Certainly puts the events of the last 24 hours into perspective.
I also have some friendly advice for the MAGA crowd and especially its leader:
If you want us to stop calling you christofascist white supremacist authoritarian nazis, stop acting like christofascist white supremacist authoritarian nazis.
Bravo! Thank you for this reminder. You have compiled for readers a catalogue of extreme right wing terrorism. You would have thought listening to public radio this morning that Kirk was a not so bad fellow. Yes they did enumerate some of his claims and what he believed in but the only people they spoke to were those close to and fond of Kirk. They did not interview anyone like you,Mersault, or someone with knowledge of all of the right wing terrorism that proceeded this particular act of violence. Of course not because even public radio which has no longer any federal funding still believes it must show no favoritism, no political anything. I believe that this is wrong, and will not lead anywhere good. I think NPR and public television ought to embrace no longer being controlled by the fact of their federal funding. And start talking about the truth, the facts that the right wants us to forget, and reveal that the lies that we are fed by the government are indeed nothing but lies.
Phoebe, you’re exactly right. What’s most disturbing is not just how right-wing media lionize Kirk, but how even outlets like NPR launder his reputation under the banner of “balance.” They hand the microphone to admirers and reduce his career to a few “controversial claims” instead of naming it for what it was: a campaign of bigotry and harm. Meanwhile, the real legacy—the children slaughtered in classrooms by the gun idolatry he normalized, the families and communities broken by the venom he mainstreamed—barely registers.
Kirk’s platform existed to dehumanize. Anyone who wasn’t white, Christian, and evangelical was cast as a threat, and from that posture he fueled the deaths and despair of immigrants, trans kids, Muslims, Black Americans, and countless others. The murdered children are only one facet of his legacy; the poisoned lives and communities living under his drumbeat of fear are another.
As shocking as the impact of a single bullet is, it pales beside the collective carnage Kirk helped unleash. To pretend otherwise is not neutrality—it is complicity.
There’s no end in sight to the mass shootings this country has endured, thanks to gun nuts and our own legislators. This article should cause a huge collective gasp from every corner. Here’s my thought: gun laws reform. Here’s my prayer: gun laws reform. How? Buybacks, red flag laws and background checks in every state, assault weapons ban (which once was a real thing). Since I know this will not happen in this current admin (without winning back Congress, at the minimum) we can count on three more years of this kind of home grown terrorism.
Just read that there are now more guns than people in this country, Kay-El. We’ll never be rid of them.
I remember the National Rifle Association (NRA) was just a gun safety group when I was a Boy Scout. They encouraged and taught gun safety and when we completed the safety course, we received a golden decal with “NRA” emblazoned on it. I remember I put the decal on my lunchbox.
The damage done by that politically co-opted organization since is hard to quantify.
We do, now, live in the most dangerous country in the world. Tourism is getting hammered. Who would want to visit the U.S. right now? National Parks are closing. Guns are ablazing. Not a very attractive destination, are we?
Agreed, Walt. I think rid of them entirely is a pipe dream, but when the assault weapons ban was in effect this kind of thing dropped 43%. It would be a good start.
A president that encouraged people to fight, fight, fight! and pardons people that used violence in his name should not be surprised when the political world only gets more violent. The us has a long history of violence that dates to it's founding. How do you turn this around become a more peaceful nation I have no idea.
Observing from Canada where our past is not without flaws but we avoided the worst of slavery and a civil war. Take those away and maybe the us would be more like us now?
Chris, exactly—and that’s the critical distinction. Only one faction glorifies violence, treats it as a badge of honor, and sells it as patriotism. The rest of us are left to defend democracy without turning brutality into a creed. Naming that imbalance is essential; otherwise we let their normalization of violence define the whole nation.
