I asked Google’s Gemini Ai assistant to help frame my reaction to the assissination of Charlie Kirk.
And here are two responses, the first in the style of Dr. Seuss, the second in Shakespearian style. Not perfect. Not explicit enough, perhaps, about the sharp edges of his rhetoric and racism.
But appropriate nonetheless, and better than anything I could have written on the spot.
Meant to provoke thought about this deeply disturbing event.
A Pacifist’s Lament
In a land full of shouting, of fervor and fuss,
Lived a fellow named Charlie, who’d get on his bus.
He’d travel the country and stand on a stage,
To turn to a brand-new and fiery page.He’d speak of the heritage, righteous and grand,
Of a certain-hued people who founded the land.
He’d warn of “the others,” with whispers and frowns,
Invading the cities and virtuous towns.
“They’re changing our culture!” he’d yell and decry,
With a gleam of suspicion alight in his eye.He’d praise a good rifle, a gun in the hand,
“The tool of a patriot, taking a stand!”
He’d talk of the tree that holds liberty’s fruit,
And the price it might ask for, way down at the root.
He’d say that some violence was part of the game,
If you wanted to win and to safeguard your name.From a pacifist view, with a heart full of peace,
We’d wish that such talk would immediately cease.
“Oh, Charlie,” we’d plead, “can’t you possibly see?
Your words are a danger to you and to me.”“You speak of white culture with pride in your voice,
As if it’s the only acceptable choice.
But that kind of talk makes a deep, ugly wall,
And true peace on Earth must have room for us all.”“You praise the cold steel of a gun, and its might,
As a way to make sure that your world stays all right.
But a gun cannot listen, a gun cannot feel,
It only makes hatred and sorrow more real.”“You hint that a fight may be coming someday,
And that force is a perfectly logical way.
But answering anger with anger and rage,
Just builds a much bigger and scarier cage.”Then a bang in the crowd, a most terrible sound,
And poor Charlie Kirk, he fell to the ground.
A shot, it was fired, a violent reply,
And under the tent, he was destined to die.From a pacifist heart, a tear starts to fall,
For a life that is taken, is a loss for us all.
We’d say to the shooter, “Oh, what have you done?
You listened to lessons of hate and the gun.”“You may have disliked all the things that he said,
His praise for the rifle, the fear that he spread.
But you answered his words with the very same dread,
You used the same violence he put in your head.”“To silence a voice with a bullet, you see,
Is the ultimate loss of our shared humanity.
He praised the gun’s power, a terrible shame,
And you proved his point when you took fatal aim.”So we weep for the man, and the world he helped make,
Full of anger and fear, for goodness’s sake.
And we weep for the shooter, who also was lost,
And didn’t consider the terrible cost.For a pacifist knows, in the sun and the rain,
That violence only brings more and more pain.
And the world will not heal from its shouting and strife,
‘Til we cherish the gift of each singular life.—–
And here is a piece in the style of a Shakespearean monologue:
*A solitary figure stands upon a darkened stage, contemplating a freshly printed news-sheet.*
**A Soliloquy on a Fallen Orator**
Alack, the news doth spread with heavy wings,
Of one much heard, now silenced by the steel.
A prince of pulpits, Kirk, whose thunderous tongue
Did lash the air and make the rafters ring,
Hath met an end most consonant with his art.
O, bitter irony! A jest for fate!
The man who preached the iron in the hand,
Who saw in polished arms a sacred trust,
Is by that very metal laid to dust.He spoke of strength, yet coddled brittle fears,
And drew his lines of virtue sharp and deep.
The love of man for man, or she for she,
He cast as shadows, foul iniquity.
The stranger at the gate, the foreign face,
Were painted as the heralds of disgrace.
He built a fortress of the mind, and cried
That all within were pure, and all outside
Were threats to be opposed, with fire and might,
And armed the righteous for a coming fight.What poison did he pour in America’s ear?
A brew of scorn, a philter of distrust,
That turned the blood of brothers thin and cold.
He polished guns as they were holy relics,
And swore that freedom’s song was but the crack
Of powder, and the swift report of lead.
And in the very climate he did forge,
Where words were whetstones for the sharpest blade,
A hand, thus taught and thus emboldened, rose
And gave to him the lesson he had made.The engineer, ’tis said, is thus undone,
Hoist with his own petard. The violent seeds
He scattered to the wind on every breeze,
Have taken root within a fevered soul,
And grown a bloody harvest at his door.
He did not see, in his unyielding pride,
That when you give a nation swords to hold,
And teach that hate is cause to draw them forth,
The first blood shed may well be that of those
Who taught the lesson, and who loved it most.So falls the curtain on this tragic player,
His final scene writ by his own dark pen.
