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Something changes when you watch hordes of your political opponents gleefully celebrate the assassination of a man because he believed what you believe.

On Wednesday, Charlie Kirk visited Utah Valley University. He was talking to a crowd of thousands, engaging in civil debate, when he was shot to death.

Even though I didn't know Kirk personally, the news wrecked me. Perhaps it was because he was just 31 and left behind a wife and young children. I hugged my kids extra tight that night -- and I hope you do the same. Perhaps it was the loss of his bold and consistent Christian witness. He obtained fame, money and power -- and he kept pointing to Christ. Perhaps it was because he was one of the right's most important leaders. Perhaps it was the shock that someone decided to end a political discussion with a bullet. That isn't supposed to happen in America.

Instead of universal outrage, shock and horror, many on the left are openly rejoicing. It wasn't just a few random people on social media. It was so pervasive that Bluesky, the left's alternative to X, had to warn its users not to celebrate his death. Many gleefully posted about who should be killed next.

Some Democrat politicians were politically aware enough to issue performative condemnations of political violence. But many leftist elites, including elected Democrats and journalists, quickly attempted to blame the right.

"I think the president's rhetoric often foments" political violence, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

CBS Mornings host Nate Burleson said Kirk's words were "offensive to specific communities." He then asked former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, "Is this a moment for your party to reflect on political violence?"

The left's pretzel logic sounds like it came from a domestic abuser. If only Kirk hadn't been so mean, someone wouldn't have shot him.

It's a vile sentiment, but unfortunately, it's widespread on the left. And in order to defeat it, you have to understand it.

The left's celebration of Kirk's murder is a direct reflection of its critical theory worldview. This contends that the powerful use systems to oppress the powerless. Critical race theory divides people by skin color. Intersectionality is the left's attempt to rank various victim groups.

In critical theory, success or failure is determined by your group identity -- not your individual choices. Things like respecting authority, personal responsibility and the nuclear family are tools the oppressor group uses to maintain its power.

This is insane. But think about where it leads when someone believes it. The only way for the oppressed group to succeed is by overthrowing the oppressors, including with physical force. This violence is a natural response to oppression, which makes it the fault of the oppressors.

This is the depraved worldview behind the left's celebration of Kirk's death. They don't see him as a husband, father or fellow American. They view him as an oppressor who deserved to be murdered. Taxpayer-funded universities have been pumping this worldview into students for decades.

Here's the challenge. You can't defeat this mindset through debate. Its adherents view logic and truth as tools of the oppressor. The only thing that matters is power.

As such, elected officials must use every tool at their disposal to relentlessly eliminate it. This is why Trump's war on woke is so important. But more must be done. The Biden administration sent the FBI after parents speaking out at school board meetings and conservative Catholics. The FBI must thoroughly investigate the leftist infrastructure that organizes violence. Declare them to be the domestic terrorist groups they are and destroy them. Those who've committed crimes must go to jail.

You can't win the war of ideas with rhetoric when your opponent fights with a gun.

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Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and host of the Sharpening Arrows podcast. Email him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or follow @victorjoecks on X. To find out more about Victor Joecks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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