Young fans and critics discuss their political heritage

The sudden and violent death of American activist Charlie Kirk, who rallied the youth movement and received the status of celebrities among his supporters, caused a fierce discussion about his political heritage.

Small supporters of the age of 31 appreciated his conservative Christian values ​​and sincere opinions. Speaking to the BBC, many were in tears when they remembered the person who listened to them and understood their problems.

His views were polarized at the college campus where he held great events, and his provocative speeches would pull the crowd of vocal opponents as well as supporters.

Kirk was a strong supporter of weapons, severely opposed to abortion, critical of transgender rights and promoted false claims against Covid-19. He was not ashamed when it came to the expression of his views – and his detractors also did not hold back.

Encouraging and participating in the hard, open debate were the main for both professional success and personal worldview. “When people stop talking, it’s when you get violence,” Kirk says in a video that is widely shared after his death.

“When people stop talking,” he adds, “that’s when a civil war happens, because you start thinking that the other side is so evil and loses humanity.”

Now both fans and opponents were left after he was killed by a single shot on stage while Debatirng at University in Utah.

“I’m sad, embarrassed,” said the left influential Ding Wirets, 21, which is known for reports of political problems and discussions of conservatives, including Kirk.

In an emotional video posted to millions of followers, Wirets said that violence with weapons “is always disgusting, always nasty and always disgusting.”

Many tributes who refer to the violence with weapons openly pushed away from alarming comments on the Internet, which meant that Kirk deserved to be shot from his position on the rights of weapons, which included more people to possess weapons, and some shooters were inevitable.

These comments also reflect a broader conversation after his death. As people paid tribute to Kirk and shared their compassion for the wife and children, many also emphasized that regardless of the perspective of a person who has never justified political violence.

For example, Wirets said he had never agreed with Kirk’s ideas, but stressed that it had never been.

“It should not be a shock that I believe that Charlie Kirk was a bad man – I gave it very clear in the last year,” he said. “But does that mean that I think he deserves a loss of life? No.”

“I had a lot of talk with people on campus today, and everyone agrees that it is shocking,” said Adam Saar, a student in Cleveland, Ohio, BBC.

“Most of the people I said did not agree with him politically, but we are very concerned about what happened,” he said.

In addition to direct shock and tribute, some also started discussing the heritage of Kirk as one of the main political activists of America. Many fight the impact of a person who has attracted a hot crowd, bringing young people into politics and conservative Christian thinking, while shocking many of their provocative opinions.

Kirk spoke about his family – his wife and two children – and was an unporeical defender of his gospel Christianity.

“He was one of the main people who really helped me boldly treat my Christian faith,” said the BBC Savana Stone from Florida.

A 20 -year -old boy who married two years ago is a self -designed “trading wife” – a traditional wife that covers stereotypical gender roles with his husband, which Kirk believed.

Stone said she was nervous about her faith and traditional values.

“Feminism really harmed the nuclear family and harmed the women,” she said, adding that she was difficult to criticize for openly talking about her beliefs.

“Charlie Kirk made me think more critically about feminism,” Stone added.

In the debate, Kirk received many fans. They clearly heard his ideas, and it was surrounded by other young people on all sides of the political landscape – an environment that often produced explosive viral videos of its exchanges and rebuttal.

The sixteen-year-old Eli from Brooklyn, New York, told the BBC that she and her friends were “angry” when they saw these videos.

“When we learned about his death, I wanted to find out if I evaluated it wrong, so I looked at YouTube again,” she said.

“But I found that he is talking to people in the discussion, he does not open any real discussion, especially when he discusses with the woman. He tries to talk and talk very quickly,” she said.

“Everyone I know in the horror of his shooting,” the teenager added. “No one should be shot to say their ideas.”

Julia Pierce, who was a member of Kirk, Turning Point USA, for more than 10 years, said Kirk would be remembered for giving young conservatives in America to be confidence.

“It used to be that it was cool for the young people. But he made Trump’s cool supporter and wear a Maga hat and live his life with traditional family values,” she said the BBC.

Activist Chandler Kremp, 20 years old, who first met with Kirk when he was 14 and has since been at every turning national conference.

“We were young black leaders in caps, and he said it didn’t matter you are black or white,” Chandler said.

“Political figures tend to speak to us – but he didn’t pay it. He paid attention to us. That’s why young people listened to him.”

A particular polarization position of Kirk in gay and transgender rights.

He opposed same -sex marriage and opposed the gender aid of transgender people, often referring to his Christian faith in these issues.

“I believe that marriage is one man,” he wrote in 2019.

“Also gays should be welcomed in the conservative movement. As Christians we are called to love everyone,” he said.

But last month, Kirk, who vocally opposed the month of honor and celebration, attracted criticism for writing on X: “It is necessary to burn a rainbow either (Black Lives Matter).”

Activist Josh Helfgot said Kirk was “the loudest homophobic in America, and his words have caused great damage to LGBTK+ people.”

Speaking to one of the episodes of Podcas Kirk, where he called for banned gender assistance, Helfgot said, “It was more than a political theater. It was a dangerous, real attack on LGBTQ+ security and dignity.”

Regardless of whether they agreed with Kirk or not, the BBC youth talked to everyone that his murder means a potentially dangerous fracture in freedom of expression and expression.

“Political violence, similar to this, affects us all, but it is not just affecting the people you disagree,” said Tili Midlehres, a student at the University of Cambridge, whose moment Gotcha during a discussion with Kirk became viral.

“This is not a step in the right direction. It doesn’t fight fascism,” she said. “This is not how the politician should look like.”