"You Were a Good Man, Charlie Kirk"

Like many of us, I am still reeling from the assassination (murder) of Charlie Kirk. Also, like many of us, we will remember where we were and what we were doing when we first heard the news. The headline that flashed across the Fox News screen said, “Charlie Kirk shot at Utah Valley University” My first thought was, “Was he just shot ‘at’ or was he hit?” It didn’t take long to find the truth. I think most of us waited to find out his condition because they kept saying that he was in the hospital in critical condition. One report came out and said he was stable. Then I saw the close-up video. I turned to my wife and said, “No way. He’s dead. You do not survive that shot.” Eventually, they announced he had died. Or should I say, President Trump made the official announcement. Do I think that was planned? Yes. The President loved Charlie Kirk and he reported his death with an incredibly heartfelt tribute. This of course is my opinion only.

The Man

I have watched Charlie Kirk for years. I always enjoyed his debates and the way he would dismantle people who try to argue and debate with emotion only. First rule of debates: emotion is important, facts are essential. Kirk had both. Since his murder, I have watched probably dozens of his videos and podcasts. When you watch them with an open mind, what you see is perhaps one of the smartest men you will ever encounter. The guy read 100 books per year and from what I can see, he was able to retain information from all of them. His recall was extraordinary. He could articulate just about any subject better than many professors who teach those subjects in schools. I saw him in Oxford one day bringing down a bunch of elitist dimwits. It was a master class. He did it without shouting, cursing or getting mad. But with no mercy, he called them all out. He pointed to one girl and told her that what she argued was a lie. He did the same for two others. They had no comeback because he caught them in their lies and exposed to the truth, they knew it. Then, to one professor he told her that as a professor at Oxford, he expected more from her. Her teary eyes said it all. Emotion without fact rarely wins a debate and against Kirk, that number went to zero.

Although Kirk relentlessly preached about the scam that is undoubtedly college in this country today, more importantly, he was a man of God. This is an aspect I really did not know a lot about. I knew he was a Christian but he was a man who lived his belief and shared the Gospel whenever and to whomever he could. He approached sharing the Gospel in way that many young men and women identified and in turn gave their lives to Christ. Just look at the videos from around the world and the love people had for him. One of Charlie’s mantras was: Read the Bible every day. Do what the Bible says. Tell other people what the Bible says. For this main reason, they killed my brother in Christ. People loved Charlie Kirk – but not everyone.

The Haters

As with any situation, no matter what you say or what you do, there are going to be people who hate you. Cure cancer, people are going to hate you. Many times, the hate is for no other reason than they may not agree with you. Kirk went out of his way to encourage discourse between dissenting sides. He welcomed people who shouted stuff at him, called him names, ripped his hat off his head, mocked his looks (I know really? He was a normal looking guy to me), and assigned nonsensical and fallacious attributes to him. These are just a few small examples. One person wrote, “We hate Nazis because they want us dead.” Another wrote he was a “fascist organizer who built his career spreading racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and anti-immigration hate, actively harming marginalized communities every single day.” The vitriolic hate has no bounds. I even saw one moronic minister preaching a sermon of hate filled filth at Kirk. One black girl actually stated “f” Kirk, his family and the “b” that birthed him. Where does this hate come from? (Thank you Jimmy Carter – for another day, folks). For what it is worth, Charlie Kirk was none of those things. None.

This is reflective of the leftist playbook 101. Absolutely none of this garbage is true. Kirk stood up for the Gospel. His words were always love the sinner. Yes, he believed many of his opponents’ actions were wrong but he never wished or stated hate for them. One well-known author recently had to remove a post on X were he incorrectly stated (i.e. lied his butt off) that Kirk once said that all gays should be stoned to death. Like Frau Farbissina in Austin Powers, “Lies, all lies.”

What About Black Pilots Then?

The day of the murder, I talked to my sister. Let’s just say on the political spectrum, I am farther right than Genghis Khan and she is farther left than that. We do not see eye-to-eye. But we do love the heck out of each other. But, when I mentioned Charlie’s murder, she gave me a derisive grunt. I took that to mean she approved of the assassination. I was none to pleased. After a couple of barbs back and forth, she came at me with, “Well, what about the time he said if he got on an airplane and if he saw a black pilot, he would be worried?” I told her I have never heard that but what was the context? She did not know so I looked it up and responded the next day.

On his podcast he made that statement during a discussion where United Airlines, because of DEI, wanted their pilot group to be 50% black and female. According to the podcast, the current number was 8%. I then watched a video on a college campus where a black student challenged Kirk on this statement. Now, being a black pilot, this topic is kind of personal for me. But this is what I told my sister. When I was in the Air Force, most of my pilot friends started peeling out for the airlines. They would have all these books, go to hiring conferences to submit resumes and the like, and we would often sit around the squadron talking about the airline world. Who is hiring. What is this airline looking for. Ohh, stay away from them. You get the point.

When I finally decided to hit the airline world in the Spring of 1997, I asked my sister to guess to which airline I never sent a resume or application. I said United. For years, founded in truth or not, we had heard of their approach to hiring and affirmative action. I had many pilots tell me that I should apply at United because they like to hire black pilots. And with my background, I would be a shoe in. But that is not me. Even if I wanted to fly for United, I told myself that I never wanted to be walking through the airport and have somebody look at me and wonder if I was there only because of my skin color. I avoided United for that reason. Now, all that being said, United is a fine airline and like every other major airline in the United States, is filled to the brim with qualified pilots. People who cannot make the cut, don’t. But to many, especially those not in the system, perception is their reality and that is a perception I did not want to deal with. So, in this situation, I had no choice but to side with Charlie Kirk. Arbitrary DEI numbers, without adhering to set standards is unacceptable in any profession. Standards are imposed for a reason. These are the kinds of things Kirk debated every, single day. Oh, my sister - - crickets.

In The End

In the end, America lost a great young man the other day. Why? Because of ideas. One person said it right. Charlie Kirk was not killed because of what he said. He was killed because young men and women listened. The leftist establishment feared an uncompromisingly brilliant young man who many say would possibly have become the President of the United States at some point in his life. He was exactly that special. To me, he will be missed.

THE VIEWS OF SUBMITTED EDITORIALS MAY NOT BE THE EXPRESS VIEWS OF THE ALABAMA GAZETTE.