These past few days have been rough on social media. My feeds and timelines have been flooded with posts about the fatal shooting of American conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk last Wednesday at Utah Valley University.
Immediately after the shooting, a divide began to form across social media platforms. Many expressed heartbreak and sympathy for Kirk’s family. They posted about the political violence of the tragedy and called for justice. While many condemned the act and felt no one deserved to be killed by gun violence, some believed that his death was “karma” for his beliefs and celebrated it. These strong reactions worsened political polarization on social media, shifting the focus to politics instead of the inexcusable cost of life of gun violence.
Utah Valley University was not the only campus to experience an act of violence that day. Evergreen High School in Colorado experienced a deadly shooting that left one dead and multiple injured. While this event did not draw the same nationwide attention, its occurrence highlights a bigger issue: the lack of empathy when the victims are not public figures that align with their beliefs.
Every single person involved in these shootings was someone’s partner, child, sibling or parent. These were both horrific acts of violence on school campuses. The only difference was the public’s reaction.
Gun violence affects everyone in America, and it is only growing, especially against students. As students, we especially must be aware and active against it.
No child should have to grow up without a parent because of a shooting, and no parent should have to watch their child die in one.
You cannot pick and choose when gun violence is unacceptable. That applies both to those that have never spoken out until now and to those who claim to oppose gun violence yet celebrate a man’s death because of his beliefs. Hate cannot fix hate. You can point out flaws in his arguments and beliefs while still condemning the brutality of the crime.
There are huge gaps in empathy between political parties, and this event has widened them further. Both conservatives and liberals have great empathy, but the people and situations they show this to differ greatly. People are more likely to sympathize with those they see as similar to themselves. Therefore, people who had never expressed any feelings against gun violence, might suddenly speak out after someone they feel connected to has been affected.
You could say that the outrage was because the crime was political. But why was there not equal outrage for Minnesota House Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, who were fatally shot, or for Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who were injured?
Charlie Kirk was not the first person to die from gun violence on a college campus in America, and he will likely not be the last.
Tuscaloosa is home while you are in college, just as East Lansing, Charlottesville and Las Vegas were for students when shootings happened there. So do not just speak up now and never again. Speak up consistently before it is too late. No one should have to go to school in fear. It matters not just when it is someone you know, but when it is anyone, because, as this act has shown, it can happen to anyone.
So when we say “enough is enough,” that must mean for everyone, not only for those who we know or agree with.
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