I was recording a podcast episode when the news of Charlie Kirk’s death broke. By 5pm I had turned the news on to roll in the back-ground as my kids and I worked around the house. This isn’t something I normally do, but this wasn’t a normal day. It was a day that would be marked in history, a “turning point” as so many announced, the play on words describing perceived broader cultural repercussions. Within a few minutes, I told my kids, “this will be the JFK of your generation.”
This will be the JFK of your Generation
I went on to explain the fullness of what I meant by that loaded statement. I meant, like JFK, Charlie Kirk was different, possibly too different. I predicted to them that no matter what happened as far as the investigation and finding that perpetrator(s) there would be division and people would debate and theorize the motives, means and people involved without ceasing
Thus far the entirety of that prediction has proven accurate, but, it must be noted that given our cultural climate it’s a fairly elementary thing to see coming.
As with most things lately, I find myself on an island. Most of the people I’ve heard commenting on this are 1. trusting the investigation, asking no questions at all or 2. asking questions but not stopping there – they’re forming conclusions with the internet as their only resource and no evidence to support their conclusion. 3. Maybe I’m not actually alone. It’s possible the first grouping of people are, like me, quietly questioning.
Do Facts Still Matter?
In the last few years, I’ve noticed that most people don’t require FACTS to form an opinion they just need extreme trust or on the other hand extreme distrust. They rely on their extreme trust or distrust of the information source to determine which side the facts lie on even if the facts have yet to be seen. Often one side berates the other for being too trusting but really absent facts both sides are employing some level of blind trust to uphold their reality.
I’ve also found that very few people care to face reality as long as they can surround themselves with enough people to confirm their opinions so that it feels as if what they believe to be true is actually true. This has become fairly easy in the age of social media. Through algorithms people are able to build a fortress that walls them off from hearing anything other than their own echo.
Furthermore, many people are willing to make extreme claims with nothing more than intuition to back them up and anyone who can’t see what they “know” deserves berating. Intelligence (information) and logic (reasoning) are no longer necessary for most.
The Lost Art of a Critical Eye
It is incredibly wise to ask questions but it’s terribly stupid to jump to conclusions. Choosing this route: asking questions without jumping to conclusions is incredibly rare. This is partially due to it being harder. It’s easier to just choose a side and have an answer. It’s much more difficult taking the road of asking and not concluding because you might have to be OK with using the massively underrated phrase, “I don’t know.”
Pride often gets in the way of our ability to admit we have questions but no answers. We like our mysteries solved and our commentators proffering conclusions but that’s not always possible if truth and integrity are top priority.
The other reason it’s less common to find people willing to ask the questions without already having the answers is simply that it is unpopular. Unpopularity begets unpopularity, meaning at this moment in time when content created gets low engagement those creating content take note of it and create less or change direction.
Independent isn’t the same as Honest
In this new era of “independent media” it is imperative to remember, every type of media is and will always be dependent on your attention. There’s been a false equivalence made with independent media and honest media. Independent, in this case, means nothing more than unattached to a larger traditional network. It does not guarantee honest reporting or factual information.
We must all do our due diligence in vetting the independent media and corporate ‘legacy’ media alike. Then, we vote with our views. What content consumers give attention to the content creators will pump out more. In other words, media consumers, not just creators, bear responsibility when it comes to the content that gets created.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination and investigation, I believe, is deserving of a critical look. I have questions. But, like most people who are commenting on both sides of the issue, the only tool at my disposal is the internet, no inside scoop, no “sources.” I have the same information as everyone else and therefore no answers, no conclusions, only quiet questions… at least for now.
Questions and Considerations
The following is an unrefined list of questions and thoughts. They are listed in the approximate order in which the thoughts came to me and aren’t intended to point in any direction because, as I said, I have no conclusion. I won’t be debunking or entertaining comments I’ve seen online that I consider unreasonable… with the exception of two that I find hard not to address.
- Video of suspect approaching UVU on foot, said to be Tyler Robinson with odd straight legged (no knee bend) gait presumed to be because of the long gun stowed away in his jeans / down his leg followed by pictures of him walking up stairs. Questions: how is he bending his knee, why is there no videoin the stairwell, only still images.
- John Brown Club, a LGBTQ militia. I first became aware of this club through the website of the Wisconsin John Brown Club on July 14, 2024 and it was my first thought when the bullets hit the news. They’ve since scrubbed their website and made their agenda a little more obscure but I have screenshots from 2024. Full article on this organization coming soon.
- The ability of the CIA to brainwash and cause people to do/believe they did things they didn’t.
- The FBI and CIA have a long history of corruption and it’s naive to think it’s been all cleaned up just because there was a changing of the guards at the White House.
- The bullets with LGBTQ messages in the shooting of Charlie Kirk followed by similar messaging on bullets used in ICE shooting got me thinking about the federal government’s past of covertly, by way of intelligence agencies, creating greater division in already known and divided groups by perpetrating violence. If you haven’t read the book, “Chaos,” by Tom O’Neill … it’s worth a read.
