I listened to the President of the United States use the murder of someone who played a significant role in helping him win the White House to anoint Charlie Kirk a political martyr. It was no coincidence that his death was announced not by a doctor at the hospital or a spokesperson of the family or Turning Point USA. If you have seen the footage of the shooting (which I would not advise), you will have seen there is little doubt he died within minutes at the scene. The announcement of his death was a politically choreographed moment in which Trump could simply not pass up the opportunity for him to be centre of attention. It sickens me that this is what America has become. The people deserve better. As I stated in my post following the shooting there is not one single point on which I agreed with Charlie Kirk, but nobody deserves to be murdered for their political beliefs. I found him morally repugnant. A peddler of misogyny, homophobia and an unapologetic racist who spent his time attempting to poison the minds of young people with his white Christian Nationalist views that are antithetical to Christian teachings. Despite my opinion of him, he did not deserve to die for the beliefs he held and I would fight to defend his right to hold them. He has left behind a wife and 2 small children whose last memory of their father should not be a gaping hole in his neck emptying his life in an ocean of blood on the ground. Nobody deserves that. He fervently believed that the numerous gun deaths in America each year were an acceptable price for the preservation of the second amendment and in a twist of irony he became a martyr to that cause NOT the America that Trump is creating and he painted in his disgusting address to the nation. The flag outside the White House flew at half mast not out of respect, but as an act of performative politics. Let’s not forget that a couple of weeks ago, two young children died while they prayed in a Minnesota catholic church. There were no half mast flags to mark their passing because they held no political value. It is likely there will be acts of retribution as we see right wing politicians and talking heads stoking the fires of political violence. I’m sure Trump is already planning to maximise the political value of Kirk’s death with a made for TV funeral event to cement his martyrdom. These are dark times. I will not shed a tear for Charlie Kirk. America will be subjected to slightly less Christian Nationalist propaganda with his passing. I’ll leave you with his own words in the hope that when he met his maker he didn’t have to attempt to debate his way into heaven, because he may find St Peter quoted him Matthew 25:40 ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.