The Charlie Kirk Radicals Hated Wasn’t Really Charlie Kirk

Since founding Turning Point USA at the age of 18, the late Charlie Kirk regularly visited high school and college campuses to engage the student body in civil debate.

Of course, it was during this exact type of event where Charlie was assassinated last week by a gunman who told his roommate (boyfriend) that he “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred” and that “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

What did Charlie Kirk say that Tyler Robinson found so distasteful and hateful?

Prosecutors in Utah are beginning to piece the puzzle together, noting that Robinson’s mother told them their son had “started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.”

Yet, is it likely Tyler Robinson also believed things about Charlie Kirk that just weren’t true?

Not only is it probable but guaranteed.

Thanks to the propaganda and lies regularly spewed by radical agitators, a caricature of Charlie Kirk emerged over the years that was far from reality.

Back in July, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) said Charlie was guilty of “racist, homophobic and transphobic speech while on campus” and labeled him a “professional provocateur” who was “actively hostile to higher education.”

Charlie was neither racist, “homophobic,” nor “transphobic.”

It’s not surprising then, that in the aftermath of last week’s murder, the group has come to the defense of teachers being disciplined for celebrating Kirk’s assassination. In a statement released this week, the group warned,

“The AAUP notes with great alarm the rash of recent administrative actions to discipline faculty, staff, and student speech in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk. We write to remind leaders of colleges and universities of their fundamental duty to protect academic freedom and the absolute necessity to ensure that the freedom to discuss topics of public import without constraint is not curtailed under political pressure.”

But what if that “freedom” is leading to a false portrayal of someone and that misrepresentation is enough to trigger another to resort to violence against someone else? The day after Kirk’s death, author Stephen King claimed that Charlie had “advocated stoning gays to death.”

He had never done any such thing. In fact, Kirk had simply quoted the biblical passage to point out how easy it is to cherry pick verses in the Bible. King later apologized – but how many people saw the original tweet not the retraction?

It’s one thing to have a fundamental disagreement with someone, but caricaturizing an opponent can be dangerous and deadly.

Deliberately mischaracterizing someone can shutdown openness to debate. It also discourages someone from digging deeper into a person’s actual background. After all, who wants to have a conversation with a racist or bigot? It’s easier to feel disdain for someone if you see them as a one-dimensional person rather than who they really are.

Some prominent liberals were praised for releasing empathetic statements in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination. But if you listen or read carefully, you’ll find a common thought in many of them.

Senator Bernie Sanders decried the violent killing but noted Charlie was “Someone who I strongly disagreed with on almost every issue.” Actress Jamie Lee Curtis offered heartfelt comments but noted that she “disagreed with him on almost every point.”

Really Senator Sanders and Jamie Lee Curtis? Disagreement on almost every point?

Anyone interested in discovering the real Charlie Kirk would have found a humble Christian man who boldly and bravely brought his Christian faith into the public square.

Here are just a few of his recent public statements:

“I mean, I’m nothing without Jesus. I’m a sinner. I fall incredibly short of the glory of God. We all do. I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade, and it’s the most important decision I’ve ever made, and everything I do incorporates Jesus Christ.” 

“The mechanisms of a religious society [are] good for everybody. When somebody walks around and thinks that you were created and that you’re not God, you tend to have better citizens.” 

“The greatest minds of history have been mesmerized by the Scriptures — Isaac Newton, Thomas Aquinas. Isaac Newton wrote more about biblical prophecy than even physics. And so there’s something about the Scriptures that are intellectual, that does push your limits. And that’s what I think is so beautiful about our faith is it can be accessible to everyone, but also infinitely nourishing in exploration.”

“It defies reason to think that this is just a roll of the dice. When you see a baby come into the world, when you see how we naturally heal, when you [see] even consciousness itself — I think it is a pretty miraculous thing. To think that’s all just a bunch of happy accidents — I think it’s more rational to think that that’s a byproduct of design.” 

“We as Christians have hope that we are going to see our loved ones again and that we will be in heaven and that we will be in perfect peace and that this is not it. In fact, there’s something even better awaiting us.”

Charlie found and discovered ultimate peace last Wednesday afternoon. It would benefit everyone, especially those who hated and thought they knew who Charlie Kirk was, to dig a little deeper and discover the truth about him. Even better, it would be ideal if they discovered not just who Charlie Kirk was – but the Lord and Savior he loved and worshiped right to the end.

Image from Getty.