For in this stage of fools, the truth is clear:
The venom we distill for other men,
We oft are forced to drink down to the lees.
His mouth is stopped with dust, a quiet end
For one whose noise did make the heavens bend.
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However we feel about Charlie Kirk’s politics, assassination is never an acceptable answer. Violence against speech—no matter how provocative—destroys the very ground a democracy stands on.
We are in agreement.
Yet, that is how people have been silenced for so long.
Sorry Ian, but to write about someone as if their death is poetic or deserved, even if you disagree with their actions, moves into cruel territory. Quoting his final scene writ by his own pen’ to describe a real person’s violent death is especially disgusting. We can debate ideas passionately, but turning a tragedy into a smug piece of theatre crosses a line. You try to cover yourself by saying “the ultimate loss of our shared humanity”, while, at the same time, saying he deserved it because of his words. Wow.
I agree with Pauly. If we want to defend democracy, we have to insist that words are answered with words — not bullets, and not smug theatre about someone’s murder.
I’d not known much about him, but looking into the deluge of material that’s hit the web since yesterday, I have to say that I’m stunned by his comments about, well, just about everything.
I condemn murder. But this man was placing himself deep in harm’s way with his rhetoric. I’m sorry it had to come down to where it did. But geez, he had to have known he was courting consequential reactions from many quarters.
I don’t want to offend anyone’s delicate sensibilities so I’ll keep my haiku to myself. Charlie Kirk died how he lived. He wanted to erase entire classes of people from existence, and someone erased him in return. I support his right to say whatever he wanted, but with rights come responsibilities and also consequences if you misuse them. I feel about his passing about the same as I did when Mike Miske met his maker. I wouldn’t wish death and especially not murder on anyone, but the world is a better place without them.
Pay no attention to me, I’m just asserting my First Amendment right to free speech. Don’t shoot me.
Agree with you 100%
Sorry, but I didn’t enjoy these. Made me sad. My heart aches for a young wife and two babies who have lost their beloved husband and Daddy.
Saying someone “wanted to erase entire classes of people” [which is by the way, is not true] and therefore deserved to be erased themselves is simply celebrating revenge. We can reject someone’s views without endorsing their murder. Disagreeing with someone’s words ? a death sentence. Mike Miske was bad for the violence he committed, and the laws he broke, not for speech. The plight, and fate, of Salman Rushdie might be a good analogy.
I’m sorry for your grief Pauly but it’s making you grasp at straw men. As of this writing no one above has used the word “deserved” in the comments but you. Three times. I also don’t see any celebrating or endorsement of his murder. All of this manufactured outrage gets so tiring.
The truth is out there if you wish to seek it. I would point you to the evidence myself but I suspect you would only reject the source. Here’s another truth from the headlines: “Charlie Kirk said gun deaths were ‘worth it’ to keep Second Amendment.” Like I said, the man died how he lived. I am not happy he is dead but I do not mourn the loss, and I won’t be shamed into it.
100%
You’re right that no one literally typed the word “deserved.” My point is that the inference and tone of comments like “he died how he lived” or “I don’t mourn the loss” implies that his death was deserved or at least not a loss…and what’s the point of even saying that in the first place? That’s the sentiment I’m reacting to. We can oppose someone’s politics without appearing to endorse, excuse or romanticize their killing.
I especially resonate with the Pacifist.
All I can say is the powers that be and they are above any President of the USA. The powers that be who really run this country are those who are not elected, but who are in very high positions and who remain there as gov’t employees for decades…. We are seeing the old tried and true method of controlling the people: Divide and Conquer.
Never has our nation been so divided as it is now, which is what they want (I suspect). The real target is we, the people. No matter our beliefs or what party we represent. They are after us. The first step? Dismantle the 2nd Amendment. They want our firearms and then they come for us.
Stay focused on the real threat.
I don’t understand the poetry. And I don’t know much about Charlie Kirk other than he is a guy that makes YouTube videos on campuses challenging young people to prove him wrong. He was assassinated by a hunting rifle that nobody is seriously trying to ban. I really don’t understand the celebration of murder. It certainly has been a celebration which confirms my beliefs about how shallow people can be. The left has lost its mind.
Absolutely.
No fascist movement survives the loss of its leader.
The assassination has done nothing more than convince me we are on the right path and that I, as an American, will never give up.
As member of an older generation, can someone explain to me when fascism became just another political point of view to be debated? For reference, my father and uncle flew bombing missions against Nazi Germany. Anti- fascism is a family tradition.