Episode 116: Charlie Kirk's Assassination - A Few Words After the Fact.

Charlie Kirk's assassination is a stark reminder that our nation is entangled in a cycle of violence that seems impossible to break. With Kirk's tragic death, the media frenzy erupted, amplifying every detail of his life and the despicable act that took it. Amidst the noise, I attempt to provide clarity on how these tragic incidents reflect deeper societal issues—rooted in radicalization and media sensationalism. I ponder the inevitable question: what lies ahead for our violence-ridden nation?

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Transcript

00:00 - Ed Goldman (Host)
Hi, this is Ed Goldman with the Goldman State Podcast. These are after-the-fact words about the Charlie Kirk assassination. I was conducting a magazine interview in a construction trailer when one of the building crew's members burst in holding his smartphone above his head and yelled somebody just killed Charlie Kirk. The guys sitting around the table all mumbled their surprise as the deliverer of the bad news went from guy to guy, pretty much insisting they view the horrifying footage of Kirk being shot in the neck at a rally. Ironically, just as he was discussing with an audience member the recent spate of mass shootings in the country, I looked at the video, but the man I'd been interviewing declined to saying I just don't have the stomach for this kind of thing. Maybe it's because at an early age I covered murders, automobile accidents and the aftermath of a major airline crash that I was able to look at the video, which was unnerving and immediately censored by news organizations. That pretty much guaranteed its immortality on social media. 

01:03
I won't describe the video, because you've either seen it already or have no desire to see it, which makes you neither a wimp nor does it make someone like me who looked at it a bloodthirsty macho man. Sensibilities differ from person to person. That's one of the things that makes each of us a person. But I will admit to this until Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I had only a vague idea of who he was. Nor, it turned out, did half of the guys in that construction trailer who glanced at the footage of his killing. This wasn't because any of us necessarily shared or disputed Kirk's conservative Christian views. In fact, it's likely that you'll find more construction crew members who vote for conservative candidates than for liberal ones. It's just that they and I aren't members of the younger generation, whose members largely comprised Kirk's following. 

01:52
Well, since that moment, there's been a predictable explosion of stories, photos and lies about Kirk's and his murderer's lives and words. Just as predictably, elected officials have stepped up their own security but not stood up to gun advocates who steadfastly maintain that guns kill people. People don't, yes, but I'm pretty convinced that it's people who pull the triggers on the guns that kill people. Commentators, influencers and probably your hairstylist and auto mechanic have talked about Kirk's killing as being a watershed or hinge moment in the national dialogue and about how only someone who was radicalized and more than likely a Democrat could have committed the most heinous of crimes, as though there's never been a radical conservative assassin in our bloody political history. Also on cue, cable and broadcast news producers assembled those panels of usual suspects. They deem experts, whom the great Calvin Trillin calls the Sunday morning gasbags, to fret and moan and pontificate about what this all means. 

02:57
How did we get here and what's next for our violence-addicted nation? Well, maybe I can offer my own answers to those time-worn clichés, time-worn being one of those cliches. What this all means is that, out of a population of more than 340 million people, one of them was a disturbed idiot who decided to kill a charismatic young man he didn't know in the slightest but felt he hated in the extreme, and that each year, five or ten of these disturbed idiots the maximum point, and then five zeros. Three percent of everyone living in the United States commits a similar or larger scale crime. Okay, that's what this all means. As to how did we get here, well, it was via the transportation systems known as the internet, venom-dripping politicos of every stripe and a news media amped up to make you a celebrity. If you kill a celebrity, it will then devote 24 hours a day into probing your every action and thought. It helps if the killer has compiled a jumble of crap here the media call his manifesto. This continues until the next individual or mass shooter captures the insatiable imaginations of too many of us. 

04:07
And what's next for our violence-addicted nation? Why more violence, of course, and more mealy-mouthed leaders saying deeply introspective things like that's enough. And violence is never the answer. Wow, say one of those. Spin around, maybe issue a stern memo and everything will then be all right. Now I've already confessed I didn't know who Charlie Kirk was. Having read about him the past numbing and dumbing weeks, I can say without hesitation that I admired his style and disagree with most of his positions. But I think it's an outrage that his voice was silenced. I probably would have more to say, but, as someone told me not long ago, I just don't have the stomach for this kind of thing. I'm Ed Goldman. My column, the Goldman State, comes out every Monday, wednesday and Friday. You can subscribe for free at GoldmanStatecom. Thanks for listening.