{"id":46249,"date":"2025-09-17T16:07:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T16:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=46249"},"modified":"2025-09-17T16:09:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T16:09:41","slug":"how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. Scroll through social media and you\u2019ll see the full spectrum: grief, anger, celebration, fear. It indicates how polarized we\u2019ve become\u2014and how fragile this moment is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kirk’s death is the latest in a rash of <\/span>political violence<\/span><\/a>, which includes the assassination of Melissa Hortman (D-MN) and her husband in June this year, the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) in April, and the <\/span>attempted assassination of President Trump<\/span><\/a> last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

What we say and do now can either add to that violence or cool things down. This isn\u2019t about agreeing with a leader’s politics. It\u2019s about making sure we don\u2019t become part of the cycle of dehumanization and violence ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Selective Empathy and Militarized Language<\/b><\/h3>\n

Two dangerous patterns stand out in the response. The first is selective <\/span>empathy<\/span><\/a>. Some celebrate Kirk\u2019s death, posting \u201cgood riddance\u201d or mocking those who mourn. It\u2019s compassion only for \u201cour side,\u201d while the suffering of others is dismissed as \u201cdeserved.\u201d But that\u2019s how <\/span>dehumanization<\/span><\/a> begins\u2014by deciding whose pain matters and whose doesn\u2019t. Once empathy becomes tribal, cruelty becomes easier to justify.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second pattern is militarized language. On the right, some voices have declared, \u201cThe left is at war with us.\u201d This kind of escalation doesn\u2019t just stay online\u2014it risks more real-world harm, especially when others are doxxing people who criticized Kirk while he was alive or expressed relief at his passing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reality is that most Americans, left and right, do not condone violence. After Kirk\u2019s assassination, a <\/span>YouGov poll<\/span><\/a> found 72% of Americans believe political violence is never justified. But the peaceful majority is drowned out as the loudest, most extreme voices dominate the conversation. History shows where this leads: rhetoric that treats opponents as less than human breeds more political violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How to Channel Your Feelings into Something Constructive<\/b><\/h3>\n

So what can you do? Start by being honest about your own feelings.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel angry at Kirk\u2019s death<\/strong>, avoid turning that anger into a declaration of war on \u201cthe left\u201d or whoever you think is to blame. A literal call to arms only entrenches the same \u201cus vs. them<\/span><\/a>\u201d logic that got us here. Resist the temptation to share this language on social media and instead channel that energy into something constructive: organizing, voting, or even carrying forward Kirk\u2019s own legacy of vigorous <\/span>debate<\/span><\/a> with people he disagreed with.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel unsympathetic or even relieved<\/strong>, recognize that shrugging off a death as acceptable normalizes the idea that killing is just part of politics. And once we accept that, it\u2019s only a matter of time before the gun is pointed at \u201cyour side.\u201d Even if you feel relief, resist the urge to celebrate online. Public glee at political killings hardens divides and can inspire others to share similar feelings, further entrenching us vs. them camps. Remember that you can mourn the death of someone and condemn their killer without agreeing with their views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel fearful about what comes next<\/strong>, your fear is justified. <\/span>Polarization<\/span><\/a> feeds on moments like this. The best thing you can do is model calm language, call out dehumanization when you see it\u2014even from your own side\u2014and keep perspective: The vast majority of Americans don\u2019t want political violence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you come across posts celebrating Kirk\u2019s death or calling for \u201cwar,\u201d take a step back, report harmful content when necessary, and focus your energy on conversations that cool things down rather than heat them up. That could mean reminding a friend of the values you <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> share, asking genuine questions instead of trading insults, or simply choosing to disengage before a thread spirals.<\/span><\/p>\n

We must also call on our leaders to condemn political hatred. Too many lean into \u201cthe other side caused this\u201d framing, allowing it to create a common enemy against which to rally their base. When legislators normalize contempt, it trickles down into the culture and makes violence more likely. Holding them accountable\u2014by writing, calling, or voting\u2014reminds them that their words matter and that most Americans want leaders who set a higher standard.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deny Violence the Oxygen it Needs to Grow<\/b><\/h3>\n

Polarization thrives when we reduce each other to enemies and stop seeing each other as people. Political violence isn\u2019t inevitable. It\u2019s the result of millions of small choices in how we speak, act, and treat one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t control every headline or every extremist tweet. But we can control how we show up. By refusing to dehumanize, by cooling down rhetoric, and by practicing compassion across differences, we deny violence the oxygen it needs to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n

This moment is bigger than any one leader. What matters now is whether we let anger and hate define us\u2014or whether we channel that energy into building something better together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Alex Buscemi (abuscemi@buildersmovement.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. Scroll through social media and you\u2019ll see the full spectrum: grief, anger, celebration, fear. It indicates how polarized we\u2019ve become\u2014and how fragile this moment is. Kirk’s death is the latest in a rash of political violence, which includes the assassination of Melissa Hortman (D-MN) and her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":46251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"collection_feed":[],"type_feed":[77],"class_list":["post-46249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry - Builders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. What we say and do now can either add to the violence or cool things down.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry - Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. What we say and do now can either add to the violence or cool things down.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-17T16:07:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-17T16:09:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"753\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"abuscemi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95\"},\"headline\":\"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T16:07:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-17T16:09:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\"},\"wordCount\":840,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\",\"name\":\"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry - Builders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T16:07:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-17T16:09:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95\"},\"description\":\"The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. What we say and do now can either add to the violence or cool things down.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":753},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\",\"name\":\"Builders\",\"description\":\"Rise Above Us vs Them. Be a Builder\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry - Builders","description":"The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. What we say and do now can either add to the violence or cool things down.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry - Builders","og_description":"The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. What we say and do now can either add to the violence or cool things down.","og_url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/","og_site_name":"Builders","article_published_time":"2025-09-17T16:07:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-17T16:09:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":753,"url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/"},"author":{"name":"abuscemi","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95"},"headline":"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry","datePublished":"2025-09-17T16:07:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-17T16:09:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/"},"wordCount":840,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/","name":"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry - Builders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-17T16:07:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-17T16:09:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95"},"description":"The reactions to Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination have been intense. What we say and do now can either add to the violence or cool things down.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_HeroImage_Newsletter-18.jpg","width":1200,"height":753},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/09\/17\/how-to-avoid-fueling-political-violence-even-when-youre-angry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Avoid Fueling Political Violence\u2014Even When You\u2019re Angry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/","name":"Builders","description":"Rise Above Us vs Them. Be a Builder","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46249"},{"taxonomy":"collection_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection_feed?post=46249"},{"taxonomy":"type_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_feed?post=46249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}