Emergency Pod: Je Suis Charlie - Thoughts on the murder of Charlie Kirk

Randy has something to say. William is too angry to broadcast at this time. I'm posting below abridged comments from a friend along with my response:Anita: I listened to the podcast because I love you and wanted to hear your thoughts. Let me start by saying I think I know you well enough to say that Vous n'êtes pas Charlie Kirk (you are NOT Charlie Kirk), which is why I can easily say I love you. What happened yesterday was horrific. It was wrong. Violence against those with whom we disagree is never the answer. NEVER! ...You and I have different views on many things political. I neither love you any less nor disrespect you for your views, and I hope you would say the same of me.One thing I found disconcerting in your comments was the hinting at the idea he was murdered by someone who was a sore loser referring to Trump’s re-election (my paraphrasing of your words). As of this moment, I am not aware of the shooter having been identified and therefore it is not possible to know the motive. This kind of speculation is not helpful and only serves to further stir the pot!...I am not a follower of Charlie Kirk, ...He seems like a very likable, thoughtful and charismatic person...But he also espoused some pretty horrible ideas about race, religion, etc....I’m deeply saddened by his killing....I’m deeply saddened by the lack of outrage/upset/empathy/action for the victims of school shootings and other mass shootings, the other victims of targeted political violence/murder etc.And like it or not, the president is at the top of the list of individuals who regularly fan the flames of hate. It has to stop! ALL of it. We have to learn to talk to each other and listen to each other and respect each other. ALL of us!!Love you, my friend. Be well, be safe, be at peace.Randy: Sorry it took me a minute to see your response and I'm glad its you who responded. I count you and some others who might be reading this as dear friends. I made this pod in anger so I re-listened to it in response to your thoughts and I stand by it with a few clarifications and caveats:1. When the french satire mag Charlie Hebdo was attacked, everyone lined up and and said "I am Charlie." Doing so was not an endorsement of their content but rather a rejection of the attackers. In this way, I am Charlie and by your comments, so are you.2. The losers I'm referring to are not explicitly partisans, and losing doesn't refer to an election per se. They are people who advanced really extreme culture changes without any pushback for decades and who are just now learning that we don't want their changes, and we don't accept their changes and they are losing tremendous cultural territory. They are unfamiliar with losing (or any resistance at all) and accordingly are sore losers. I wish that their numbers were so few that they were irrelevant, but for the purposes of simplicity, I'll just direct you to the horrific ghouls who are cheering the death of Charlie on the internet. It's soooo damning and so public. They still don't know that they've lost. That's what losing ugly looks like.3. I fully reject that today any blame or stink belongs on the right. Whenever the right's bad actors do something bad, they are forced to own it and that day is not today. Today, an evil person from the left did something horrible. It is the left's to own, and fix and repent for and correct, such that it never happens again.Finally, an olive branch. I believe in my good friends on the left. I need them to teach me, and lead me when I'm astray and frankly I want them as friends irrespective of politics. I think that you are such a friend. I don't think that any political ideology has a permanent cartel on truth, and I think that in the end faith in God is the only hope for a better world. I don't think that simply being on the left makes someone a loser and I look forward to the day when the left leads us triumphantly in restoring some lost good.