I find it hard to have much sympathy for Charlie Kirk’s death. A man who openly courted and excused rising fascism, who said dead people were an acceptable cost for his interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, who peddled conspiracy theories and outright lies around immigrants, COVID, and the January 9th insurrection, and who stoked hate against anyone deemed wrong by his christian nationalist cohorts, is not someone I will pour one out for.

But he also had a family, a wife and two children, who were reportedly in the crowd when he was shot. He had friends who loved him and felt love from him. I have plenty of sympathy for them, and I hope you, dear reader, do too.