Irony Isn't Always Funny

What we can learn from the recent death of Charlie Kirk

When major societal events happen the internet allows for immediate reaction. Some of these reactions are good, while many are less so. Since this space focuses on humor and issues related, it’s hard to often find a way to write on whatever tragedy or event occurred without it feeling contrived. Also, I like to try and wait to process as much as I can so I don’t simply go with my gut. Today, without pictures or funny asides, we delve into another all too predictable result from gun violence.

With all of that, of course this post is going to be related to the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. I won’t link to the images or videos or news stories detailing the events. A simple internet search could provide you enough content for review, for months if not years. If you’re lucky, you won’t watch the video of the shots. Alas, I wasn’t so fortunate. And yes, this post, ironically, adds to the throung of voices and opinions out there. Hopefully, what follows is different in focus and form from many other posts, since the topic is irony.

Many have noted that there’s a tragic irony in Kirk’s death relative to his stance on the second amendment. Kirk was a well-known Christian Nationalist, conservative, MAGA, influencer. He co-founded Turning Point USA, and has made his living going from campus to campus participating in debate-esque programming or simply speaking. His work was intentionally inflammatory, and mostly existed to throw some sort of content that would preach to the base that supported him.

One of his talking points was on the 2nd Amendment and gun rights. As someone that was absolutist about gun rights, he was known to have some rather stark opinions. He accepted and ulitmately was fine with a certain number of deaths from guns each year if that meant that gun rights would not be infringed. He called this a “prudent price” for the maintenance of such rights. He also opined, relative to gun control that “…it’s worth it to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year.” What’s a few lost lives if the society can have unrestricted access to firearms?

As soon as news broke that he had been shot and ultimately lost his life, the internet and various social media platforms were awash with people pointing out in their posts, rife with schandenfreude, the irony of a pro 2nd Amendment individual who not simply tolerated, but rather accepted as a natural outcome of the held view, an unfortunate loss of life. Phrases like “F*ck around and find out” (FAFO) or some reference to “you reap what you sow” appeared in droves. Some held that his loss was neither tragic nor unfortunate. Some even “understood” or tolerated those responses while not necessarily going as far as to agree. Another irony in this whole sordid mess. I neither accept the death as a natural outcome of a slavish hold to gun rights, nor as a FAFO “reap what you sow” view. Both of these assume a sort of cosmic balance being reasserted and if the amount and increasing levels of gun violence in our country are any indication, this is certainly not some sort of correction. Rather, it seems a way to make one feel that this was some sort of divine punishment visited upon the sinner. None of that holds to scrutiny.

People often talk about two kinds of funny. There’s “funny ha-ha” and “funny strange.” People often take irony to be, at base, a sort of comic/humorous outcome. The case of Charlie Kirk’s murder prompts me to remind us that not all cases of irony are funny. This murder, the societal conditions which fomented it, a foment that Kirk very much ginned up at every turn, is sad, could have been avoided, and ultimately no good shall come of it. Already voices can be heard, loud voices, rallying Kirk’s base to prepare for war. But there is something else here. This assuredly wasn’t ‘funny ha-ha’ or even remotely ‘funny strange.’ It was, I offer, ‘funny sad.’ It’s an irony that’s not to be enjoyed or found amusing. It’s not something to enjoy or even ruefully smile at. It’s an irony that ought to be realized as sad. It’s sad for the family who lost someone dear, sad for the country that sees a culture war that will soon see the metaphor move from hyperbolic description to reality. It’s sad for you, me, and everyone else. This is truly an FAFO moment for all of us. As we continue to FA, soon we will FO. Once we have found out, I fear it will be too late at that point. In the same way it was too late for Charlie Kirk.