Charlie Kirk: a bigot, a racist, and now he's dead. Charlie was shot a day ago, September 10th, 2025, during a speech at the University of Utah, and the internet, being the internet, started sharing and posting videos of a bullet piercing his neck and releasing a pool of blood. No dramatic action music, no "get down, Mr. Debater," just a man getting shot. I won't try to justify or support him being shot, nor will I defend people saying that he's just sharing his opinion. This isn't an essay about politics. This is an essay about a man getting shot.

When some of my friends first watched the video, they were shocked. Some felt sick, some couldn't stop thinking about it. They were, for lack of a milder word, traumatized. And I get it - a man getting shot isn't something you see every day.

What did I feel when I saw the video? Nothing. I just kept scrolling. Thought about it for a bit, let a loop while I really picked out the details. Before I saw the video, I had no clue who Charlie Kirk was - blissfully unaware, so I really didn't have any bias in saying, this video really did nothing to me.

I saw Saigon Execution, the photograph, when I was 10. Morbid curiosity got to me, and I found the full video of Nguyễn Văn Lém getting shot and then bleeding out on Wikipedia. I was 10, and being a little ****, I kinda went on with my day. I saw a man getting shot, and I felt nothing. This has happened more than 4 times now. Am I really that desensitized? I didn't have any sort of abusive childhood, and browsed the web moderately often, mostly on kid-safe platforms. I was living free. Maybe it's my OCD, my bucket list of various mental ailments. A man dies, and I don't feel a thing.

Does Charlie Kirk deserve my empathy? Should I share compassion for someone I've learned has been actively fighting against rights for LGBTQ+ people like me? If he knew me, he would hate me, but should I hate this man for expressing his opinions, which he has a right to have?