- The text thread between Tyler Robinson and his lover/roommate reads like a fake or made up conversation. This could be because it is or because Tyler was texting specifically to create a paper trail of innocence for his roommate.
- John Brown Club fliers posted at Georgetown University had me like, that “club” is the first thing I thought of while simultaneously considering the notion of convenient (or inconvenient depending on viewpoint) timing for those fliers to be posted. Would an LGBTQ militia really want to draw attention to themselves currently? Did the university scan video footage for the person responsible?
Debunking a Comment and a Conclusion I can Speak to
Online chatter speaks to the doctor signing the death certificate at the hospital “before there was an autopsy.” THIS IS NORMAL. For those of you who don’t know, I was an ICU nurse for over 15 years and therefore dealt with death and post-mortem care quite often.
When someone dies in a hospital, or is even brought to a hospital dead, the attending doctor pronounces the death and later will sign the death certificate. Before the body can be released as a nurse you must call the coroner (this may vary state to state but I’m sure the practices have similar features). There will be a list of questions about the deceased and the coroner will determine whether the body can be released or whether it becomes a “coroner’s case.” This is to ensure proper investigations of falls, unknown original causes of or suspicious deaths. The next of kin reserves the right to request or decline autopsy but the coroner has the right to override and force an autopsy. I cannot speak to ‘if and how’ all this happened in the case of Charlie Kirk, but death certificates and cause of death that correspond with the diagnoses would be listed. In every case, the doctor diagnoses and confirms death, criminality and foul play are left to the coroner.
Erika Kirk is being called out online for being “fake” or performative and conclusions are being drawn out of that observation. I tend to agree on the point that she has a performative way of delivering a speech. But that is where my agreement ends. I was in pageants as a teen and my daughters have come to enjoy going to local pageants with me to observe. My least favorite part each year are the speeches. Why? Because they are performative, stiff, over-enunciated and not spoken in anything close to the natural manner I much prefer. Her look, attire and presence all lend to this being just part of how she “shows up.”
Erika has the added weight of public grief. I can’t imagine the weight of grieving publicly and being expected to do it just right for millions of people…. or else… be accused of plotting this tragedy? I don’t even care who calls me crazy or naive on this. If I’m too naive to believe a young mother with two kids and countless genuinely loving moments shared online could participate in this, I’m grateful. I’ll take the name calling over a hard heart.
Stay Alert, Beware of Evil … but be Careful Not to Live in Darkness
“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” Romans 12:21
“Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.” 1Corinthians 14:20
“The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.”James 5:16
“Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners. For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:6-8
“Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.” Isaiah 1:17
Confusion, Justice, Honor and TRUTH
There is so much confusion in the world right now, even among believers. Go online for just five minutes, it’s a mess. Instead of trying to untangle confusion as if it’s all coming from rampant lies and corruption in government and culture, we should live as if we understand what we are up against. As Christians we should understand any lie, corruption or conspiracy that exists as a result of the fallen sinful world we live in and the only true cure is Christ.
Do not mistake me, I’m not asking that we throw our hands up and quit. We should seek justice and truth but nothing is more important than the “capital T” Truth: the truth of the gospel. As I look around these last few weeks, I see more capitalizing on the momentum a “hot take” can generate. I see pride on display as people parade their theories around taunting others who ‘just can’t seem to make the connection’ as ignorant, blind and uniformed and a lot of it coming from professing Christians. What I question is our ability to seek justice in an honorable way. If justice is the goal, the sensationalism will be toned down there will be humility in the pursuit.
I’m watching conspiracy narratives take over in Christian circles so that it overshadows the gospel message. Many people wearing their ‘truth seeker’ title as a badge of honor that has caused the original Truth they’d sought and obtained to be left in the dust. If we really want to seek truth in a way that exposes the lies and corruption of our temporary Earthly home we must do it with God. If we are prayerfully asking for wisdom and inviting the Holy Spirit to guide our steps, it will look different when we seek justice… there will be light instead of more darkness and there will be opportunity to expose truths while we are living a life that shows we know the Truth.
This isn’t my Mystery to Solve
I haven’t spent much time dwelling on the above questions and comments I listed about Charlie Kirk’s tragic death. Nor have I reviewed hours of video or committed time to consume podcasts theorizing on the topic because this isn’t my mystery to solve. I don’t have the tools, insider knowledge or the capacity to spend the time needed without dropping my God given daily duties.
I don’t know if Tyler Robinson is fully responsible for the crime, if there were others, it was set up or some combination of those options. I don’t know. I care. But, at this point in time I’m not capable of full knowledge. Yet, I do know the One who knows all things, the One who Charlie also called his Savior. Ultimately that, not the resolution of every conspiracy, is where comfort and contentment is found. It’s not that I don’t have questions, about a lot of things, actually. It’s that I am able to discern what should be my highest and foremost pursuit.
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