Since the killing of Charlie Kirk, I have spent more time than I would like in my own head formulating a column on the subject, and where I’ve landed has much more to do with us as Americans than Kirk as a person.

The leader of Turning Point USA, a group for young conservatives founded in 2012, Kirk was shot to death while at one of his debate events in Utah. Kirk’s murder was a horrendous act for which the shooter Tyler Robinson should face the full weight of the law, and political violence should never be condoned under any circumstances.

Yet, despite the reaction to the shooting and immediate blame of the “radical left,” it is still decidedly unclear if political ideology was the catalyst. Multiple news articles over the weekend reported investigators are still unclear about the motive, and Robinson does not appear to have any links to left-wing groups. 

The closest thing to a motive I could glean came from a BBC article, which said when Robinson’s roommate asked why he did it, Robinson replied, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

There’s much, much more to the story than I have room to break down here, but the end-all is that what happened to Kirk is terrible.

What’s also terrible has been the reaction to it, especially locally. Admins of multiple community pages on Facebook have threatened to ban people for language or personal attacks. In a time of crisis — when we don’t truly know if the cause is political — we have become divided and intolerant. 

The trend is not just in Barry County, it’s all over the country. Nearly everyone has a take on Kirk, and plenty of them are hateful. Yet, hate speech is still free speech, still protected by the First Amendment.

Freedom of speech, however, does not mean freedom of consequences. Jimmy Kimmel found that out last week when his show was canceled. Roseanne Barr found it out in 2018 after her show was canceled due to a series of racist tweets. 

One of the most famous cases of consequences, in my mind, is the outcome of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s career after taking a knee in 2016 during the National Anthem to bring attention to systematic oppression of African Americans in the U.S., specifically black men being killed by police. Kaepernick had his say, and he’s faced the consequences ever since.

On a more local level, I can think of a couple cases where free speech was enjoyed without consequences. In 2015, Dylann Roof, motivated by white supremacy, neo-Naziism and the desire to start a race war, killed nine people at a Charleston, S.C., church. I’ll never forget how otherworldly it felt to hear very little about the victims locally — no prayer vigils or weeks of Facebook posts in support of the victims — rather, you couldn’t drive a mile through Barry County without seeing Confederate battle flags waving from trucks or homes. Instead of compassion for the victims, or the church, a large portion of the population brandished Roof’s ideology.

That ideology is present in our community, exemplified by the 2023 disbursement of neo-Nazi propaganda in the yards of Cassville homes, mine included. 

Say what you will about those instances, at least they were offline and in the real world. On the internet is where hate breeds these days, and judging by some of the comments I have seen on Facebook posts of individuals and businesses, we have no shortage of that here either.

Last year, I wrote a four-piece series centered on the documentary “Childhood 2.0,” which explored the dangers of children’s access to smart devices and the internet. From cyberbullying to sexual exploitation, the internet is not a safe place for children without parental guidance. But, who is guiding the parents?

Numerous leaders on both sides of the political aisle participate in hateful speech online, and their example is taking root. 

I was always told growing up, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

We as a community should take this to heart. Our kids are watching, and many of the things written online by parents are comments they would admonish their children for posting. We worry about our kids on the internet, but what example are we setting?

When tensions are high and the turds are hitting the fan, we need to be a better example for our children. They will inherit this country from us, and I hope it’s not a legacy of hate we’re leaving behind.

Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He is a three-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.