| “Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.” I will never forget Baghdad, December 2003, the moment Paul Bremer then Head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq announced to the world that the war-torn nation’s deposed dictator Saddam Hussein had finally been captured hiding in a small rabbit hole near a farmhouse in Northern Iraq. Yet the conflict in which Hussein played a central role burned on for eight more years.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox perhaps unwittingly repeated Bremer’s famous phrase to announce and celebrate the surrender of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for the murder of Charlie Kirk on September 10th on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Like Hussein’s capture and ultimate hanging, Robinson’s arrest and ultimate punishment is only half the job. It does not and will not end an underlying conflict. In the Utah case it is the ideological divide that sunders our nation.
Charlie Kirk’s death was a body blow to his family and loved ones, his colleagues at Turning Point USA, and to civic engagement everywhere. May his memory be a blessing. His murder will have consequences; some are more concerning than others. Now, for example, we can reasonably expect enormously enhanced security around stars we want to see in person. Personalities and venues will be encased in protective bubbles. Concerts, speaking engagements, school functions, political and sporting events, and the like will soon be hardened against the bitter violence of political discord unseen since the Vietnam era.
Walking through the metal detector at last week’s Northwestern versus Oregon Big Ten football game near Chicago I felt more secure in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk than I would have been without the security checks. His tragic death will accelerate the move toward prioritizing physical safety, and security of speakers, players and audience members. It will also severely impact the notion that we can be blissfully unaware of the grim realities of life outside our circle of life.
Mr. Kirk’s appalling death could ultimately become one of the most widely seen political assassinations in history. Horribly graphic images of the murder are everywhere, streamed billions of times. His memorial service might become one of the most widely seen memorials for a private citizen ever.
The surrender of his 22-year-old alleged killer to local authorities has also been extensively chronicled. Without sinking into yet another “your side is responsible,” “No, he’s one of yours,” debate, suffice it to say the shooter was not previously an anarchist or political whack job. In terms of possible motives for the Kirk assassination, there is another angle. Late last week, it became clear that Robinson was in a relationship with his transgender roommate, a man in the process of transitioning to a woman.
After the glory days of the Biden Administration, during which transgender folk were defended by mainstream media, they are now enduring intense negative scrutiny, fueled by several high-profile cases involving Trans shooters. That is not the case here, but there are still questions.
1-Did Tyler Robinson hear Charlie Kirk refer to transgender shooters before he pulled the trigger?
2-is there any evidence left behind to indicate Tyler Robinson was avenging or protecting the Trans community?
The probe will ultimately resolve what role, if any, gender dynamics played. When all is said and done about what motivated Robinson despicably to kill Charlie, no explanation will make sense of it. |
