Taylor’s Takes: Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a 9/11-esque gut punch

I was in fifth grade on September 11, 2001. I won’t bore you with the “I remember where I was when” minutiae. But I remember how I felt that day. Not so much scared as angry. I wasn’t fully aware of the lasting impact 9/11 would have. Nobody really was. But you knew nothing would be the same. You could sense it. It was palpable.

I was on my way to an appointment today when my wife called me to tell me the news that Charlie Kirk had been shot. I hovered over my phone, refreshing my X timeline over the next hour and a half until his death had been confirmed.

During that time, seeing the video of Kirk’s final moments reposted felt like a continuous gut punch. I thought, “This feels like 9/11.” Then I realized that the 24^th anniversary of the attacks is tomorrow. And that feeling hit even harder.

I thought I was being dramatic with the comparison as I sat in the doctor’s office. The more I think about it, the assassination of Charlie Kirk seems like it will have a darker impact on our nation’s future, however much longer that will be.

It’s cliché to say it, but I’ll repeat the line for effect: What I remember more about September 11^th was September 12^th. The attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the crashed hijacked United 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, brought Americans together. The American flag was hoisted upon homes, cars, and office buildings. Anywhere and everywhere our flag could be flown, it flew. We weren’t Democrats or Republicans, left or right. We were just Americans. We were united in our quest for vengeance.

While today resulted in that same “gut punch” feeling, the only ones who feel united are those of us who regarded Charlie Kirk as a heroic patriot.

I won’t be looking forward to a ubiquitous sense of patriotism tomorrow. Instead, I’m re-evaluating friendships and acquaintances. I’m thinking I should be more cautious of what politically-branded apparel I may think about donning before heading to the grocery store with my family. I’m thinking how much more often I may be looking over my shoulder for someone who knows what I do for a living.

Beyond that, I’m left wondering where we’re headed as a nation.

My hat is off to Utah Governor Spencer Cox for his remarks during tonight’s press conference on the assassination of Kirk. “I want to be very clear that this was a political assassination,” Gov. Cox iterated.

“If anyone within the sound of my voice celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror and to see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere.

“…we just need every single person in this country to think about where we are and ask ourselves, ‘Is this it? Is this what 250 years has wrought on us?’ I pray that’s not the case.”

While scrolling this evening, I’ve bookmarked every post I’ve seen celebrating Kirk’s murder in preparation for tomorrow’s show. I just can’t fathom how people can behave like this.

Since paying attention to the political spectrum, I’ve come to loathe the more sinister characters. The Obamas, the Bidens, Squad members, Pocahontas, etc. But I’ve never, ever wished harm or death upon them. I’ve never prayed for an assassin’s bullet to strike them down. That’s not how we handle political discourse in this nation. Or at least, it wasn’t how it was handled.

Listen, I know the Howie Carr Radio Network isn’t at the top of the food chain in the right-wing talk show realm. But we have a lot of faithful listeners throughout New England and beyond. Millions of people know of Howie Carr. And perhaps millions despise Howie and the shows on his network that work to expose the Left for the ghoulish cretins they really are.

On days like this, I’m often peppered with comments like, “Scary times for people in your business” or, “Makes you wonder if your work is worth it.”

I’m under no illusion that my on-air ramblings are of great import. But days like today, contrary to popular belief, don’t make me shy away from my convictions. I may be a bit more inconspicuous in the future on family outings, but I know that my work, Grace Curley’s, Howie Carr’s, Benny Johnson’s, Ben Shapiro’s – the work of every right-wing commentator – becomes so much more purposeful when one of us is silenced.

I’m going to keep doing what I do. Harder. Fiercer.

Charlie would have wanted that.

“When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group.” – Charlie Kirk