On September 8 the website Jezebel ran an article with the title “We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk.” As I’m sure you are aware, Kirk was murdered just two days later. That article is still up on Jezebel’s website but below the picture of Kirk is a disclaimer “Editor’s Note: This story was published on September 8. Jezebel condemns the shooting of Charlie Kirk in the strongest possible terms. We do not endorse, encourage, or excuse political violence of any kind.” In no way do I think a curse placed by a few Witches on Etsy led to the death of Kirk, but I still think is all going to end badly for us.
My feelings are much like those at Jezebel, Charlie Kirk was a bad person who probably deserved a few curses thrown his way. But also like Jezebel, I don’t think violence is the answer when we are faced with people who seek to marginalize us, our friends, and our extended community. Violence is not the solution when dealing with people we disagree with. Kirk certainly went out of his way to curse women, Muslims, and the LGBTQ+ community (especially trans-individuals) even if his way of casting curses is different from how we do it in the Witchcraft community. I still don’t think that justifies shooting and killing someone.
On social media that feeling of condemning violence was not shared by many of my friends and acquaintances. I don’t think anyone needs to “mourn” Charlie Kirk, certainly he would not have mourned my death (or yours) had situations been reversed, but a far larger number of people than I could have ever imagined were all in on violence as a solution to people like Kirk. When did we become this? I understand the anger people have for people like Kirk, and I share that anger, but I will never believe that the solution to combatting such people is murder. I will never become what I condemn.
This weekend I’m attending Reno Nevada’s Pagan Pride Day as a special guest. I have never been nervous or apprehensive about appearing at a public event before, until now. Mostly Witchcraft operates under the radar of our political discourse nationally; I fear that might change rapidly in the days and weeks to come following Kirk’s death. We’ve already seen violence targeted towards Witches recently and this adds fuel to a fire that is already burning. Not surprisingly many of our politicians are not helping.
When Democratic Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered this past June, Utah’s Republican Senator Mike Lee didn’t offer the customary “thoughts and prayers” on X/Twitter instead he looked to cast blame on the left: “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way.” He also tied the murder to Minnesota’s governor Tim Waltz dubbing the tragedy “Nightmare on Waltz Street.” (Lee later removed the posts after criticism.) Yesterday Lee praised Kirk as a patriot and wrote “the terrorists will not win.” Apparently murderers are only terrorists when they target people Lee likes.
Lee’s reaction to Kirk’s death was not isolated. Unofficial Trump advisor Laura Loomer wrote on X/Twitter: “More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state.” President Trump in an Oval Office address blamed “radical left political violence” for Kirk’s death, even though we don’t know the shooter’s motivation at this time. Elon Musk wrote that “The Left is the party of murder” and not to be outdone South Carolina’s Nancy Mace was happy to add that “democrats own what happened today” while talking to a reporter. These examples are not isolated ones, and while Democrats have always been quick to denounce political violence, Republicans see violence as an opportunity to paint everyone under the progressive banner as radicals out for blood.
Loomer, who was responsible for over a dozen firings earlier this year in the Executive Branch, also wrote on X/Twitter: “shut down, defund, & prosecute every single Leftist organization.” For those who think violence against those we disagree with is justified, I do not believe you’ve stopped to think about the consequences. Kirk’s death has the potential to spark a wave of violence against many of our most vulnerable communities. Certainly it opens the door to increased federal monitoring and infiltration of progressive groups, and that would be one of the more benign outcomes. You don’t think the Trump administration is looking for an excuse to impose martial law? Cancel elections? Marginalize even more people? Increase the surveillance state? Political violence opens the door to all of that, and opens it wide. It also increases the chances of violent individuals claiming “self defense” when confronting those they disagree with. And then there is the very real possibility that this will all spark more lone wolf or militia style violence against people deemed to be “enemies of the state.”
In a more sane and rational environment gun deaths would inspire honest and reflective conversations about how to stop violence involving guns. But we all know that is not going to be the outcome here, despite yet another school shooting, this time in Colorado, just an hour after Kirk’s death. Instead of trying to find ways to keep guns out of the hands of violent individuals, the discourse will be about stopping and targeting the left. And I know I have some Witch friends out there on the more rightwing end of the spectrum, you will not be immune from this either. The people who blame progressives and Witches for society’s ills won’t be giving you a pass.
Our current political climate calls for activism. We should be protesting, standing our ground, and fighting for our rights and the rights of marginalized individuals and groups. But that fight should not include violence and murder. When it gets to that point we have become what we fight against, and have become just us ugly as our opponents.
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