Unfortunately, the far right may now consider this vile influencer their martyr. His rants may be elevated to "Truths." Criticism becomes heresy. The far right will become his loyal worshipers. Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian
Rich, I’m with you. I feel relief that his platform of cruelty has gone silent, but violence is never the answer and only muddies the fight ahead. The real risk now is that his followers will canonize him, turning bile into doctrine and shielding him from scrutiny. That’s why we can’t let the narrative calcify—we have to keep reminding people of what he actually was: a profiteer who thrived on division and dehumanization.
"The deadliest single extremist attack in modern U.S. history: the Pulse nightclub massacre, where 49 people were killed in an Islamist-inspired shooting targeting LGBTQ+ people. Beyond that outlier, all other extremist murders were committed by far-right extremists, including white supremacists." says the author, erasing from memory, statistics and REALITY the 2016 Dallas Shooting, in which 5 cops were killed by a black supremacist, with marxist views and extreme-leftist affinities.
I live in a state where I’m afraid to speak the truth. A small town where I owned a business for 40 years. . TY for this article. It clearly shows who is responsible for the hate & murders in the US. Unfortunately people on the right don’t care about facts. They don’t believe facts. They wrap the flag around their crosses & claim righteousness. They worship a criminal & a child molester. I started to post this article to my feed. Then backed out because I don’t believe it would help. The left is the enemy & nothing I can say will be believed. What can you do when truth is denied & lies are worshipped?
Excellent reporting … but when have facts ever interfered with right wing condemnation?
Exactly my thought. “My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with facts.” 😏
Precisely.
Thank you for this! When one sees these numbers it’s hard to argue what is true and what is propaganda.
Certainly puts the events of the last 24 hours into perspective.
I also have some friendly advice for the MAGA crowd and especially its leader:
If you want us to stop calling you christofascist white supremacist authoritarian nazis, stop acting like christofascist white supremacist authoritarian nazis.
🫵
Bravo! Thank you for this reminder. You have compiled for readers a catalogue of extreme right wing terrorism. You would have thought listening to public radio this morning that Kirk was a not so bad fellow. Yes they did enumerate some of his claims and what he believed in but the only people they spoke to were those close to and fond of Kirk. They did not interview anyone like you,Mersault, or someone with knowledge of all of the right wing terrorism that proceeded this particular act of violence. Of course not because even public radio which has no longer any federal funding still believes it must show no favoritism, no political anything. I believe that this is wrong, and will not lead anywhere good. I think NPR and public television ought to embrace no longer being controlled by the fact of their federal funding. And start talking about the truth, the facts that the right wants us to forget, and reveal that the lies that we are fed by the government are indeed nothing but lies.
Phoebe, you’re exactly right. What’s most disturbing is not just how right-wing media lionize Kirk, but how even outlets like NPR launder his reputation under the banner of “balance.” They hand the microphone to admirers and reduce his career to a few “controversial claims” instead of naming it for what it was: a campaign of bigotry and harm. Meanwhile, the real legacy—the children slaughtered in classrooms by the gun idolatry he normalized, the families and communities broken by the venom he mainstreamed—barely registers.
Kirk’s platform existed to dehumanize. Anyone who wasn’t white, Christian, and evangelical was cast as a threat, and from that posture he fueled the deaths and despair of immigrants, trans kids, Muslims, Black Americans, and countless others. The murdered children are only one facet of his legacy; the poisoned lives and communities living under his drumbeat of fear are another.
As shocking as the impact of a single bullet is, it pales beside the collective carnage Kirk helped unleash. To pretend otherwise is not neutrality—it is complicity.
…like explore the talent pool of writers on Substack, Phoebe, and broadcast their Public Radio Content from supporting Substack!
A new age type of media.
This is really a wonderful idea!
There’s no end in sight to the mass shootings this country has endured, thanks to gun nuts and our own legislators. This article should cause a huge collective gasp from every corner. Here’s my thought: gun laws reform. Here’s my prayer: gun laws reform. How? Buybacks, red flag laws and background checks in every state, assault weapons ban (which once was a real thing). Since I know this will not happen in this current admin (without winning back Congress, at the minimum) we can count on three more years of this kind of home grown terrorism.
