If the boundaries of political violence are drawn at a single bullet, then there is no hope for peace in the US or Canada. Erosion of public health is political violence, protection of commodified housing is political violence, increased police budgets oriented toward profit and property protection at the expense of unsheltered people’s safety is political violence, the continued discrimination and injustices faced by First Nations and indigenous peoples in so-called Canada is political violence, cooperation with Israel is political violence. Canada’s entire history is the maintenance of settler-colonial violence. These people are not opposed to political violence, they depend on it.

The only reason this has gotten the attention it has is because fascists are using it to proceed with their plans of suppression and eradication. Politicians recognize this as violence as they understand this form of violence can be turned on them while they are protected from the systemic violence they perpetrate. A narrative that frames their words as “reasonable” responses ignores that there is no reasoning with these people the same way there was no reasoning with Charlie Kirk. Violence is their way of life and they will only frame violence in a way that protects themselves.

His children are better off without him, he said he’d force his daughter to give birth if she was raped as a child for Christ’s sake. Empathy directed at them is obviously fake because they were victimized by their father who is now unable to cause them more harm; real empathy would be directed toward their recovery, not obfuscating the harm this man did to everyone.