Wise words. My daughters, who are very much down with the gender woo sad to say, went on about how dreadful Kirk was, so I thought I'd take a look for myself. I was pleasantly surprised. He was unfailingly polite, thoughtful and well-informed. So obviously he had to go. RIP Charlie. You'll be missed.
I can still sympathise with the ordinary people in Gaza who are now realising that to put all their faith in the religious fanatics who brought the war to their world was not a smart move. Those who now condemn Hamas and want them gone. But too many still believe, backed by the "sheeple" in the West, that Israel is evil and must be wiped from the planet. They need to be held accountable for their own situation and their supporters need to take responsibility for their part in this war.
Stand out aren't they? Perfect, funny, again perfect. I kept rereading the same words and sentences - he's on fire with righteous something again, which gives me real hope.
Graham is indeed a genius comic writer. Check out the "The IT Crowd" on Amazon. I also just recently realised he co-wrote Big Train too. Stellar talent!
Well said, Graham. The fact that Kirk’s murderer had a transitioning roommate (and also that the Minnesota church shooter of little girls was trans) is studiously being kept out of the news I note.
Thanks for this, Graham. The main message Charlie Kirk brought to campus was about living a clean life, working hard, stay away from weekend binge drinking so common on American college campuses. Like my Bible reading cousins, he referenced contrasting verses when one part is cherry-picked to browbeat some group. The Hebrew Bible referenced in both quotes used in this exchange is in the many long books of the Talmud commentary and, astonishingly, Kirk studied these commentaries with Jewish scholars. A self-taught student of history, he cited many historical figures and their contributions to thought in our time. Unfortunately, he occasionally made glib references; many in his audiences didn't grasp the nuance of ancient texts and his detractors use these quotes to "prove hate speech." He often defended the humanity of same sex attracted people to the Conservatives listening, and listed Dave Rubin, Peter Theil and other successful gay men with stature in Conservative circles. I'll never forget when he used the Hebrew, hineini (here I am, a declaration we Jews make to our God on Yom Kippur) and he mispronounced it. I corrected it in the comments. (hee-nay-nee) As I experienced my sons being alienated from me by the far Left radical wing of the trans movement and was bashed, defamed and misquoted, I started watching his college campus events on his channel. I found much more to agree with, to admire and absorb than I expected.
Some of us politically homeless after having been shat on by liberal people, have had their eyes open to the fact that we tended to follow what politicians, the media and academics on the left told us as long as we agreed with it.
For me it started with the gender crap of course, then the outrageous lack of sympathy after the 7th October 2023 attacks, followed by support for misogynistic terrorists Hamas, and now, the sickeningly joyful reactions to this vicious murder. As with the lethal shooting of another father, Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangioni, the left are trying to tell us that we should sympathise with the murderer instead.
I found plenty to disagree with in Charlie Kirk's views but a fair amount to agree with and he was the only person on any campus who had the guts to conduct a genuine debate. I was shocked and saddened by Charlie's death and was relieved to see that the only left-wing commentator I still like (Bill Maher) also expressed genuine shock and sadness. (Maher hasn't bought the trans bulshit either.)
Very well said Graham. I was very saddened by the murder of Charlie Kirk and the US has been denied someone that would be a rare animal - a future politician that gave a damn and had a modicum of decency. I was always impressed by his knowledge, by the respect he showed others and his willingness to debate. At his events, he would prioritise those with opposing views to his. How the extreme left have turned this into first something to be gleeful about, then tried to frame the far right for it is just utterly disgusing. The things Charlie said that have been taken out of context and then repeated by sheeple just appall me. And of course they haven't watched the actual footage and they are full of vitriole and bile while pointing the finger at anyone that disagrees with them and accusing them and Charlie of "hate". It's just a label they use. I saw no hate from Charlie Kirk.
Bingo! I feel a certain regret for my part in this as I was all for the genuine opening of access and standardising of things to supposedly bring everyone up to a certain level (all subjects). To ensure a quality in and of education and concurrently the professions. What has happened over my career is the slow then rapid tumbling dumbing down of apparently everything and everyone is stuck in bureaucratic stodge. And we kind of all know it but no one really has the oomph to halt it. Skills and knowledge have been leached out 'to democratise it' which is the opposite of what some claim that is. It's not what I or we intended. And very hard to know how to unpick. Maybe the architects of this opening of the floodgates might tell us. So we're all flooded, all education has been devalued bar the excellent education those privileged enough still get. Also often not the ones you think, or who claim it. I keep being told multiple times a day and reassured to 'look this up on Google' as if that's how learning happens or should. For things I already know and actually live. Here in real life, meat space. So I tend to show my polite interested face. But then tech is genuinely exciting and terrifying and access to that really is access.
