Less than a week after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot on a college campus, a group of about 25 students gathered at the Indiana Memorial Union on Monday to answer and debate questions about extreme political division.
Some of the questions:
- “Do you think that the increase in political violence is connected to polarization, or are there other causes?”
- “How can people support one another despite ideological differences in the aftermath of political violence?”
Indiana University’s chapter of BridgeUSA, a national group of young people promoting “dialogue over division,” hosted the meeting titled “The Cost of Division: Learning from the Kirk Assassination.” The session’s leader asked attendees to reflect on politics and the death of the conservative activist.
Chapter leader Elizabeth Conley established ground rules for discussion: attentive listening, no interrupting, and recognizing that attendees only represent themselves, not a demographic or group.
According to University of Maryland Research, political violence increased in the last six months compared to the year before. Conley said her group wants to prevent this by facilitating face-to-face discussion.
“I think a lot of these acts of political violence come from a place of not being able to have a conversation,” she said.
Attendees talked about social media algorithms’ influence on political extremism, gun violence, and processing the violent death of a high-profile political figure.
Nathan Ruiz, a first-year student at IU, said he doesn’t agree with Charlie Kirk’s political views. But he was disheartened to see people celebrate Kirk’s death online because it contributes to extremes.
“His death doesn't kill homophobia,” Ruiz said during discussion. “It doesn't kill xenophobia or racism. In fact, it actually just puts gas on that fire.”
He came hoping for more understanding.
Discussion on gun control came up multiple times. Attendees largely agreed freedom of expression is important to preventing extreme acts.
Owen Hurd, a junior at IU and a conservative, said that regardless of who violence is enacted upon, it’s important to understand why people are upset. He said he’s lost friends because of his political beliefs and that people put too much weight on politics when making decisions about someone’s character.
“I don't want people to look at me and just see me as this crazed right winger with extremist beliefs,” Hurd said. “I feel like I'm a genuinely good person. I can hear out the other side. I can talk to people I disagree with. And I would rather people see me for that.”
BridgeUSA encourages that kind of constructive dialogue. It has chapters at 93 college campuses.
“If we want to disagree about how much to spend on social programs, we can have that discussion,” Ruiz said during discussion. He added once politics become policies that control people, issues become more personal.
He told the group that he’s Latino and queer, and he doesn’t think issues like same sex marriage or adoption should be political.
“But regardless, people have these thoughts,” he said. “And in a country where majority rules, it's scary to keep going.”
Hurd thinks that to combat division, students should attend events they don’t agree with and invite controversial speakers to campus. An IU Turning Point Chapter member, he’ll be at Pete Buttigieg’s rally this week, even though he doesn’t agree with most of what the former Indiana politician says.
Conley said her organization facilitates conversations using open ended questions. She attended the vigil at IU Sunday night for Kirk and said her organization reached out to IU Turning Point to ask if there was a way to support them. BridgeUSA at IU invited student organizations from both ends of the political spectrum to its Monday meeting, she said.
