I’m even more devastated today by Charlie Kirk’s murder than I was yesterday. The horrible loss hits home in many ways, but here’s another.
You can’t get murdered on a webinar or a Zoom debate, but as soon as you step out into the public space to have a dialogue with strangers on a controversial subject, you must know that you are, as Charlie Kirk was, subject to the ultimate form of cancellation. Not just on college campuses, either. There are many public forums, including churches, synagogues, and city streets.
“Obviously a Threat”
Our colleague Jonathan Choe posted on X that someone at Seattle Central College just spray-painted on a sign, “KILL ALL CHARLIE KIRKS.” It’s “obviously a threat. But what the far-left doesn’t realize is that this madness is actually catalyzing reasonable Americans to now say, ‘WE ARE ALL CHARLIE KIRK.’”
HAPPENING NOW: Some whack-job just spray painted “KILL ALL CHARLIE KIRKS” on the Seattle Central College sign. This is obviously a threat. But what the far-left doesn’t realize is that this madness is actually catalyzing reasonable Americans to now say, “WE ARE ALL CHARLIE KIRK.”… pic.twitter.com/0654FLqZ70
— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) September 11, 2025
He earlier posted with reference to the rebranding of the word “Nazi.” It used to mean, well, a Nazi. Now it means something like any conservative, or according to the woke buzzwords, any “capitalist” or “Zionist.” At a vigil for Charlie Kirk last night in downtown Seattle, a man boldly told an interviewer that to rid us of such a “Nazi” he would have pulled the trigger himself.
At the app Bluesky, some have reported searching for the word “next” and finding that users of the alternative to X are now excitedly bidding on which right-of-center personality should be targeted after Kirk. Ben Shapiro, for one, has a response to those who would intimidate us: it’s a defiant two-word expletive. Has our culture crossed an “invisible line” as on 9/11, today’s ominous anniversary? God, I hope not.
A Small Gesture
What can you do if you’re not someone who speaks in public regularly? One small suggestion: I’ve noticed around my own suburban neighborhood a proliferation of stickers and graffiti calling for left-wing violence.
One is a message in permanent marker a few blocks away on a bus shelter that says, “Feeling down? Punch a Nazi.” Now you know what that means.
Another is a sticker that was common along my walking routes, with the sinister coded message, “86 47.” “86” is gangster slang for murder. And you don’t need to be told who the 47th President of the United States is. I’ve taken all those down, even when the perpetrator kept putting up more.
Be safe, or course, and don’t make a hobby of it. But do keep your eyes open.