Thank you for this excellent piece. Sadly, just after reading it, I saw George Will's latest in the Washington Post. It is a particularly dismal example of the kind of valorization of Kirk that you talk about. I've never been a big fan of Will (or William F Buckley whom Will compares Kirk to) but this one seems particularly depressing. Gift link for anyone who can't bear having a Post subscription:https://wapo.st/4n3nKS9
I fear America’s Reichstag fire is inevitable. Trump’s government will push and push and push until some poor unlucky bastard will have had enough and will push back. Someone with more than a sandwich in his hand. Deaths on both sides, destruction, fires, the entire nation could erupt, with military firing on Americans. How on earth would that end?
Good luck with getting set up in Germany. My spouse and I did it last year, though on short-term permits for a sabbatical. Lots (good and bad) in all that.
It’s interesting that everyone is grabbing for the Reichstag fire in all this. It doesn’t seem (so far) to have been a stunt set up by the Republicans as an excuse. I’ve been reaching more for the late 19th / early 20th century in this — so many assassination attempts then, and it was a similar period of wealth inequality in the United States.
Congratulations on your move, and best wishes for setting up in Deutschland. I'm glad to learn you'll be leaving Substack for a new platform too, as Substack is unworthy of you.
"nothing is ever inevitable": But some things are highly probable, and increasing political violence in the USA is one of them. (That's a major reason why I left and was glad to learn you'd left too.) Violence is the first resort of the stupid, and eliminationist ideation has been typical of American reactionaries for decades. I grew up among people who assumed the goal of liberals was to exterminate them and longed for a strongman to exterminate or subjugate liberals and other people they hated (for no good reason). In most respects, Donald Trump is the president they dreamed of.
"political violence overwhelmingly comes from the Right": Yes, absolutely, not only in the USA but practically everywhere else, if one discounts the patently preposterous claims of governments such as that of China to be leftist in any substantive sense. You may find it darkly amusing to note that you're now living in a country where one of the world's last violent leftists, Daniela Klette, was recently apprehended after many years on the run.
"The motivations of individual perpetrators are often muddled and contradictory": In a thoughtful essay today, Ryan Broderick and Adam Bumas argue that in general and maybe specifically in the case of this Wednesday's assassination, such spectacular acts of violence in the USA, particularly by young people, are more nihilistically performative than conventionally ideological:
"All of it now is just another meme you can participate in to go viral. Made even more confusing by a new nihilistic accelerationist movement that delights in muddying the waters for older people who still adhere to a traditional political spectrum. Many young extremists now believe in a much simpler binary: Order and chaos."
"America is now teetering on the brink of a dark place from which it is very difficult to come back.": Because most nice liberal (or liberal-ish) Americans seem still to be in denial, I expect America will go to that dark place, and I don't expect it will come back in my lifetime (if ever - climate change may eventually render the matter moot).
Just a word of wisdom from a person with more than 70 years of experience which, as Oscar Wilde remarked, is the name we give to our mistakes: don't ever say "never" and don't ever use the phrase "for the last time" because you never know what Fortuna ('that right whore' in John Webster's words) has in store for you. Love your writing and take as much time as you need until you find you have something that you have to say because you have no choice.
You mention, "...leading Democrats..." as trying to sanitize or soft pedal Kirk's awfulness, but your link is to one Democrat, Gavin Newsom. I think one Democrat is not a big indicator, even if what he said sanitizes Kirk.
Wow! I was thinking about Kristallnacht too. Here's a quote from Trump from a year ago: “If you had one really violent day....one rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately.” - Donald Trump, Erie Pennsylvania, Sept. 29, 2024.
I was disgusted with the Ezra klien piece. I am disgusted with the murder of Charlie kirk and do not wish it upon any one. But the valorisation of Charlie kirk into some kind of vaunted debater who was involved in intellectual rigour is a fantasy. The man is a right wing activist who was involved in creating hysterias against marginalized people.
Like you said dr Zimmer we can hold two thoughts in our head. I finally cancelled my nyt subscription after that. I did not need my newspaperl to lie to me.
I found myself thinking of the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote I believe that you were alluding to: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” How much easier should it be to simultaneously hold two ideas that aren’t really opposed: Charlie Kirk’s murder was an atrocity and his impact on American life was, on balance, pernicious.
Ezra Klein and Gavin Newsom (other moderates) showed that they fell into Kirk's trap. Kirk's "debate me" stunts were not about genuine debate but just a way to launder and promote his right-wing extremism as a socially acceptable. It was never about debating but promoting right-wing extremism.
I think what newsom is doing here is adopting the “do whatever it takes to win” mindset. Republicans have used it for many years to get where we are now.
I agree. His "Prove Me Wrong" motto was not an invitation to legitimate debate. It seemed more of a taunt and a trap, kind of like a "Yeah? Just try me." The purpose was never about exchanging ideas to learn.
Thank you for your work. I think school shootings should be considered as political violence. They are a product of the political view point that people will be shot as a feature of the second amendment. Gun nuts view it as the necessary price of freedom. Those who think that freedom from fear is a central responsibility of government, also think that military weapons need not be for sale at the local gun shop, for murderous people do in fact buy them.
This situation is a result of our politics. Indeed it is widely debated, should we continue the slaughter of our children by gun-toting murderers, or not?
