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'We have a statue of MLK': GOP lawmakers push for Charlie Kirk monument in Capitol
(www.rawstory.com)
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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There is a big difference between. Most people who aren’t actively engaged in this type of discourse like you and I, or don’t pay meticulous attention to conservative media outlets, likely don’t know who Kirk is, let alone care.
MLK Jr. got historically important exposure on television with the broadcast of the March on Washington, D.C. This was one of the first civil rights events to be televised. When you have a new medium to disseminate news that for the first time gives you not just the voice but the image of the people involved, I think that has a huge impact. Prior to this, MLK Jr. was a highly respected religious leader.
Most people today, would probably have to seek out non-governmental sides of political discourse, to even know who Kirk is. I have no doubt your average conservative that watches Fox News has been exposed to Kirk, but they likely won’t recall any talking points. He wasn’t in an elected office. Today, that would probably be the only reason any lay person would listen to them.
Kirk's had his face plastered all over the news, his voice jammed into podcasts and radio shows, and his physical form injected into college campuses for over fifteen years running. You don't need to be an academic to know who he is, any more than you needed to be a wrestling fan to know Dwayne Johnson or a pop music obsessive to recognize Taylor Swift.
That's tens of millions of people. And then you've got the average liberal who watches MSNBC or tunes in to Colbert's Late Night. They can spot him, too. And then - again - anyone on a major college campus over the last fifteen years knows this guy purely because of his reputation as National Debate-Me Bro. The man did the college circuit hundreds of times. He's been a popular meme for at least a decade. He died running his mouth at a C-list university in Utah, ffs. That's how prolific the man was.
I would gamble that more people could recognize Charlie Kirk on sight than any of the last three Vice Presidents.
What the absolute fuck