Following the assassination of American political activist and entrepreneur Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, social media has been filled with a spectrum of reactions, ranging from mourning to criticism of his work and legacy. The Paly Voice asked Palo Alto High School students to share their thoughts on how people have responded online.
“Personally, I don’t think it’s a good thing. It [Kirk’s assassination] really shouldn’t have happened, and it really underscores how serious the political situation has gone in the U.S. I can understand how some people might feel like he might have deserved to die, but personally, I don’t really think anyone deserves to die.”
—Aiden Shi, 12th grade
“I don’t think that death is something that should be celebrated for anybody, but just because somebody dies doesn’t mean that you have to agree [with] or respect them. It’s insensitive to celebrate death.”
—Nalani Walsh, 12th grade
“I don’t think that it is right to condone the violence that he has suffered from. It is important to separate the things that he has said from his death, and remember that he had a wife and kids and that this will be hard on them.”
—Thomas Pitman, 11th grade
“It’s definitely sad that he died because, even if you don’t have the same beliefs as him, it’s a person. So, I don’t think he should have died. It’s sad if you are happy that he died.”
—Kostas Pashalidis, 9th grade
“I don’t think celebrating anybody’s death, especially someone who was killed for voicing their opinions, is right. However, there was a lot of really awful stuff that’s been happening for a while, and I don’t think that his death should have been a priority over all of it. It deserved recognition, but there were so many other awful tragedies that happened elsewhere around the same time that were completely brushed over and ignored.”
—Zara Harwell, 11th grade
“It’s a terrible thing to kill someone, like a father of two kids and a husband who has a wife who was just sharing his thoughts with the world. No one should be online celebrating that, because that’s not okay. If you are celebrating that, you’re just not an okay person.”
—Jack Lindauer, 10th grade