Conservative talk show host died unjustly because of his opinions
By: Norma Adams-Wade
By now, you all likely have heard of the recent assassination of conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk.
I did not agree with 99 percent of Kirk’s opinions that he expressed on air. But … I staunchly object to him being murdered because the killer did not agree with Kirk’s views.
Tyler Robinson, 22, ultimately was arrested for allegedly perching on a rooftop and firing a fatal shot from a bolt-action rifle into Kirk’s neck on Sept. 10. Kirk was speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 at an outdoor rally at Utah Valley University. The accused killer was captured two days later on Sept. 12.
Kirk, 31, was host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” the popular conservative show that aired around the country and in Dallas on KSKY (660-AM), .KTNO (1440-AM), and KWRD (100.7-FM). The relatively-new husband and father of two young children also was co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that seeks to recruit high school and higher education students to politically conservative philosophies and causes.
As much as I disagreed with Kirk’s views, I commended his standing invitation that challenged anyone who disagreed with him to prove him wrong. In that invitation was an open door to freely exchange opposing ideas.
In other words, you state your position. I state mine. We examine the differences. If we still cannot find common ground, we agree to disagree, and go our separate ways without animosity.
But the accused assassin did not see it that way. He is accused of murdering Kirk the day before the 24th commemoration of the infamous September 11, 2001 apocalyptic destruction of New City’s Twin Towers. Young Robinson’s alleged cowardly behavior indicates that he knew no other way to deal with opposing opinions that to kill the messenger.
I was just thinking…what does one accomplish by permanently silencing disagreement and opposing thoughts?
It is insanity to kill someone because you disagree with what they are saying. Like in so many instances when one is watching or listening to television or radio shows. The hearer or viewer always has the option to change the channel, turn off the device, leave the room.
I was watching “The View” the other day, one of my favorite TV shows. In a discussion about the nation’s increased violence and lack of civility, co-host panelist Joyce Behar read a list of some modern-day assassinated U. S. elected officials and public figures. Behar also included names of some public figures who had been physically attacked or seriously threatened instead of assassinated.
Beyond President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, the modern-day partial list of assassinated public figures included Medger Evers and John Kennedy, 1963; Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy Sr., 1968; Harvey Milk and George Moscone, 1978; Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, June 2025.
Other acts of violence against elected officials and public figures include attempted assassinations of Ronald Reagan, 1981; Gabby Gifford, 2011; Steve Scalise, 2017; Donald Trump, Sept. and Nov. 2024; and the physical attack on Paul Pelosi (husband of Nancy Pelosi), 2022.
Violently silencing opposition largely is a coward’s way out — even including fist fights and face punches instead of vigorous verbal debate. The old saying: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” is spot on.
The coward – in their veiled weakness – cannot stand opinions that differ from their own because, truth be told, the coward has an inner fear that the world will discover that they are not as smart as they want the world to think they are. So, the coward turns to physical aggression instead of intellect.
I used to listen to Kirk while driving in my car. Why? First, because I love talk shows, and liberal talk shows have disappeared from our local radio stations. Second, because I’ve always said that I want to know what my enemy is thinking. “My enemy” is a flippant way of describing someone who expresses an opinion different from my own.
Hearing the opposition express their thoughts is my way of always looking over my shoulder – to be sure no one is sneaking up on me. I want to know ahead of time the direction from which my opposition is coming. So, I listen to their opinions about current events. Sometimes, yes, it’s hard to swallow. And, yes, sometimes, I have to switch stations to keep my cool.
I was just thinking, still…what if the young man accused of pulling the fatal trigger on Kirk had simple done what Kirk challenged everyone to do. “Prove me wrong.” What if the alleged assassin had given his best intellectual “shot” instead a real and fatal bullet. Debate Kirk. Prove him wrong. Then walk away. Live. And let live to each face another sunny day.
I, myself, was tempted many times to simple pick up the phone and challenge Kirk’s thinking as I drove and listened to his radio talk show. My anticipation that I would be put on hold for a long time, stopped me from calling in. Instead, I would argue with the air in the car.
I regret Kirk’s horrific assassination. I feel the pain of those who cared for him – family, friends, political associates, faithful radio listeners, and, yes, the President of the United States and the president’s family who were very close friends.
There is the temptation to feel some kind of way about the special attention the First Family has paid to Kirk because he was a personal friend. I am resisting the urge to think that it would be nice if every wrongly-killed person got the same attention. But I am dismissing that thought as petty.
What I largely regret is the death of reason – the death of the ability to agree to disagree.
There are countless opinions about how we arrived at this juncture in American history. I will allow you your own conclusions. The question is: what can each of us do to positively impact the history our society is writing?
Do we feed into the negative narrative, or do we follow the lead of our better angels as Lincoln and Shakespeare suggested. When we fail to reach middle ground, let’s agree to disagree. But “thou shalt not kill.” All lives matter.
Dallasite Norma Adams-Wade is a Texas Metro News senior correspondent, The Dallas Morning News retired writer, and a National Association of Black Journalists founder.
