Local communities react and respond to the assassination of Charlie Kirk
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION-TV) --
People on the Central Coast reacting to the assassination of right-wing personality and internet celebrity Charlie Kirk.
“I just think he’s kind of stupid,” said Nova Switzer of Santa Cruz.
In Santa Cruz, most people’s attitudes are directly at odds with what Charlie Kirk stood for.
"His attitudes towards women, towards what masculinity is. It's just so many things that he said I disagreed with. I felt like he was disruptive and he didn't like benefit society. And I felt like he, was a really bad influence on younger men," said Heather Braga of Santa Cruz.
Switzer described her reaction to the news - one that was common among young people on social media..
"I found out at work through an instagram post that my friend sent me immediately, called her, and we were sort of celebrating. And then later thought more about what actually happened, but still very celebratory," she said.
She said that initial happiness subsided to more nuanced feelings.
"Shooting someone just because of what they're saying in the media, it is a fascist action and it's not right in my morals, but it's really ironic how he died when he was so adamant about the Second Amendment."
Other young people were disheartened by the highly polarized reactions.
"There’s hypocrisy on both sides, but what I thought was unfortunate, is just seeing people on both sides trying to use it against each other," said David Bloom of Santa Cruz.
"I posted about it on social media, a news clip of him being like, ‘well, with guns, there has to be a couple lives lost, that's just how it is.’ and I posted that and I was like, this is very this is very ironic, I think this is funny. And I got a lot of backlash on it actually."
Kirk never came to UC Santa Cruz, but he did visit Monterey in 2018 for an event in conjunction with local republicans.
The Monterey County Republican party shared photos from back then, along with a statement.
“We are heartbroken by Charlie Kirk’s horrific assassination today in Utah. Charlie loved God and America and has been a passionate voice for conservative values and empowering our youth, embodying what we strive for at the Monterey County Republican Party. Our prayers are with his wife and two children and a nation in mourning.”
It’s not just people on the right that are mourning the killing.
Braga said she’s sad for Kirk and his family despite hating him while he was alive.
"He wanted clickbait. He wanted to be inflammatory. You know, who knows what he was like on the inside? For real? But I know that he was a human. He was a fellow man. And I think it's important that we care about that," she said.