Excellent essay! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for this excellent piece. Sadly, just after reading it, I saw George Will's latest in the Washington Post. It is a particularly dismal example of the kind of valorization of Kirk that you talk about. I've never been a big fan of Will (or William F Buckley whom Will compares Kirk to) but this one seems particularly depressing. Gift link for anyone who can't bear having a Post subscription:https://wapo.st/4n3nKS9
I fear America’s Reichstag fire is inevitable. Trump’s government will push and push and push until some poor unlucky bastard will have had enough and will push back. Someone with more than a sandwich in his hand. Deaths on both sides, destruction, fires, the entire nation could erupt, with military firing on Americans. How on earth would that end?
Good luck with getting set up in Germany. My spouse and I did it last year, though on short-term permits for a sabbatical. Lots (good and bad) in all that.
It’s interesting that everyone is grabbing for the Reichstag fire in all this. It doesn’t seem (so far) to have been a stunt set up by the Republicans as an excuse. I’ve been reaching more for the late 19th / early 20th century in this — so many assassination attempts then, and it was a similar period of wealth inequality in the United States.
Congratulations on your move, and best wishes for setting up in Deutschland. I'm glad to learn you'll be leaving Substack for a new platform too, as Substack is unworthy of you.
"nothing is ever inevitable": But some things are highly probable, and increasing political violence in the USA is one of them. (That's a major reason why I left and was glad to learn you'd left too.) Violence is the first resort of the stupid, and eliminationist ideation has been typical of American reactionaries for decades. I grew up among people who assumed the goal of liberals was to exterminate them and longed for a strongman to exterminate or subjugate liberals and other people they hated (for no good reason). In most respects, Donald Trump is the president they dreamed of.
"political violence overwhelmingly comes from the Right": Yes, absolutely, not only in the USA but practically everywhere else, if one discounts the patently preposterous claims of governments such as that of China to be leftist in any substantive sense. You may find it darkly amusing to note that you're now living in a country where one of the world's last violent leftists, Daniela Klette, was recently apprehended after many years on the run.
"The motivations of individual perpetrators are often muddled and contradictory": In a thoughtful essay today, Ryan Broderick and Adam Bumas argue that in general and maybe specifically in the case of this Wednesday's assassination, such spectacular acts of violence in the USA, particularly by young people, are more nihilistically performative than conventionally ideological:
"All of it now is just another meme you can participate in to go viral. Made even more confusing by a new nihilistic accelerationist movement that delights in muddying the waters for older people who still adhere to a traditional political spectrum. Many young extremists now believe in a much simpler binary: Order and chaos."
(https://www.garbageday.email/p/charlie-kirk-was-killed-by-a-meme)
"America is now teetering on the brink of a dark place from which it is very difficult to come back.": Because most nice liberal (or liberal-ish) Americans seem still to be in denial, I expect America will go to that dark place, and I don't expect it will come back in my lifetime (if ever - climate change may eventually render the matter moot).
Just a word of wisdom from a person with more than 70 years of experience which, as Oscar Wilde remarked, is the name we give to our mistakes: don't ever say "never" and don't ever use the phrase "for the last time" because you never know what Fortuna ('that right whore' in John Webster's words) has in store for you. Love your writing and take as much time as you need until you find you have something that you have to say because you have no choice.
You mention, "...leading Democrats..." as trying to sanitize or soft pedal Kirk's awfulness, but your link is to one Democrat, Gavin Newsom. I think one Democrat is not a big indicator, even if what he said sanitizes Kirk.
In fact, I recall seeing a social media post saying, “This is our Reichstag.”
Bingo.
Wow! I was thinking about Kristallnacht too. Here's a quote from Trump from a year ago: “If you had one really violent day....one rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately.” - Donald Trump, Erie Pennsylvania, Sept. 29, 2024.
Mike Cernoshit is leading Reichstag brigade
Love and gratitude for your voice and your wisdom in these times.
I was disgusted with the Ezra klien piece. I am disgusted with the murder of Charlie kirk and do not wish it upon any one. But the valorisation of Charlie kirk into some kind of vaunted debater who was involved in intellectual rigour is a fantasy. The man is a right wing activist who was involved in creating hysterias against marginalized people.
Like you said dr Zimmer we can hold two thoughts in our head. I finally cancelled my nyt subscription after that. I did not need my newspaperl to lie to me.
I found myself thinking of the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote I believe that you were alluding to: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” How much easier should it be to simultaneously hold two ideas that aren’t really opposed: Charlie Kirk’s murder was an atrocity and his impact on American life was, on balance, pernicious.
Ezra Klein and Gavin Newsom (other moderates) showed that they fell into Kirk's trap. Kirk's "debate me" stunts were not about genuine debate but just a way to launder and promote his right-wing extremism as a socially acceptable. It was never about debating but promoting right-wing extremism.
I think what newsom is doing here is adopting the “do whatever it takes to win” mindset. Republicans have used it for many years to get where we are now.
Hasan Piker said just this to Politico, that Charlie Kirk wasn't interested in real debate. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/11/charlie-kirk-killing-hasan-piker-interview-00557837
I'll have something up myself tomorrow.
I did say on Shitter that Ezra's next piece will be: "Bibi Netanyahu practices land reform the right way."
I agree. His "Prove Me Wrong" motto was not an invitation to legitimate debate. It seemed more of a taunt and a trap, kind of like a "Yeah? Just try me." The purpose was never about exchanging ideas to learn.
Thank you for your work. I think school shootings should be considered as political violence. They are a product of the political view point that people will be shot as a feature of the second amendment. Gun nuts view it as the necessary price of freedom. Those who think that freedom from fear is a central responsibility of government, also think that military weapons need not be for sale at the local gun shop, for murderous people do in fact buy them.
This situation is a result of our politics. Indeed it is widely debated, should we continue the slaughter of our children by gun-toting murderers, or not?