What Happens When Only Some Lives Deserve Grief?
Charlie Kirk’s assassination forces a reckoning with our selective empathy — and the moral danger of valuing human life through a political lens.
Charlie Kirk’s murder has really forced a great reflection about society and where it is going if no one calls for peace, pause, and reflection. Hearing debates about whether a man who spread particularly hateful, biased, and prejudicial comments deserved mourning after being assassinated in front of his own family and hundreds of students, captured on camera. Had I asked, have we lost sight of the value of life?
Remember seeing that video for the first time, not knowing much about the man who would consume media headlines for days to come. I was instantly taken aback at how gruesome the murder of the man was — captured on camera, being watched countless times across the world. Something in me felt no capacity to not feel and deeply care for the loss of human life at that moment.
Not having yet known his politics, his story, and his motivations, there was a connection in our shared humanity — our capacity to occupy the same earth and partake in the same life. It intensely made me realise the suffering that had just occurred and the end of a human journey and the releasing of a soul.
However, then came the discourse, the information, and the background of who Charlie Kirk was — almost in a moment to discredit the death itself. To many, there had been close irony between his statements around guns and the conclusion to his life by a bullet. Some almost expressed no sympathy for the life that had been lost.
Moreover, many standing tall for justice exclaimed the hurt and pain he caused due to misinformed and prejudicial statements around particular minority groups. The man's death was nothing but the final conclusion to a journey that had been riddled with causing harm to others — yet little to no recognition for the life that was lost, absent politics and the difference central to our humanity.
I do believe it is extremely important to ensure that people are allowed to be guaranteed their life, and the loss of life in any capacity is a tragedy — no matter what side you are on politically.
Globally, we have seen Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine. Somehow, we have become ignorant to the fact that human life was being lost no matter the principles. Principles are important; they provide a foundation and means for engagement. However, they can never allow us to undermine the suffering that is being felt every time a human dies.
Yes, this death was different — it was political — already being proclaimed by some in the media as the turning point, where either sides come together and express a need to unify in an ever-polarizing environment, or further increase in division makes the center unattainable. Not because of nothing — but because of people who promoted this environment.
There is no denying Charlie Kirk was a strong proponent of creating that environment, aligning himself with Trump, and being viewed as the face of MAGA. But he never deserved to die — not for the words he said, the politics he had, or even the viewpoints he had.
It is simply impossible to condone political violence. Everyone should be allowed to hold an opinion. It is a subjective statement — different to what is objective and evidentiary: a fact. There is no world where we will agree entirely, and therefore there should be no expectation for that to be the measure by which we see the value of someone's life.
Where the world will go from here is on whether, if people do not think and believe the same as you, they will not be worth the same empathy, care, and respect. That means the more divisive the world becomes, the fewer people we will care for — and the more lives will be valueless. That begs the question: whose life will be worth mourning and respecting?
Reflecting on the reality of the last five years, they have been riddled with violence and suffering — but yet not the same collective calls for peace and global mourning as has been seen before.
In 2021, the storming of the Capitol — the first attempt to deny and overturn democracy — the calls for peace fought hugely against the calls for violence by many MAGA supporters. In 2022, we saw the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In 2023, the world would divide over Israel and Palestine. In 2024, the attempted assassination of Trump. And now, the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The fact is that the world has been dividing even more than it has before. Calls for peace seem like slogans, selectively applying depending on how national politics look on that day. Respect for humanity and dignity only seems to apply when people believe the same. And hate seems to be of much more interest than love.
The world is on edge. Every day feels as though there is another tragedy, another loss, or another thing that will force us to choose sides and declare absolutism on our own principalism. But maybe let us all listen, empathize, and feel for the other side just a little — no matter how hard it is.
Right now, I do agree: the world is at a tipping point — one that asks: Who do we care for? Is it all of humanity or some of humanity? The answer lies in every single one of us, not in a select few who seem to hold the power.
Humanity will dictate the way forward, as it has for countless years. But we should not forget that it was not done alone — it was done together. Maybe we should all find our love for our neighbor, regardless of who they are or what they believe.
We should all call for there to be no human suffering — a world where we can speak freely and be willing to hear one another. But one where, if anything at all, death is a moment of pause, reflection, and silence, rather than a moment to relive all the evils of the past.
To mourn a man is not to make him a saint, but to recognise that you walked and shared the same earth. In that, there is some commonality. If we are to lose sight of this, we may lose sight of what it means to be humane — to be a lover of life, and to, for a moment, pause and recognise human suffering.
Truly, I wish peace to the earth — one where we hold one another together, see our similarities, and appreciate our differences. I wish peace to the Kirk family, and I hope that, in the moment, the world considers taking the time to heal.