Just read that there are now more guns than people in this country, Kay-El. We’ll never be rid of them.
I remember the National Rifle Association (NRA) was just a gun safety group when I was a Boy Scout. They encouraged and taught gun safety and when we completed the safety course, we received a golden decal with “NRA” emblazoned on it. I remember I put the decal on my lunchbox.
The damage done by that politically co-opted organization since is hard to quantify.
We do, now, live in the most dangerous country in the world. Tourism is getting hammered. Who would want to visit the U.S. right now? National Parks are closing. Guns are ablazing. Not a very attractive destination, are we?
Agreed, Walt. I think rid of them entirely is a pipe dream, but when the assault weapons ban was in effect this kind of thing dropped 43%. It would be a good start.
What about Jan 6 surely that qualifies?
All of those PESKY FACTS get in the way when EVERYBODY KNOWS IT's dem DEMZ that's the KILLAHSSSSSS! ARGGGGH!
/s (just in case)
RW murder as a method of political expression has been with us for some time.
A few that spung to mind instantly:
Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma City bombing
The Unitarian Church killer who wanted to kill all liberals.
The Sikh Temple mass murder carried out by a RW idiot who thought they were Muslims.
Plenty of others...
A president that encouraged people to fight, fight, fight! and pardons people that used violence in his name should not be surprised when the political world only gets more violent. The us has a long history of violence that dates to it's founding. How do you turn this around become a more peaceful nation I have no idea.
Observing from Canada where our past is not without flaws but we avoided the worst of slavery and a civil war. Take those away and maybe the us would be more like us now?
Chris, exactly—and that’s the critical distinction. Only one faction glorifies violence, treats it as a badge of honor, and sells it as patriotism. The rest of us are left to defend democracy without turning brutality into a creed. Naming that imbalance is essential; otherwise we let their normalization of violence define the whole nation.
Unfortunately, the far right may now consider this vile influencer their martyr. His rants may be elevated to "Truths." Criticism becomes heresy. The far right will become his loyal worshipers. Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian
Rich, I’m with you. I feel relief that his platform of cruelty has gone silent, but violence is never the answer and only muddies the fight ahead. The real risk now is that his followers will canonize him, turning bile into doctrine and shielding him from scrutiny. That’s why we can’t let the narrative calcify—we have to keep reminding people of what he actually was: a profiteer who thrived on division and dehumanization.
I'm seeing stupid meme posts with Kirk hanging from a bloody cross, exhorting "Avenge Kirk."
Makes me want to throw up.
"The deadliest single extremist attack in modern U.S. history: the Pulse nightclub massacre, where 49 people were killed in an Islamist-inspired shooting targeting LGBTQ+ people. Beyond that outlier, all other extremist murders were committed by far-right extremists, including white supremacists." says the author, erasing from memory, statistics and REALITY the 2016 Dallas Shooting, in which 5 cops were killed by a black supremacist, with marxist views and extreme-leftist affinities.
I wish there were footnotes! I'd like to cheek out all your sources!
There are at the bottom of the article.
Unfortunately these are statistics the Party of Trump ignore bcuz it doesn’t fit their narrative. They’re at War … keep your head down!
Nashville Christmas 2020. I’m not fully over that.
Spot on Joyce!
I live in a state where I’m afraid to speak the truth. A small town where I owned a business for 40 years. . TY for this article. It clearly shows who is responsible for the hate & murders in the US. Unfortunately people on the right don’t care about facts. They don’t believe facts. They wrap the flag around their crosses & claim righteousness. They worship a criminal & a child molester. I started to post this article to my feed. Then backed out because I don’t believe it would help. The left is the enemy & nothing I can say will be believed. What can you do when truth is denied & lies are worshipped?