Readers Write: The killing of Charlie Kirk and our society on the brink

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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Another school shooting. Lives cut short. Another political leader gone. Too many more to mention. Different settings, same devastating truth: Anger and division are turning into violence — and so many of us are left shocked, grieving and asking how it has come to this.

Everywhere killing happens, it is parents, children, neighbors and friends who suffer. When children are murdered in classrooms, it’s not just a headline. When a leader is killed, it doesn’t just end a career. Our communities are left broken.

This is not the first time, and it will not be the last unless we change how we see and speak to one another. Political violence and mass shootings thrive where contempt replaces curiosity and people are treated as enemies rather than human beings.

We can survive disagreement. We cannot survive the belief that killing is an answer to differences.

The work begins with us: Listen with curiosity, not contempt. Choose words that humanize, not demonize. Demand accountability for rhetoric and policies that fuel violence.

Jane White Schneeweis, Mahtomedi

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I am sickened and heartbroken by the recent shootings — at Utah Valley University and at Evergreen High School in Colorado. Two tragedies, one day. But what I keep coming back to is this: America only seems to pay attention when violence is caught on camera. We just witnessed the public death of Charlie Kirk. It shocked people across the political spectrum not because it was the first time a gun killed someone — but because, this time, they had to see it.

When children are slaughtered in schools, the nation is told, “three dead, seven injured.” Neatly packaged numbers. The media shields us from the reality of what guns do to young bodies. We look away, move on and nothing changes. But those parents don’t get to look away. Those classmates don’t get to look away.

History shows us the power of truth. When Mamie Till-Mobley chose an open casket for her son, Emmett, the world was forced to see what hate had done. It galvanized a movement. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for American children. Isn’t it time we stop sanitizing it for the comfort of the public and the politicians who refuse to act?

Jessica Graves, Ramsey

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Regarding state Rep. Walter Hudson’s claim that “Democrats are playing political theater on guns,” yes, they are. And so are you by trying to deflect the obvious. Everyone is making these shootings political because this is political. We have a serious problem with mass shootings and political assassinations. And the only way to address serious problems is political. That is the only way to make policy.

The question is not who is being political but who is being serious. No one belittles thoughts and prayers literally. What people are belittling is that as the only response. No other country on the planet has this problem to the degree that we do. Every country has mental health challenges. No other country has as many guns. Why don’t we get together, share our thoughts and prayers and then address mental health and the epidemic of guns?

Alice Johnson, Minneapolis

The assassination of Kirk was not only an assault on a husband and father of two young children who adored him; it was an assault on civil discourse and free speech in a country where free speech is under attack.

Kirk built a large following among young people on college campuses because of his ideas and his engagement with people holding different views. His tent at these college gatherings had the words “prove me wrong” printed on them, and he would begin his debates by asking those with opposing views to step up to the microphone to ask their question.

There are hundreds of video clips of Kirk’s debates, and time and again, he handled criticisms or opposing views by often smiling or engaging his opponents in a respectful manner. He was not a screamer, nor an attacker, nor a condemning personality.

The shooter may have killed the man, but his soul and legacy will live on for eternity.

Corby Pelto, Minneapolis

Kirk equated abortion with the Holocaust and he said, “It’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year” to preserve the Second Amendment. He also referred to people in minority and LGBTQ communities in blatantly derogatory terms. (Everyone, of course, is entitled to express his/her opinions.) Given Kirk’s remarks, is it appropriate for President Donald Trump to consider awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom?

Jean Johnson, St. Louis Park

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It seems there are methods that could assist in reducing mass shootings, political shootings and maybe the more frequent domestic and criminal shootings, but they are not being employed. This includes the widespread use of cameras, ongoing analysis of purchasing trends and social media posts and monitoring of other established correlations.

As a simple example, in two recent political shootings, the shooters gained access to a roof. It would not have been difficult to have the access routes under video monitoring and any activity along these routes or on the roofs quickly flagged.

Paul Bearmon, Edina

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I agree with nearly everything Michael Brodkorb and Erich Mische said in “Mourning Charlie Kirk’s death isn’t partisan” (Strib Voices, Sept. 12). The levels of violence we are seeing will likely continue until “we stop feeding the outrage machine” and “we stop dehumanizing our opponents and start humanizing ourselves.”

I would add that interrupting the cycle of violence needs to start from the top. I call on Trump to show empathy and leadership by discontinuing any planned military deployments to American cities where they are not wanted by the duly elected mayors and governors of those communities.

Our right to freedom of speech comes first because we want those with the best ideas to lead our communities and country. Not those with the most guns.

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It is disappointing, but probably to be expected, that Trump would use the assassination of Kirk not to help bring the country together but to further divide us and promise vengeance. He blames what he calls the radical left, which seems to be anyone who doesn’t agree with everything he says, with all the political violence. He conveniently leaves out the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and the wounding of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. He leaves out the assassination attempt on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the series of shootings at the homes of four Democratic elected officials in New Mexico in 2022, the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, and the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in 2022. And, of course, he does not mention the violence he himself incited at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by over 1,500 followers.

There is no excuse for political violence in America. There is no excuse for provoking even more of it by blaming one side or the other. He is attempting to use this killing as an excuse to attack his political opponents. It is time for all of us, including the president, to take responsibility for civil discourse in our country.