CMV: folks would not have been nearly as upset about Charlie Kirk if there hadn’t been a video

First, I want to add context that I am a survivor of gun violence, that video is not the first time I’ve sadly had to see actions like this occur, nor is it the first time I’ve seen someone pass in that manner sadly. I also want to say (and I’m not debating this with folks) that I do genuinely feel bad for him and his family. Being shot is not comfortable, it is, in my opinion, a fairly horrific way to die. I may fundamentally disagree with his values, especially those regarding firearms, but that is not a death I would wish on anyone.

This all being said, I’m not sure folks would care as much about Charlie Kirk had the video of his death not existed. Not to like shame folks, or anything like that, that’s not my intention. Moreso, I think those who have never experienced gun violence, or who have never lost someone to gun violence, were not prepared to see what that looks like. I think that a lot of the reasons folks seem to care so much about this shooting, as opposed to say Sandy Hook, or Uvalde, or Oxford, Parkland, Appalachee, Highland park, etc. is because that video exists. It is because gun violence is no longer some video game reality, or some far off issue they’ll never experience. They had to confront today what many survivors experience, which is not only a horrific death of someone who many of them admire, but also a level of helplessness that in itself is incredibly distressing. I think it’s why so many conservatives turned to anger so quickly when typically it’s “but we need our second amendment rights! What if the British came back tomorrow?”. I think genuinely, outside of maybe an animal death, none of them have ever seen that level of violence, nor experienced that feeling of true helplessness. That video took their internal mentality of “it will never happen to me” and it turned it on its head. It forced folks to confront that it could happen to them, and that it sadly is a really scary way to go (again, at least in my opinion, as a survivor it is my worst nightmare). I’m hoping maybe change will at least come out of this, as folks are confronting some opinions they have held for forever that are wrong. However, I think had the video not existed, had folks not been forced to confront this reality head on, his death would be mourned in a manner similar to other celebrities of his size. I do not think, even given the manner of death, that it would be treated like this if there weren’t a video. This isn’t to attack his supporters or say they wouldn’t have mourned, merely that if little kids being shot and killed didn’t upset you, and if other political assassinations we’ve seen didn’t upset you, the only true difference I see between Kirk and the others is that there is a video of how he died. And death is scary, and that video takes a reality they can normally wish away, and it makes it real. As a survivor of gun violence, I know, it’s a reality I have had to live with for over half a decade. It’s terrifying, it’s awful, and it’s scary. However, I genuinely think that folks would be treating Kirk like they’ve treated other GV folks for years had they not been forced to confront this reality first hand. And I hope some of them maybe turn to GVP after this, and realize that there is help for the trauma I feel they have likely endured due to this. I may not agree with them, but I also know what it means to be sitting in a dark place and only seeing blood and being so scared. It was my reality every single night for the first three years following my experience. I hope they know there is help, and that being afraid is okay and natural.