I look at the response to the Charlie Kirk shooting by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and I am full of praise for him. Bernie began by stating that he disagreed with Charlie Kirk on just about every issue, Bernie went on to say he was a good communicator and organiser, he stated his support of free speech.

We can disagree with the academic argument presented by the individual, yet we don’t attack the individual, we attack the argument. Free speech is just that, you can have your opinions, you should not be persecuted or censored by the government. Donald Trump on the other hand attempts to censor individuals and organisations with lawsuits in a feeble attempt to shut them down.

Bernie was fantastic, he lambasted the shooting, he stated this is not how you silence debate. I had never heard of Charlie Kirk prior to the shooting, let alone watched one of his videos. From what video I have watched after his death, I cannot state I agree with him on any level. Bernie went on about freedom and democracy, we have differences in opinion and argue it out, without fear of being injured or humiliated for expressing our political views.

What I can say about Charlie Kirk, he left behind a wife and two children. These children will be without a father, they are so young, they will never really know their father and this has affected so many lives. He has friends, family and colleagues who would be rightly devastated. There is no rational explanation for a sniper to set up on a college rooftop and shoot a person engaging in debate with students, regardless of any views.

What Charlie Kirk tried to do was develop discourse, he would head over to a college campus and debate people. Now, as I have already stated, I pretty much disagree with everything he said, yet this would not stop me from being civil with him. From what I can determine, he built his following based on the premise of face-to-face debate. This is positive, this is what I would expect from rational people. I totally disagree with his views on gun ownership, school shootings, and his belief that this is the cost of the second amendment rights.