this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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I never paid much attention to his debates, but from what little snippets I've seen, along with the "Prove Me Wrong" schtick seems to indicate he already decided he was right and others were wrong.

There's plenty of rhetoric and memes already, I'd like to avoid more rhetoric and memes, and I ask this question with genuine curiosity and earnest desire for learning and understanding.

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[–] Railcar8095@lemmy.world 13 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I think there was one event in Utah were somebody shot an argument about guns being bad, and he thought about it for the rest of his life. Not sure if it changed his mind

[–] pigeonholedpoetry@sh.itjust.works 7 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

This isn’t the place to get an unbiased actual real answer. No one here has watched anything beyond a clip out of context by a POS influencer.

[–] HakunaHafada@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 19 hours ago

Yeah, you're probably right.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 46 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Yeah - at the end, he ended up leaning pretty far to the left

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[–] Chip_Rat@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I was listening to.. CBC front burner podcast I think? And they mentioned that he has shifted his position on immigrants. He was quoted in the past saying any immigrant who graduated post secondary in the US should have a green card attached to the diploma.

Then some right wing nutjobs were mad about that and we're targetting his events and harrassing him until he fell in line.

So yeah. He will change his mind, if he is bullies enough.

Also I think the group that were harassing his events was Nick Fuentas (spelling?) and now some of the coverage is indicating the shooter might have been a follower of Nick? I'm not sure how confirmed that is so do your own research.

But if it's just right wing nutjobs killing slightly less to the right right wing nutjobs.... Idk man.

[–] PolydoreSmith@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The guy who killed Charlie was 100% a groyper (Nick Fuentes lackey). The news has been slow to pick up on it, but his socials were full of Pepe memes and he is fully a member of the alt-right. Kirk was killed for not being racist enough. Which is insane

Thanks for chipping in your answer, I appreciate it.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

indicate he already decided he was right and others were wrong.

That’s kind of a big part of debates, didn’t you do them in school?

You can change opinions over time but you’d lose a debate if you said the other side was right in the middle of it.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I think that's a problem with debating classes in the US where people lost sight on why debates are useful in the first place.

It should be an exchange of ideas and views, an opportunity to learn, not a training in ways to just yell over your opponent so that then you can just claim you won something. Then again, writing this "out loud" makes me realize that that is the American way, no?

May e that's where a lot of gains can be made for the next generation. Teach them how to debate with reason AND LISTEN TO YOUR OPPONENT.For fucking once, actually listen, and try to understand, and not stick with your guns even though you're obviously in the wrong

[–] Vile_port_aloo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I thought that's what these "change my mind booths" were for. Highlighting the poor standard of debating shown extensively by the late internet celebrity. He was also a honey pot for online trolling at the expense of a poorly thought out statement or just too much raw emotion. From what I seen the whole set up was triggering but a choice and seemed to cover all health and safety issues at each campus.

Listening is key . Context is everything.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 0 points 23 hours ago

Debate isn’t to convince the debaters, it’s to convince the audience.

Being able to select what the audience sees is what makes it anti-education.

[–] Ostrakon@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is the root of the problem, isn't it? When someone proves you wrong, and you persist despite evidence to the contrary, that's pretty stupid, right? This high school debate sophistry that Kirk and his contemporaries engage in isn't a good faith discussion and most of his audience isn't equipped with the critical thinking skills to understand that.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

isn’t a good faith discussion and most of his audience isn’t equipped with the critical thinking skills to understand that.

This is the biggest crux. I found people also don’t realize that clips are either staged or handpicked.

[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 2 points 22 hours ago

The people asking questions are often fans lobbing questions they know fit the narrative. Like the tiktoker who streamed immediately and apparently stole merch from the booth: they were a fan and in line.

Yes, I suppose that was poorly-worded.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 40 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

No, but he was rather conclusively proven wrong a couple days ago

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 day ago

Savage.

I hate that my macabre subconscious is trying to cook up a sick burn about bullet points.

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[–] Steve@communick.news 143 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (13 children)

No. He operates as an Evangelical Apologist does. He makes disingenuous arguments that sound logical and convincing enough, as long as you don't think about or look into them that much.

I think at ~~Stamford~~ Cambridge recently his whole argument against gay marriage was completely torn down, and he finally just said, he simply didn't like it. I'll look for the video.

Edit: Found it. His own channel has a video of the Cambridge debate. Odly, that student was edited out. But Cambridge has the full event. Including the one omitted

[–] mugita_sokiovt@discuss.online 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Leviticus 18:26 is the argument used against homosexuality, for it says (using YLT) "And with a male thou dost not lie as one lieth with a woman; abomination it [is]."

[–] Steve@communick.news 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"My favorite book said so", isn't an argument. It's a delusion.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Tell that to the vast majority of religious morons

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 3 points 20 hours ago

Weird, I just tried, and they just ignored it?

[–] 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 31 points 2 days ago (5 children)

He changed his mind to agree with Catholics about the Blessed Virgin Mary. That's rare for an Evangelical.

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[–] Alsjemenou@lemy.nl 22 points 2 days ago

He was never in it for personal growth he was in it for financial gains. He was a mere grifter, his opinions were for sale. There is a lot of money in right wing grifting when you reach his level of notoriety. His personal beliefs conveniently always pointed in the direction of money. Worth about $12m when he was executed. He believed in his bank accounts.

[–] mfed1122@discuss.tchncs.de 51 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

The best thing that could possibly come of his death is if nobody ever spoke of him or thought of him again. These people's power is entirely derived from people talking about them. If it continues long past their death, they may as well be immortal.

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

He didn’t actually DO anything, just gabbed in the internet. That kind of influence does not last. But there will always be some hateful asshole to take his place.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 35 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Give us a week or two to enjoy the schadenfreude first

[–] Ryanmiller70@lemmy.zip 1 points 19 hours ago

I might need a year. I don't get this level of happiness often.

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[–] kidney_stone@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago

I am also interested in this.

I guess that most people wouldn't really know, because who with a sound mind would like to spend time listening to garbage being produced by right wing grifters. Most of us just assume they are trolls and cannot have their minds changed, and we are right in this assumption most of the time, I would say.

The only right wing person I have ever heard to actually question his own beliefs is Jordan Peterson during the Žižek debate. That's it. And it is probably because Peterson isn't really a troll or a grifter, he is just endlessly confused and ignorant and angry. I can't think of a single other case. And I would assume the same goes for Kirk. Everything I have ever heard about this guy is absolutely abominable.

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (10 children)

Once and the message stuck with him for the rest of his life.

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[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 33 points 2 days ago

Who cares? He's dead now.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 14 points 2 days ago

he changes it whatever suits him at the moment, much like what the other right grifters do.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 24 points 2 days ago

I heard he started leaning left shortly before his death.

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