You can’t just kill people with whom you disagree--when did disagreeing turn deadly?
- RHONDA SCIORTINO
- Sep 13
- 5 min read
Evil or Wrong? Killing Is The Line We Cannot Cross
What happened to tolerance?
What happened to live and let live?
Why do so many people feel compelled to justify the killing of Charlie Kirk or Iryna Zarutska? And what about those who are justifying, or even celebrating, Charlie Kirk’s murder?
It’s disturbing that so many people have justified Charlie Kirk’s assassination because of what they have judged as “hate speech.” It’s heartbreaking that people would put themselves in the position of judge, jury, and theoretical executioner because of disagreeing with Charlie Kirk’s values, beliefs, and principles. “That’s what he gets for his rhetoric…” they say. Wow, really?
It’s impossible to make sense of murdering someone for their beliefs or words—or, as in the case of the young Ukrainian refugee, for immigrating legally to the U.S. in search of safety and a new life.
Wrong v. Evil
One possible theory is that some of think of people with whom we disagree as evil rather than thinking of them as misguided or wrong. When we think of people as wrong, our response is often to share our opinions in hopes of educating them and ultimately persuading them to see the situation from our perspective.
On the other hand, when we think of people as being evil, our response is darker. Evil isn’t educated or persuaded to become good. Evil has to be eradicated. Perhaps the man on the train who murdered the young woman without apparent provocation thought she was evil. Or maybe he was just not in his right mind. Or perhaps he was the one who is evil.
Fascist
Maybe that’s why the young man from Utah etched on his bullet casing: “Hey, fascist, catch!”
Merriam-Webster defines “fascist” as, “a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.”
The young man who etched on his bullet casing and drove several hours to murder Charlie Kirk saw Charlie as a fascist. Perhaps he didn’t understand the meaning of the word. Perhaps he was just mimicking what he had heard other people say about Charlie Kirk. I wonder if he had ever actually listened to Charlie Kirk, or if he knew that at 18 years old Charlie started Turning Point USA because of teachers who gave students with differing political opinions bad grades.
The word “fascist” is often used interchangeably with evil. If the killer thought Charlie was evil, then, in his mind, Charlie must be neutralized to prevent further evil actions.
If you look at the hundreds of videos of Charlie Kirk debating others on faith, family, and conservative values, you won’t see evil. You will see opinions that differ—clash even—but not evil. Evil doesn’t engage in civil discourse. Charlie didn’t raise his voice or demean anyone. He simply invited people to share what they believed and why. In so doing, he was demonstrating for others how to defend their beliefs—whatever those beliefs were—similar to what one would learn on a debate team. Confrontational? Yes—although no one was forced to step up to the microphone to debate. Evil? No. Charlie spoke what he believed to be true—just as we all should be able to do—without fear of being murdered for our attitudes, thoughts, words, or lawful actions.
If you feel compelled to judge others, do so on their actions, not on their attitudes, words, values or beliefs. And if you disagree with someone, use words, not bullets.
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I'm just one person with an opinion, beliefs, values and principles. I respect your right to have yours. If you disagree with me, use words, not bullets.
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Rhonda Sciortino, author of Succeed Because of What You’ve Been Through and many other books, was abandoned by her parents and abused by others for the first 16 years of her life. She credits a brief stay with a wonderful foster family for teaching her that she was not “an accident of biology,” but that God had a specific plan for her life.
At 27 years old, Rhonda left what she thought would be her “job for life” to open her own risk management organization that protected and defended the good people and organizations that care for children who have been abused. She used the survival skills developed throughout her childhood to grow her business into a nationwide organization that analyzed the ways that children in foster care and caregivers get injured or killed. That information was built into risk avoidance strategies, which helped prevent tragedies.
Rhonda sold her business and now helps others find and live their purpose. Through her speaking, writing, videos, FIND YOUR PURPOSE NOW podcast, and FIND YOUR PURPOSE NOW program, she helps others use the obstacles in their lives as stepping stones to living God’s good purpose. Rhonda believes that using our hard times to glorify God is the fulfillment of Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
Rhonda is the founder of Successful Survivors Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps survivors of trauma to create purposeful lives. She is co-founder of Prevent Child Trafficking Nevada, where she is working to create a prevention model that can be replicated in communities throughout the US. She is the national champion of the Love Is Action Community Initiative, which is a public/private, faith-based community initiative that gives everyone safe and effective ways to help prevent child abuse and trafficking, suicide, homelessness, and other societal ills that harm us all.
For more information on Rhonda, go to www.rhonda.org. For information on Successful Survivors Foundation, go to www.successfulsurvivors.org. To join the fight against the trafficking of children, go to www.preventchildtraffickingnevada.org. To learn about the Love Is Action Community Initiative, go to www.loveisaction.com.
Rhonda calls herself a “fully yielded follower of Christ,” which she defines as someone who says, “YOUR WILL BE DONE,” and really means it. She has embraced why God allows pain and has found purpose and meaning in it.
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