Kirk espoused views many didn’t agree with. Doesn’t make violence okay; it’s not.

On a week of school shootings, including the murder of Charlie Kirk and innocent young schoolchildren. We pray for peace, we pray for more active love, more conversations, less silence, less fear, fewer threats.

Elephant has taken a clear stand on Kirk. He was in many ways a proud racist, sexist, homophobic, he was dismissive of bipartisan gun reform, willing to support the suppression of the Epstein Files.

None of that makes violence okay. It’s not. That’s the whole point: we’re for peace, love, and active love.

Not hate. Not violence.

We have advocated for commonsense gun reform (popular with 80% of Americans, if not 80% of the noisiest folks on social media) for decades. Have you? If not, if you’re truly horrified by Kirk’s murder, as we all should be, then welcome. Welcome to the movement.

“MAGA suddenly: gun violence is wrong! Never okay!

The rest of US: we agree! Nice to have you show up and care! You care about school shootings, too, and mass murders, right? Right? Hello?”

So…if you’re (rightly) heartbroken about his murder, then advocate for peace, not further violence. Peace is not some vague Hallmark thing. Peace is hard work. It requires active love, activism, followthrough.

If you’re not for that…then your horror at Kirk’s horrific murder doesn’t include horror at the school shooting on the same day, in my home state of Colorado. If your horror is only for one man, one “side,” then you don’t abhor violence. You abhor violence against only those you care about.

Even that is a start.

Let’s work together to make America safe, sane, kind, and stop sending only “thoughts and prayers” to murdered children’s parents. Let’s give all Americans mental health care, and reasonable gun reform.

Peace is not ignoring hate. Peace is not hiding in privilege. Peace is caring, truth, listening, loving.

Kirk might have said “Christianity” and “Jesus,” a lot, and loudly, but was oppositional to Jesus in Love, compassion, caring, peace. He was outspoken for hate, sexism, racism, homophobia. He okayed hiding the Epstein Files.

I’ve left a link to some of his endless hateful positions and comments below.

We’ve posted an article about all this. We got endless “this is disgusting” comments. You were this caring and staunch when it came to all our endless articles over the years and years and years and years about gun violence at school children, right?

This article (which received endless horrible comments I deleted…and many simply disagreeing, which I haven’t deleted) is one author, not THE VOICE OF ELEPHANT. So many folks say “I’m unfollowing or unsubscribing or boycotting you” over one article. But we’re a community, with many different life experiences and points of view and takes. And you can contribute yourself!

You’d know that if you were a reader of Elephant—we’re a community with voices who sometimes disagree with one another, while finding common cause around other issues. To share your voice: elephantjournal.com/post 

That said, we do have values, and ethics, and Kirk said all of this (again, see below) out of his mouth and it’s full of…I’d call it hate.

Again: that doesn’t make violence okay.

JD Vance: “Charlie Kirk never said Black women do not have brain processing power to be taken seriously. He never uttered those words.”

Oh, he said something along those lines, calling out leading, successful, intelligent black women:

Charlie Kirk: “Joy Reid, Michelle Obama, Ketanji Brown Jackson—you do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken seriously.”

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Read next:

Charlie Kirk’s Death is Tragic but he’s Not a Hero.