It's right the way back to early years education but without dismissing those in their teens, twenties and thirties as a lost cause from these last 20 to 30 years of 'ejoocayshun edjoocayshun edjucashun'.
I've been a progressive liberal for nearly 40 years, but now the murder of Charlie has completely broken and triggered me so bad that I can no longer support these ghouls who cheered his killing - which is saying something because they nearly lost me on the trans issue, but I stayed in to counter their narratives the only way I knew how.
I also saw the unedited video of his killing before it got scrubbed; no, I will not describe it - it's that bad.
I was also in the Navy, served in two wars and believe me when I tell you that I have seen all the blood, guts and gore for several lifetimes.
And it wasn't so much the blood and gore, it was the fucking betrayal when you realize the rules that govern the game were never real.
At this moment I am failing to have that whole "no hate in my heart" in the manner of Charlie Kirk.
It's not just in the English speaking press that you hear the same talking points across the media sphere but also in the foreign press. I follow news in several european languages and heard the identical talking points. I heard several commentators snarkily calling Charlie Kirk a "bigoted far right activist who manipulated innocent students into "gotcha' moments for his channel." I could tell that none of them could have possibly listened to the polite, articulate, good humoured, mature young man I myself watched for hours to see what the fuss was about. I disagreed with much of what he said but was full of admiration for his attempt to have open discussions. I was horrified and saddened to learn he was shot.
I think they open up their laptop, or phone, have a brief online search, or use AI to 'generate' their copy now. Sorry, 'content'. Look at 'what's trending' then do a bit of surfing, copy pasting, tweaking, then off they send it. Will I be harsh, radical, outrageous, zen or wellbeingy today? Put their own authentic spin on it. Quoting a quote from a source kind of from a quoteish. Takes five minutes, or maybe an hour. Job done, clicks got. It's a total b*stardisation of writing, literary anything or journalism. It's fridge magnet pap beyond those little bits of screwed up loo paper you used to see flung against walls and ceilings in school toilets. To winkle out the good stuff is a true art and takes a practised eye and far too much time that no one now has as we're all 'too busy' scrolling through feeds of cattle fud...
Having looked at various footage of Charlie Kirk I’m not going to pretend that I agree with him on a lot of issues likewise Jacob Rees Mogg and several other conservative politicians however invariably they are polite listen to your opinion and agree to disagree.
I'm allergic to God stuff, and I'm still a labor friendly class oriented lefty, but the guy was more than ok. He was a free speech advocate. And that is and was heroic and absolutely vital.
Thank you for this. Like you, I never paid much attention to Charlie Kirk before his assassination; but since then, I've looked into the charges made against him by the left: that he preached violence and hate, that he was a bigot, that he was a racist, and all the rest. I've followed the quotations and the video snippets that have been cited to support these charges. In every single case, I have found that the only way that you can find the attributed malign meaning in what Kirk said is by carefully snipping around the edges of the context with malice aforethought.
Most left-ish people, of course, do not care to take the time to do this sort of investigation: from the sources that are congenial to their political views they hear nothing but condemnation of Kirk as a spreader of hate and so forth, and, trusting those sources, they adopt the same view of him. Those sources are not speaking in good faith. Reading the piling-on to posthumously assassinate the character of Charlie Kirk reminds me very much of reading anti-Israel diatribes, in that it is obvious that the "guilty" verdict was reached long before any investigation of facts began.
Wise words. My daughters, who are very much down with the gender woo sad to say, went on about how dreadful Kirk was, so I thought I'd take a look for myself. I was pleasantly surprised. He was unfailingly polite, thoughtful and well-informed. So obviously he had to go. RIP Charlie. You'll be missed.
Superb piece, thanks Graham.
As Douglas Murray said about the Oct 7th massacre- “sometimes a flare goes up and you see exactly where everyone is”.
Agreed.
I used to sympathise with Palestine but after that date, I pivoted 180 degrees.
I can still sympathise with the ordinary people in Gaza who are now realising that to put all their faith in the religious fanatics who brought the war to their world was not a smart move. Those who now condemn Hamas and want them gone. But too many still believe, backed by the "sheeple" in the West, that Israel is evil and must be wiped from the planet. They need to be held accountable for their own situation and their supporters need to take responsibility for their part in this war.
