Now, is it enough?  

This week, Charlie Kirk was killed.

Truth be told, I’m grieving.

I’m sitting here, writing this, as a liberal, a mom, a wife, a business owner—and I’m grieving as a result of this man’s death.

For those who don’t understand that—let me explain.

This week, I’ve watched more than half of my personal social media “friends” glorify Charlie Kirk. They've spoken about his “compassion,” his “love for everyone.” Some have even compared him to Jesus—asking God to resurrect Charlie.

I didn’t know Charlie Kirk personally. But, as someone who spends a lot of time trying to understand what the “other side” is actually saying, I did watch a lot of his videos before his death - straight from the source himself. And it’s pretty easy to say: Charlie Kirk was nothing like Jesus. Charlie used his religion to divide us. He used his platform to mock and spread hatred about people of color, the poor, and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Yet, still, I’m grieving.

Charlie once said that a few gun deaths every year were “worth it, unfortunately, to keep our Second Amendment.” I can’t sit with that. Again, let's file that with things Jesus would never say, but - religion aside, I wonder if Charlie thought his own death would be “worth it,” or if it only counted when it was someone else’s child. I think about my son and the fear I already carry about sending him off to school someday. I think about the children in Colorado who died the same day as Charlie—whose lives have been overshadowed. I think about every parent who has had to bury their child after a school shooting. Their deaths were never “worth it.” I’d give up my Second Amendment right in a heartbeat if it meant bringing them back. But, Charlie wouldn't have.

Charlie once also said he “can’t stand empathy”—that empathy is just a “made-up, New Age term.” But again, I’m not Charlie. Nothing like him, really. Empathy is the only thing that makes sense to me in times like this.

I do have empathy—for his kids. They’ll never get to decide for themselves who Charlie really was. They’ll never get a goodnight hug from their daddy again. He’s just… gone. That breaks me a little.

Empathy is also the reason I grieve tonight for so much more. For every life lost in Palestine. For every Black life stolen at the hands of an officer. For every person hurt by the words Charlie chose to put into the world—words that mocked Black women in Congress, words that made Black pilots question whether their excellence would ever be recognized, words that called trans people “mentally ill,” words that said the poor don’t deserve help (again, the man wasn’t Jesus).

Grief. Grief is heavy.

I miss the friends I thought I knew. I miss the world as I once knew it. I miss my ignorance, —before I had seen a man die right there on my social media feed. I miss a country where kids went to school and came home again. A time before Columbine. A time when feeding hungry kids wasn’t a political fight. A time that empathy wasn’t political.  

So here I am, holding two truths:

Charlie Kirk should still be alive. His death is not justice. We MUST be able to speak freely without the fear of losing our life for our words.

And, I understand why many people are not grieving.

Both can be true at the same time.

I’ll close with my usual plea. And I know these words have gone unheard for years, so I don't really expect change to come from this… but I’ll ask it anyway.. hoping that the grief felt on the other side, might, just might, lead to positive change. 

When. Will. Enough. Be. Enough?

Take care of yourselves.
-Lisa
Founder
March For The Movement