Like Martin Luther King, Charlie Kirk was the nice one. 

Malcolm X was the provocative and militant leader who supported Black nationalism and had a violent criminal history and had the “By any means necessary” philosophy.  Martin Luther King was the non-violent leader who preached peace, civil disobedience and persuasive dialogue.  Both were assassinated, but only one is honored with a national holiday.  When MLK was shot, it changed everything.

Charlie Kirk offered discussion and debate.  He was polite, respectful and argued in good-faith to persuade and understand.  He wasn’t as well known or revered as Martin Luther King.  Conservatives think of him that way now, or at last consider him a martyr.  To hard-core Progressives, just by saying things they didn’t want to hear, he deserved to die.  Conservatives look at those hard-core Progressives differently now.

This morning, many people on the Right have concluded that respectful engagement doesn’t work.  I am not talking about Trump, or the stereotypical MAGA enthusiasts with big trucks and plenty of guns.  The posts are from people on the Right who were uneasy about sending criminal aliens to that mega-prison in El Salvador, who worried that Trump would get frustrated with shady court orders from partisan judges and defy a district court, and warned against DOJ retribution targeting Trump’s enemies.

Hard-core Progressives have Trump Derangement Syndrome, hate America or are personally profiting from corrupt government policies.  They resist our democratically elected government by any means necessary.  Conservatives who were restrained, are getting comfortable with the “by any means necessary” way of thinking.  They look at what means are available.

On the federal level, all three branches of government are controlled by Republicans.  The federal government can coerce blue states, and blue cities in red states can be coerced by state governments.  Legal, but unprecedented, methods will be used without restrained.

Whatever group replaces BLM or Antifa to coordinate mass protests, the invasion will not be met with impotent law enforcement or compliant district attorneys.  Authorities will respond more like this.

Don’t expect us to care very much.