Watching the press conference Friday when — thankfully — Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer was captured, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, trying to come off like the voice of reason, said he’d been “angered” and “sad” the last few days but was comforted by Charlie Kirk’s own words.
Well, Governor, I’m so glad that Kirk made you feel so good, because he made so many of us feel awful. He made us scared, marginalized, and angry. Yes, we can be angry too, Governor, even though you told all of us to take an off-ramp with our anger,. Maybe those of us who were stung by his words can try to off-ramp, but that’s not what’s going to happen to everyone else.
Why? Because Kirk’s hate speech will live on in the generation he tried to indoctrinate. There’s no off-ramp for them, because many of them harbor the same hate Kirk did toward people of color, women, queer people, and even people who have battled mental illness like me.
Governor, I admire your conviction to try to lower the temperature. I agree with you and admire you for using your voice, your words, but you’re wrong when you say words are just words. They are not. Because why are people who question Kirk’s words on social media being punished by those on the right for utilizing free-speech with their words?
You can’t pick and choose Kirk’s word, and then say that Kirk’s words “calmed” you. Because what you leave out is all the damage those words did to so many of us.
It’s fitting that some of his final words were vindictively cruel lies about the transgender community, because that’s how many who came of age listening to Kirk will continue his mission by vilifying them and anyone else Kirk deemed different.
And it stings, really, that he’s being lionized as some kind of prophet, a martyr who did good. His words left deep scars on millions of Americans. If you were Black. If you were gay. if you were a woman, or If you, God forbid, attempted suicide, maybe you’d feel that pain too.
We all agree that no act of political violence is ever justified. The man who pulled the trigger is a coward, and his crime is horrific. I lost my father when I was young, and I genuinely feel sorrow for Kirk’s children. But it is dishonest and frankly dangerous to somehow try to elevate Kirk in death as if his life’s work were one of peace, unity, or progress.
Kirk made his name by being provocative and divisive, which is the quick way to stardom. He targeted his words primarily toward America’s youth. His audience was the nation’s college students and high schoolers, and he fed them a steady diet of resentment. He mocked diversity, equity, and inclusion as “cancer.”
He sneered at women in leadership, suggested Black Americans were ungrateful for the nation’s history, and called LGBTQ+ rights a threat to “real freedom.”
Governor, guess who said the following? “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.'”.Charlie Kirk did just last year. Do you think Black people are “calmed” by Charlie’s words?
Governor, who said this about women? “Birth control like really screws up female brains. … It creates very angry and bitter young ladies and young women.” Yes, angry women, just like you. Do you think that they are calmed by those words?
Or Governor, how about those of us who battle mental illness? I wonder who uttered this insensitive garbage: “Women are far more suicidal. … But when men commit suicide, they’re much better at it. Women have far more suicidal ideation than men.”
Governor, I’ve attempted suicide three times, so I guess I failed to live up to Kirk’s words that make you so content. Do you know how what he spewed adversely affects me and millions like me? When we see someone say something so heartless? Suicide is not something that should ever, ever, ever be bandied about. Even if it’s “just” words.
And Governor, how about this zinger: “They [LGBTQ+ people] are not happy just having marriage. Instead, they now want to corrupt your children.” Do you believe that I get up every morning thinking about how I can corrupt children? If you agree with that and are calmed by those words, then please don’t tell me how much of a Christian you are.
I’m sick of hearing that too. Kirk and everyone else on the far right keep throwing out the word “Christian,” and those of us who may be different in your eyes are somehow not the “right” kind of Christian. The God I know would never condone Kirk’s words like you do.
His words weren’t slips of the tongue. They were deliberate. He built a brand out of belittling others, out of convincing young people that cruelty was just honesty with better marketing.
And now, unbelievably, Donald Trump wants to give this person who calms you so well the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That’s a grotesque insult to the true heroes who have worn it:, and whose words and actions have really positively impacted a nation. Rosa Parks, who risked her life and freedom to stand up against segregation; John Lewis, who gave his blood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge for civil rights; Harvey Milk, who boldly stood up for LGBTQ+ rights and who was assassinated too. Milk’s life was consequential. He actually did something wonderfully impactful.
What did Kirk sacrifice? Whose lives did he uplift? He fought no wars, he passed no laws, he didn’t dedicate himself to charity or peace. His legacy is division. His legacy is hate.
And now, in this moment when the nation needs healing, because you told us Kirk’s words healed you, we have a president who refuses to let go of his hate. Friday morning, Donald Trump went on Fox & Friends and, rather than offering compassion or a call for unity, doubled down on his favorite theme, the radical left as the great enemy. He even hinted, again, that the ballot box doesn’t work.
What alternative is he suggesting? When you say elections are meaningless, you leave only violence as the path forward. That’s not leadership. That’s incitement.
Instead of telling all of us who were harmed by Kirk’s words to be calm like you and to just forget all the hate that was lodged at us, why don’t you tell the leader of your glorious Republican Party to “calm” down? Like everyone else in your party, I suppose you’re too afraid to do that.
Governor, your plea rings hollow when Kirk himself silenced so many voices through ridicule, exclusion, and relentless attacks. Words can either calm or inflame. His inflamed. His made young queer kids feel less than, young women feel dismissed, and young Black and brown students feel despised. And those with mental illness feel less than.
That cannot be brushed aside simply because he is gone.
And yet, here’s the irony, In death, Kirk may wield more influence than in life. To many of his followers, he is becoming a martyr, a prophet, someone whose words were so powerful.
Those of us who actually believe in peace, justice, and inclusion must not be shamed into silence. Speaking out against Kirk’s words is not an endorsement of violence; it is a refusal to let hate go unchallenged. Sure, we can “turn the other cheek,” but not over and over and over again.
Kirk’s false mythology will be carried forward by young people who grew up on his rhetoric, emboldened by a president who thrives on division and promises vengeance as policy. The danger is that this next generation will inherit Kirk’s talking points.
In other words, Governor, they will abide by his words and follow his path. There is no off-ramp for them.
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.
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This article originally appeared on Advocate: Utah Gov. Cox is ‘calmed’ by Kirk’s words, but a generation has been indoctrinated by his rhetoric of hate