In the spirit of honesty - i spoke out of turn a little earlier when i said i disagreed strongly with the vast majority of what Charlie Kirk posted and his opinions.
I guess i myself had been somewhat conditioned by the headline grabs the media often used and attributed to him and that had formed my entire understanding of what he was and what he stood for. However today in the the outpouring of grief (and in some cases jubilation - something for which i will never understand) my social media feeds have been flooded with videos and tidbits from Charlie - some of which that i actually do resonate with quite strongly. It's shown to me that sometimes you need to dig a little below the surface and do your own research rather than relying on others opinions or allowing the media to dictate the lens you view someone, or something, through.
So i'd like to rephrase my initial comments (rather than go and edit a post). I strongly disagree with some of Charlie's opinions and views - namely gun control, some of the MAGA values and the Palestine/Israel conflict - however his thoughts on the importance of Christian values in the world, whether you are religious or not, his opinions on the importance of family, and the horrible societal devaluation of the importance of the father figure in raising children are thoughts i not only share but advocate for. He was big on everyone having a voice, even if he disagree with it - and i respect that.
What hasn't changed is the sorrow i feel for his family and friends, and the anger that such violence is not only possible, but almost expected in today's world.