FAIRWAY, Kan. (KCTV) – Park University Associate Professor of Political Science Matt Harris was teaching a class when phones started pinging with news of a shooting on a Utah college campus. The man shot was Charlie Kirk, a popular right-wing activist who was on campus for his American Comeback Tour.
“My first reaction was just shock,” he said. “I almost feel weird talking about the politics, because at the end of the day, Charlie Kirk’s a human being who had people who loved him, so that’s very sad and tragic.”
Still, he said, it’s not entirely surprising. Political violence has increased in recent years. No certain motive for the deadly shooting has been released, but many suspect it was over politics. Kirk was a polarizing figure.
Harris calls what happened Wednesday afternoon a tragedy both for the people close to Kirk and for the nation.
“Democracies are built on open debate, open dialogue. And to an extent that’s what Charlie Kirk was doing today,” Harris said. When you have this kind of violence, it can suppress that open dialogue. It can motivate other actors with ill intent.”
Inflammatory political rhetoric is the new norm. Abigail Vegter, Assistant Professor of Political Science at William Jewell College, pointed to alarming opinion polls. Depending on the poll, she said, as many as 30 to 40 percent of Americans agreed that violence is justified to meet a political end.
Harris pointed in part to social media as a platform for instigating extreme beliefs.
“There’s not a lot of room, I think, on social media for deliberate discussion of public policy. It’s who is saying the most outlandish thing, who is saying the most inflammatory thing,” Harris remarked. “And I think there is kind of a cycle that people can get caught in.”
He listed off a litany of productive ways to channel outrage.
“Organize, speak against him, clown him on social media, rally, form interest groups, run for office,” Harris offered. The idea that what this person has to say is so odious that I’m going to kill them is just fundamentally at odds with an open and free democracy.”
LOCAL ELECTED LEADERS RESPOND
Charlie Kirk was on KU’s campus just last year for his Live Free Tour. Former Kansas governor Jeff Colyer met him at several campus events, the first one nearly a decade ago.
“He is a prince of a man. He is funny. He is on point, but he can also be a little provocative and that’s part of his magic,” Colyer said.
Kirk was the face of Turning Point USA, a group he co-founded to organize youth. He could be seen on campuses under a tent that read, “Prove Me Wrong.”
“And people may react one way or another,” Colyer said. “But at the end of the day, he would smile at you and we’re done.”
He, like many other current and former public office holders, denounced the violence and lamented the direction it reflects.
Jeff Colyer:
“This is an unspeakable tragedy. This is not who we are in the United States. Political violence has no place in America.”
“We can even disagree fiercely. And then afterwards, let’s walk off the stage together, and let’s pat each other on the back, and we’ll be friends, and we can even have a drink together. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We need to take a step back.”
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Missouri):
“What happened to Charlie Kirk this afternoon is a tragedy, and not a tragedy just for him and his family, but it’s a tragedy for this republic that I think right now is in the midst of a struggle between having some kind of ridiculous fighting in between groups with different political ideologies.”
”Those of us in the United States Congress and the United States federal government should watch what we say because we don’t know what a weak mind listening to what we’re saying might think that we were encouraging him or her to do something stupid like this shooting.“
Rep. Mark Alford (R-Missouri):
Alford announced he is putting a pause on all public events, including town halls.
“I will not risk the safety of my family, my staff, or my own personal safety because some choose violence over dialogue,” Alford posted on social media.
Alford offered his condolences to the Kirk’s family, especially his wife and children. He then spoke strongly against political violence “in all forms.”
“While we didn’t know Charlie personally, it’s clear he was a God-fearing man and strong conservative who passionately loved our country,” Alford continued. “Charlie and I have both tried to listen to those who disagree with us and respond with reason and facts. That’s exactly what we did on our recently completed 15-stop town hall tour. Instead of a respectful debate, he was murdered.”
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