That's right!
Well said, as ever. I’m still heartbroken for Charlie, someone I never knew, but what a mighty impact he is having. Extraordinary.
Mr Linehan, I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned it to you, but, in my humble opinion, you are a very fine writer. Superb article.
I look forward to the day when you might be able to take that talent up as a paid profession.
Thank you for this space and fighting the fight. :)
I agree I particularly liked dipshittisms - it should go into the OED
Stand out aren't they? Perfect, funny, again perfect. I kept rereading the same words and sentences - he's on fire with righteous something again, which gives me real hope.
Graham is indeed a genius comic writer. Check out the "The IT Crowd" on Amazon. I also just recently realised he co-wrote Big Train too. Stellar talent!
Well said, Graham. The fact that Kirk’s murderer had a transitioning roommate (and also that the Minnesota church shooter of little girls was trans) is studiously being kept out of the news I note.
To be fair, the shooter wasn't trans but he had a crush on his transitioning roommate.
When I last read about it, it seemed the roommate was trying to distance himself from the shooter. Probably a sensible course of action.
I hadn’t intended that to read that Kirk was trans but I can see why you think it does. I’ve amended it.
Thanks for this, Graham. The main message Charlie Kirk brought to campus was about living a clean life, working hard, stay away from weekend binge drinking so common on American college campuses. Like my Bible reading cousins, he referenced contrasting verses when one part is cherry-picked to browbeat some group. The Hebrew Bible referenced in both quotes used in this exchange is in the many long books of the Talmud commentary and, astonishingly, Kirk studied these commentaries with Jewish scholars. A self-taught student of history, he cited many historical figures and their contributions to thought in our time. Unfortunately, he occasionally made glib references; many in his audiences didn't grasp the nuance of ancient texts and his detractors use these quotes to "prove hate speech." He often defended the humanity of same sex attracted people to the Conservatives listening, and listed Dave Rubin, Peter Theil and other successful gay men with stature in Conservative circles. I'll never forget when he used the Hebrew, hineini (here I am, a declaration we Jews make to our God on Yom Kippur) and he mispronounced it. I corrected it in the comments. (hee-nay-nee) As I experienced my sons being alienated from me by the far Left radical wing of the trans movement and was bashed, defamed and misquoted, I started watching his college campus events on his channel. I found much more to agree with, to admire and absorb than I expected.
Excellent.
Some of us politically homeless after having been shat on by liberal people, have had their eyes open to the fact that we tended to follow what politicians, the media and academics on the left told us as long as we agreed with it.
For me it started with the gender crap of course, then the outrageous lack of sympathy after the 7th October 2023 attacks, followed by support for misogynistic terrorists Hamas, and now, the sickeningly joyful reactions to this vicious murder. As with the lethal shooting of another father, Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangioni, the left are trying to tell us that we should sympathise with the murderer instead.
I found plenty to disagree with in Charlie Kirk's views but a fair amount to agree with and he was the only person on any campus who had the guts to conduct a genuine debate. I was shocked and saddened by Charlie's death and was relieved to see that the only left-wing commentator I still like (Bill Maher) also expressed genuine shock and sadness. (Maher hasn't bought the trans bulshit either.)
100%
Very well said Graham. I was very saddened by the murder of Charlie Kirk and the US has been denied someone that would be a rare animal - a future politician that gave a damn and had a modicum of decency. I was always impressed by his knowledge, by the respect he showed others and his willingness to debate. At his events, he would prioritise those with opposing views to his. How the extreme left have turned this into first something to be gleeful about, then tried to frame the far right for it is just utterly disgusing. The things Charlie said that have been taken out of context and then repeated by sheeple just appall me. And of course they haven't watched the actual footage and they are full of vitriole and bile while pointing the finger at anyone that disagrees with them and accusing them and Charlie of "hate". It's just a label they use. I saw no hate from Charlie Kirk.
Indeed even the Daily telegraph parroted the meme that Kirk was assassinated by the far right. It got roundly thrashed in the comments.
Whatever happened to due diligence?
Yeah - whatever happened to journalism!
It became a university degree.
