Until this month, I’m not sure I had heard of Charlie Kirk. Now the entire world has.

First of all, to any MAGA people reading this: No one on the progressive side wanted to see this man dead. That actions of the alleged murderer were his alone and don’t represent the views of practically anyone on the Left. So stop pretending otherwise. You’re not helping. The gunman’s motives are poorly understood and much more evidence must be collected in order to understand his political ideology. I’m not even sure he has a coherent philosophy. So attempts to reduce this to some vast left-wing political conspiracy is a ridiculous cognitive shortcut.

No, Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be shot. Apparently he had a wife and offspring. I’m sure this is very sad for them.

But none of us is in a position to offer him posthumous absolution. The fact that he was shot doesn’t whitewash the things he said in life. Personally, I find much of what he said reprehensible. His speeches, podcasts and “debates” were full of vile things about black women, LGBTQ+ people, and Jews. If you claim otherwise, you’re not paying attention or you’re only choosing to look at some sanitized version of this man’s work.

As writer F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Can you do that? This is a man who monetized hate and should not have been murdered.