Greetings!

One thing I believe we can all agree on; no one has the right to take another person’s life. Charlie Kirk’s shooting at the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday, 10, is a tragedy on many levels.

Since the death of Charlie Kirk, it seems like social media has become more volatile and polarised than ever. The algorithms have ensured that. People are being directed to more of the same and live in echo chambers- never being given the opportunity of alternative understanding or facts.

To be honest, I think I’d only heard of the man once before last week. Suddenly I was thrust into an unintentional education through memes, quotes, videos and podcasts. I didn’t like what I was seeing or reading.

Like many, as I learnt about the things said, it horrified me. Comments about black people, women, being LGBTQ, etc., were outrageous and intentionally provocative. Some have said these quotes were taken out of context. It didn’t appear that way to me. I’ve done more fact-checking in the last week than I’ve ever done. His statements reflected a deeply conservative mindset and theology that have existed for decades, now being packaged for a new generation through his organisation, Turning Point USA.

It made me angry to see so many political figures pouring fuel on the fire with their militant language and blatant hypocrisy. Suddenly, one religious man’s death overshadowed the 1,000s of innocent victims of gun violence annually, many of whom, as we know, were children and youth in schools. No half-masts for them, just bland, hackneyed and trite “thoughts and prayers”.

Possibly the most bizarre outcome of this event is that the thing Kirk championed was his right to free speech as enshrined in America’s First Amendment — is becoming null and void. Politicians and religious leaders are taking this opportunity to silence opposing opinions and comments. People are losing their jobs, television shows axed, and media outlets being threatened.

A friend of mine wrote a post about how, several decades ago, he was Charlie Kirk.

When I was in my 30's, I was just like him. I was a legalist and held tightly to my beliefs out of fear. I was convicted that those things I believed must be believed and lived in order to somehow protect me from destructive consequences. This is a really bad combination for someone who had such a large platform, which I did at the time.

In my former Evangelical Christian days, I was a conservative, opinionated speaker that spouted off things from my own internal process. I took on the things I was taught, mixed them into my own shame and personality and threw them back out there as though they were the absolute truth. Not all things I've said are or were ugly, or condemning, but as I look back and remember the times they definitely were just that.

I'm so glad I had time to deconstruct my legalism and find renewal into my authenticity. I've had time to round off many of those rough edges so that my kinder side can be more present.

Charlie didn't get that opportunity.

As things continue to unfold, it could get worse before it gets better. Fasten your seatbelts and read these suggestions if you intend to engage in social media.

Talking Homosexuality and Christianity

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Anthony Venn-Brown OAM

Founder & CEO, Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International

www.abbi.org.au