Stop Blaming ‘Them’

This article is part of a Free Press series on “Repairing America in Our Age of Political Violence.” Read the other entries, including from Abigail Shrier, Coleman Hughes, Sam Harris and others, here.

At a time when the radical left and the radical right are on the rise, the last thing America needs is a new dose of collectivist thinking. So, in the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, my counsel is this: Judge individual people, not groups. Stop saying “they did this,” when it is individuals who act and choose.

One claim I have seen on social media since Wednesday—and for that matter, from our president—is that “the left” murdered Charlie Kirk. I would instead consider the individual who has been charged with the murder, namely Tyler Robinson. “The left,” if you do wish to regard that notion collectively, has said and done many objectionable things along the way, but it did not pull the trigger.

Suggesting otherwise isn’t just to argue a falsehood. It’s also a bad tactic. Blaming a group of people for a murder they did not commit is hardly going to persuade those individuals to adopt more sensible political positions.

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Je Suis Charlie

The Editors

The Charlie Kirk I Knew

Adam Rubenstein

The Students Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s Murder

Maya Sulkin, Sean Fischer

Spencer Cox and Bernie Sanders Rise to the Moment

Peter Savodnik

Another reason to think twice before blaming the left: If you look at a database of incidents of U.S. political violence, and the politics of the perpetrator, right-wingers seem to be responsible for more political murders than left-wingers.