Out of breath, I walked into my first class after lunch. Sweat dripped down my face while I took my million-pound backpack off. Before I could sit down, my friend next to me shoved her phone into my face, “LOOK!” Alarmed, I pulled back and took a closer look. The post read “Charlie Kirk 1993-2025.” The classmate to my left whispered excitedly, “I honestly don’t feel bad that he’s dead; he kinda had it coming.” The other agreed in a more monotone fashion, “Yeah, I’m glad.” 

A deep pit formed in my stomach, and dizziness filled me. I was conflicted: If I never truly liked this man, why did it bother me so much to hear my peers speak like this?

As my English teacher arrived and instructed us to pull out our books, I couldn’t stop thinking about what my peers had said. It bothered me; the idea of celebrating anyone’s death felt wrong and immoral, even when it’s someone who does not wear the same color hat as you or share the same beliefs. In my eyes, humanity and empathy always come before politics and disagreement. 

As my social media was being flooded with Charlie Kirk memes and responses to his death, I quickly came to realize how personal this death felt to some. I can understand why some might feel a sense of relief at Kirk’s death, given his strong beliefs on gun violence and abortion rights.

I am no stranger to clips of Charlie Kirk’s public debates. For me and many of my peers, as Westridge is a predominantly liberal school, Kirk represents the sheer antithesis of what many of us believe. However, contrary to all of his political beliefs, as a student journalist, I, too, believe in First Amendment rights and the freedom to express opinions without fear of violence or retaliation.  

Frankly, Charlie Kirk was a human I did not agree with and didn’t even really like. But I can recognize that he was just that: human. And because of that, he deserved basic human respect. 

When it comes to politics, it is essential that we do not lose our respect for and decency towards one another. Democracy is based on the principle that every person has inherent value and worth, and because of that, deserves respect.

With that, as a society, I believe in empathy coming above all, and to throw confetti over someone’s body is cruel. Opinion columnist Ezra Klein from The New York Times wrote about how, although he and Kirk disagreed on most topics, no debate should end fatally. “It is supposed to be an argument, not a war; it is supposed to be won with words, not ended with bullets.”  

As we move forward, I hope we can refrain from celebrating losses as wins. The casual and careless celebration that followed Kirk’s killing only adds more fuel to a fire I hope we can prevent from consuming us entirely.