Violence is a last resort. But Silence is no longer an option.
Patrick ODellShare
The following article is the opinion of the author and does not automatically reflect the views of all members and officers of Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club.
Yesterday, our nation’s Patriots commemorated two dozen years since the horrible day of 9/11/2001. It took one day less than that for a murderer to kill a rising conservative voice in a cold-blooded assassination.
I offer several things to think about in the coming months and years of this escalation. For though we have been in a “low-intensity conflict” for several years, this week finally made dozens of millions of people understand that.
- We as a society must NOT become the very murderers we protest. Be ready for the violence as it escalates; but don’t go looking for it. Maintaining the moral high ground is imperative.
- This is not a left-vs-right issue, or a Democrat-vs-Republican issue, etc. (The division and class warfare are precisely the crop that the evil enemies have sewn.) The decay of society’s moral code is a direct result of evil. You don’t have to believe in spiritual warfare for it to exist. And that sentiment translates across every major, moral religion in the world. [And for the troll-point arguers: Satanism, by its very definition, worships the Father of Lies and Sin. He is the antithesis of Love. I said MORAL religions.]
- The arrested person is innocent until proven guilty. So many people claim to believe in Liberty and our Republic, but are quick to angrily join the “public trial” ever-present in social media comments.
- To truly believe in Charlie Kirk’s legacy, we must become him. God gifted Charlie with a superb intellect and a lightning-fast ability to recall information as he spoke. That doesn’t mean that we can’t learn. We must study the issues and be able to have rational debate with those who believe in other views. Locally! Nobody ever changes their mind in a Facebook argument.
- Nobody wins an argument screaming. Perhaps the least-discussed strength of Charlie Kirk is the fact that, despite a large percentage of those who challenged him losing control of their emotions, he was nearly perfectly in control of himself at all times. He understood at his core a key thing that people on both sides of the political spectrum can’t seem to grasp—He who loses his cool, loses the argument.
- Yes, this final point is repeating #4 and 5: we must learn our talking points and start engaging those who oppose us. With respect. But also with authority. Silence is no longer an option. Most people aren’t activists. We don’t go to city council or school board meetings (though we should.) But you can (politely) debate any person spewing lies, missing context, ill-information, and hate… any time and any place. Words—usually false or missing words—are THE reason so many people believe the things that they do. They’ve been told for years that people who believe in certain views are Nazis and fascists—and now they’re starting to become violent because of it… because lies went unchecked.
In closing, I repeat that we must abhor counter-violence; but not at all costs. Be prepared to defend yourselves; but he who goes looking for a fight will surely find one. There is a Biblical difference between killing and murder—and we must not become murderers. We must continue to love our neighbors as ourselves, which is literally a Christian commandment.
Also in summary: learn lots of facts; study the beliefs and arguments of those who spread lies; keep calm while you prove them wrong; and understand not to take it personally when that person loses their shit. People who rely on emotional arguments over facts will, in fact, lose their cool when forced to accept they’ve been fooled. As Mark Twain said, it is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
There is no greater love than righteously laying down your life for another. But there’s an argument to be made that the next-greatest love is in spreading truth to those that don’t want to hear it.
2 comments
Sorry about the delay, Justin. Shopify doesn’t notify when a comment comes in on blogs. Actually, my reference to enemies wasn’t about left v. right, which I made abundantly clear, but about those evil, powerful men and demons who continue to pit us against each other. You lecture about being open to mind-changing while: using hyperbole to make your case (9 months for Rs to make the country a third-wold nation); and ignoring context (agents wear masks and remove name tapes because the left continues to threaten their families.) The two of us could poke holes throughout each others article until the cows come home. Instead, I’m just going to thank you for taking the time to present your case without insult and wish you a great 2026! You are always welcome to come to one of our club meetings (2nd Thursdays, 7 PM) if you would like to hear more directly what the state of KRRC’s ongoing fights with the county are.
I found this page because I do not agree with what Kitsap county is doing to your establishment. I believe in the constitution. The second amendment is part of that. There’s a lot of people who would feel the same way, regardless of political alignment. There’s probably a lot we could agree on, but there is 0 that can be agreed on when you are viewing me as your enemy to be defeated.
The thing that gets me is the right has been telling me for 2 decades that immigrants will make this a third world country. From my view, it took conservatives approximately 9 months to do that very same thing. State violence is still political violence. Get the military off the streets. Get the masks off the police. Put badges and identification back on their chests. Stop targeting the gay community. Stop targeting minorities. These ACTIONS (not words) are why I believe what I do. Accountability needs to make a return to office for illegal actions. Without justice, without courts, without law, there will be violence. It’s inevitable. We are not a fascist country. If the government and government officials cannot be held accountable, if they cannot be help to court orders or laws, we are in a fascist country. Steps can still be taken to keep America free, assuming you are willing to do so. Do not allow a tyrannical government. Real Americans who love their country (not a politician, and definitely not a podcaster) will never allow it. It’s what the second amendment is for. It is that simple. When “antifascist” as an idea is “terror” but organizations like the Aryan brotherhood and Stormfront are not, we just might be headed towards fascism. Keep that in mind during your ‘discussions’. You do not proselytize in a discussion. In a discussion, you need to be free to have your mind changed. Anything less is not a “discussion”. This post very much appears to be a call for preaching, not discussion.
Further, I can tell you (even though you may be one of “those that don’t want to hear it”) that if you want to start a process of reconciliation in this country, you can start by cleaning your own house. When I am not being labeled a demon, evil, or an enemy several times in what should be a “memorial” speech (as an example), we might be able to talk. When you are not overlooking multiple incidents of political violence on your path to outrage over a single incident, we might be able to talk. I am not a ‘demon’. I am not ‘evil’. I am a human being. That is the talk of an unhinged jihadist, and it’s all I’ve heard from the right for 2 weeks. I see no mention of this in your post. We fought a war for 20 years against that kind of extremism. It’s downright un-American. Until then, I don’t think there is much to discuss. Where was this post when Melissa Hortman’s entire household was murdered? Where was this post when the CDC was filled with bullet holes? The man you made this post about praised Paul Pelosi’s attacker. Charlie Kirk praised political violence. That is not a misrepresentation. It’s not missing context. It is the truth. If you’re unwilling to recognize that, we can’t have a discussion. That’s a fact. We all need to do better. Hold your people (and yourself) accountable for their (and your) actions.
In summary – recognize that what you believe might actually be the lie. Don’t search for fodder for arguments or to confirm your bias. Find actual data. Find actual reason. Review information, then make a decision. Not the other way around. You might have to look outside of the Bible. We have freedom of religion in this country, and the views of Americans reflect that. People who look up confirmation for their bias will never be in a position to have a discussion with anybody. Memorizing charts and statistics from Turning Point does not prepare you for a discussion. You are only consuming single-sided propaganda. Understand why somebody believes what they do. Stop discarding everything that doesn’t confirm your bias. You might learn something yourself. Read that Twain quote a few more times, then read your post again, then do some self reflecting. I don’t care if you post this on your site or not. This is for you, because you say you’re looking for a discussion.