Henrietta Hassinger was waiting through a SUV for a friend’s parking lot in a neighboring place. Like many others in Fluehr Park on Wednesday evening, she said that she hopes that Charlie Kirk’s death will encourage the Americans to reconcile.
“I hope that this will bring people more and it will not be so far,” said Hassinger. “I am hurt, but I am happy because I know he is in heaven.”
A huge crowd of over 100 people gathered with vigil Conservative political activist In north-eastern Philadelphia, six days after the 31-year-old was shot and killed at a party at the campus of the University of Utah Valley.
Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, who largely assigns GOP support in the withdrawal of adolescent adults in the election over the past decade. He was known for organizing events at university campus, where he often got involved in liberal criticism. Some of the statements of Kirka were controversial and provocative. Was A powerful critic of the Act on civic rights from 1964 AND LGBTQ rights+He said death from weapons They are “worth” to protect the rights of weaponsAnd he said he believed IN “Replacement theory“The idea that the global elite-often with anti-Semitic references to the Jewish people-they try to raise the number of non-white immigrants, displacing white Americans.
While almost all politicians condemned violence, many democrats said that Kirk’s words had harmful consequences for many people, and condemned the decision of Trump’s administration to honor Kirk, whom the president particularly liked. Among them was the senator of State Anthony Hardy Williams, a democrat of Philadelphia.
“Honoring someone who spent his life, promoting the division and bigoteria, sends the wrong message,” said Williams. “We cannot combine a tragedy with heroism.”
Fans of the conservative activist came up with these conflicting perspectives Just as a difference of sentences.
Kirk’s death caused monuments in America and around the world. This vigil was the second in three days in Philadelphia – another took place In Marconi Plaza on Monday, September 15 – and the first in the northeast, the most conservative voice block of the city.
This topic of the community was a common thread of Wednesday’s vigil.
Republican senator Joe Picozzi, who had promoted The event in social media in the preceding days was the first to turn to the crowd. He called everyone “to pray together as a community, sharing, making love from that moment.”
Then the senator of the first period offered a microphone to anyone who wanted to speak. Among the speakers was the self -styled “political prisoner on January 6”, which he called Kirka “American hero.”
The speeches ended in a group prayer led by Father Józef Zaleski.
“There is really no hatred”
The cross was decorated with a black Leanne Wedmayer shirt. She repeated religious feelings heard all evening. Tacony’s 52-year-old resident also said that there is no bad will to people after the political left.
Instead, she said, influences them “a lot of dark propaganda” and hopes that God reveals the truth to them.
“We love them and pray for them and we hope for their souls,” said Wiedmayer. “There is really no hatred.”
Many in the vigil kept this sentiment and claimed that they had no problem with the democrats or nobody on the left. These supporters of Kirk hoped that his death could be a uniform factor, pointing to the fact that Kirk got involved in people he disagreed with.
Speakers and participants said that the death of an activist should make people aware that both sides are not as different as they think.
There was a conservative influence among the speakers Danielspeaksupwhich has over 200,000 followers in Tiktok, and also participated in the last meeting in southern Philadelphia.
Daniel said that the most vital thing we need now is unity and that when freedom of speech is attacked for every person, everyone is threatened. The conservative thicker attributed Kirk the idea that violence was happening when people stop talking.
“You don’t have to like everything he says, but we go further, let’s conduct this conversation as Americans,” said Daniel.
Before the meeting, Jeff Schwartz passed the bike through Fluehr Park, paying attention to the growing number of red magician hats in the parking lot. A resident of Torresdale said he was not aware of wakefulness.
“This is sucking, but he was a hatemonger,” said Schwartz. “Seeing the celebrations for him is not great.”