Bingo! I feel a certain regret for my part in this as I was all for the genuine opening of access and standardising of things to supposedly bring everyone up to a certain level (all subjects). To ensure a quality in and of education and concurrently the professions. What has happened over my career is the slow then rapid tumbling dumbing down of apparently everything and everyone is stuck in bureaucratic stodge. And we kind of all know it but no one really has the oomph to halt it. Skills and knowledge have been leached out 'to democratise it' which is the opposite of what some claim that is. It's not what I or we intended. And very hard to know how to unpick. Maybe the architects of this opening of the floodgates might tell us. So we're all flooded, all education has been devalued bar the excellent education those privileged enough still get. Also often not the ones you think, or who claim it. I keep being told multiple times a day and reassured to 'look this up on Google' as if that's how learning happens or should. For things I already know and actually live. Here in real life, meat space. So I tend to show my polite interested face. But then tech is genuinely exciting and terrifying and access to that really is access.
It's right the way back to early years education but without dismissing those in their teens, twenties and thirties as a lost cause from these last 20 to 30 years of 'ejoocayshun edjoocayshun edjucashun'.
Your writing... ❤️👌
It’s relief to read your work Graham. It gives me a healthy dose of reality in what feels like crazy world.
I've been a progressive liberal for nearly 40 years, but now the murder of Charlie has completely broken and triggered me so bad that I can no longer support these ghouls who cheered his killing - which is saying something because they nearly lost me on the trans issue, but I stayed in to counter their narratives the only way I knew how.
I also saw the unedited video of his killing before it got scrubbed; no, I will not describe it - it's that bad.
I was also in the Navy, served in two wars and believe me when I tell you that I have seen all the blood, guts and gore for several lifetimes.
And it wasn't so much the blood and gore, it was the fucking betrayal when you realize the rules that govern the game were never real.
At this moment I am failing to have that whole "no hate in my heart" in the manner of Charlie Kirk.
https://williamaferguson.substack.com/p/you-cant-silence-us
It's not just in the English speaking press that you hear the same talking points across the media sphere but also in the foreign press. I follow news in several european languages and heard the identical talking points. I heard several commentators snarkily calling Charlie Kirk a "bigoted far right activist who manipulated innocent students into "gotcha' moments for his channel." I could tell that none of them could have possibly listened to the polite, articulate, good humoured, mature young man I myself watched for hours to see what the fuss was about. I disagreed with much of what he said but was full of admiration for his attempt to have open discussions. I was horrified and saddened to learn he was shot.
I think they open up their laptop, or phone, have a brief online search, or use AI to 'generate' their copy now. Sorry, 'content'. Look at 'what's trending' then do a bit of surfing, copy pasting, tweaking, then off they send it. Will I be harsh, radical, outrageous, zen or wellbeingy today? Put their own authentic spin on it. Quoting a quote from a source kind of from a quoteish. Takes five minutes, or maybe an hour. Job done, clicks got. It's a total b*stardisation of writing, literary anything or journalism. It's fridge magnet pap beyond those little bits of screwed up loo paper you used to see flung against walls and ceilings in school toilets. To winkle out the good stuff is a true art and takes a practised eye and far too much time that no one now has as we're all 'too busy' scrolling through feeds of cattle fud...
Having looked at various footage of Charlie Kirk I’m not going to pretend that I agree with him on a lot of issues likewise Jacob Rees Mogg and several other conservative politicians however invariably they are polite listen to your opinion and agree to disagree.
His murder was a dark day for democracy.
100% on target 🎯.
I'm allergic to God stuff, and I'm still a labor friendly class oriented lefty, but the guy was more than ok. He was a free speech advocate. And that is and was heroic and absolutely vital.
Thank you for this. Like you, I never paid much attention to Charlie Kirk before his assassination; but since then, I've looked into the charges made against him by the left: that he preached violence and hate, that he was a bigot, that he was a racist, and all the rest. I've followed the quotations and the video snippets that have been cited to support these charges. In every single case, I have found that the only way that you can find the attributed malign meaning in what Kirk said is by carefully snipping around the edges of the context with malice aforethought.
Most left-ish people, of course, do not care to take the time to do this sort of investigation: from the sources that are congenial to their political views they hear nothing but condemnation of Kirk as a spreader of hate and so forth, and, trusting those sources, they adopt the same view of him. Those sources are not speaking in good faith. Reading the piling-on to posthumously assassinate the character of Charlie Kirk reminds me very much of reading anti-Israel diatribes, in that it is obvious that the "guilty" verdict was reached long before any investigation of facts began.