But I’ve been asked to not print his further comments, so I will not.
Instead, I will quote W. Kamau Bell. He published this over the weekend.
I certainly won’t be gaslit into performatively pretending that Charlie Kirk was some sort of saint in death when he was actually just a truly awful person in life.
Charlie Kirk was a bad faith actor who spent all his time coming up with new ways to create more bad faith. He did it for money, for clicks, for shits and giggles, for clout, and, worst of all, he did it for his Dear Leader Donald Trump.
Huge thanks to both the tech executive Thomas Buitoni and the retired movie star Lauren A. Fox. Both sent complete and very thoughtful answers to the questions I asked in Friday’s post.
Indeed, the were so complete and so thoughtful, I’ve posted them in their entirety to my Substack site.
Here are some excerpts worth noting.
Thomas quoted Wikipedia’s definition of Demagoguery.
"Demagogues have appeared in democracies since ancient Athens. Demagogues exploit a fundamental weakness in democracy: Because ultimate power is held by the people, it is possible for the people to give that power to someone who appeals to the lowest common denominator of a large segment of the population.
Demagogues have usually advocated immediate, forceful action to address a crisis while accusing moderate and thoughtful opponents of weakness or disloyalty.
Many demagogues elected to high executive office have unraveled constitutional limits on executive power and tried to convert their democracy into a dictatorship, sometimes successfully."
And from Ms. Fox.
We live in crazy times and I hope this is a wake-up call for all of us.
I think most of us are sane and just want to live a life without all this anxiety and hate.
It's exhausting.
What Lauren A. Fox said.
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
KLUF
I know, I know - so heavy. So depressing.
How about a return to a more simple time, like the jazz clubs of Japan, from 1968 to 1984? This is very fun and also Killer.