The Big Theme across the internet this week is threat of the rising tide of Leftist violence. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a relentless voice for conservative values, and a father of young children, on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University wasn't just a tragedy; it was a flashpoint in America's escalating spiral of political violence. Shot dead mid-speech in what should have been a bastion of free expression, Kirk's death has ignited a firestorm of recriminations, celebrations from the fringes of the Left, and profound questions about the nation's trajectory. This isn't hyperbole; it's a pattern substantiated by experts who warn we're entering an "era of violent populism," where rhetoric turns to bullets, and the centre cannot hold. If unaddressed, this tide won't recede, it will flood the body politic, leading to retaliation, fracture, and potentially civil war.
To understand the surge, we must trace the currents of Leftist aggression that have swelled over the past decade. When in power, the Left deploys institutional weapons: mass surveillance via agencies like the FBI targeting parents at school boards or January 6 participants; doxxing campaigns by NGOs that ruin lives and families; censorship on platforms once neutral but now bent to ideological will; and smears branding conservatives as "Nazis" or "threats to democracy" across dominant media outlets. These aren't abstract; they've led to real-world consequences, from job losses to relentless lawfare against figures like Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, or Matteo Salvini. In the U.S., we've seen the weaponisation of the justice system: Trump's indictments, the raid on his home, and prosecutions of social media posters for "hate speech" that veer into opinion. Even out of power, post-2024 election, the playbook shifts but doesn't soften; Kirk's killing exemplifies this, occurring amid a landscape where Left-leaning activists cheer assassination attempts on Trump and now openly gloat over Kirk's demise on platforms like Bluesky, Reddit, and TikTok. Hundreds of videos and posts celebrate it as a "very good day," revealing a dehumanisation that Kirk himself warned about: when debate is stifled, violence fills the void.
This violence isn't random; it's ideological, rooted in a Leftist worldview that views conservative ideas, on immigration, crime, or traditional values, as existential threats warranting eradication. Kirk's final posts highlighted the very issues igniting this rage: the racial double standards in crimes like the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by a repeat offender, or the broader deterioration of public safety amid open borders and soft-on-crime policies. To the Left, such discussions aren't debatable; they're "hate speech" meriting cancellation, imprisonment, or worse. We've seen this abroad, in Germany, where parties like the AfD face outright bans, or the UK, where shadowy NGOs and intelligence agencies hunt dissenters. In America, it manifests in campus assaults on speakers, Antifa riots, and now, brazen assassination on a university stage perceived as a "safe space." Experts note this as part of a "continuation of the trend toward lone-actor violence," often inspired by online echo chambers that glorify such acts. A Secret Service employee suspended for mocking Kirk's death underscores how deeply this toxicity permeates even government ranks.
The meta-political ramifications are dire: this isn't just violence; it's a strategy to reclaim power by any means when ballots fail. Post-Trump victory, the Left's pivot from electoral defeat to extra-legal tactics, celebrating Kirk's death as vengeance for perceived "fascism," signals a rejection of democratic pluralism. Figuresgrinning over Kirk's demise tie it to past grievances like George Floyd, but the glee reveals a deeper pathology: conservatives aren't opponents; they're enemies to be eliminated. This echoes historical precedents, the French Revolution's guillotines, Bolshevik purges, where ideological purity demanded blood. In the U.S., it's amplified by digital amplification: algorithmic bubbles turn whispers of hate into roars, as seen in the viral videos of Leftists "doing the Mexican hat dance" on Kirk's metaphorical grave. Politically incorrect as it may be, the data shows political violence, while rare overall, is increasingly asymmetric: Right-wing incidents grab headlines, but Leftist actions, from fire bombings of pregnancy centers to assassinations, escalate unchecked, produced by a narrative of supposed moral superiority.
And how does this end? Not well, unless a course correction occurs — and fast. Kirk's death has already surged Right-wing anger, with calls for vengeance rippling across X and beyond. Trump and allies like JD Vance frame it as Leftist culmination, risking tit-for-tat escalation: if campuses become killing fields, what stops armed escorts or counter-violence? Experts predict a "new phase" of extremism, where lone actors multiply, eroding trust in institutions already battered by 2020's riots and 2024's divisions. Without bipartisan condemnation — imagine if roles were reversed — the fracture deepens: red states fortify, blue enclaves radicalise, and the national fabric unravels into balkanisation. Kirk, a moderate who believed in debate, leaves orphans as a stark reminder: when one side cheers murder, the other arms for war.
In this cauldron, anonymity becomes a shield as doxxing, arson, threats render public advocacy suicidal. Respect to those like Kirk who faced it head-on, but his blood cries out for systemic change: robust free speech protections, de-escalation of rhetoric, and accountability for incitement. Absent that, Americas experiment in self-government teeters. The tide rises, and without a dam, it will sweep us all away, not in triumph, but in tragedy. And this is not just an "American thing," but is seen in Europe, and fast developing in Australia too.