Charlie Kirk, violence and Ramon Llull
The statue of Ramon Llull on the Paseo de Antoni Maura, in front of Muelle Vell, includes in the various languages in which the Mallorcan scholar preached (Catalan, Arabic, Latin) some of the verses of the Book of Friend and Lover which have not lost their relevance, despite having been written eight centuries ago: Justice brings peace, and injury, war; humble words herald peace, and proud words, war. Words that would apply to almost any geographical context, at any time in history, and that explain both what is happening in Palestine and the rise of fascism in Western countries in recent years.
Furthermore, a few days ago, Charlie Kirk, a media activist from the American far right, was murdered. Although Trump's entourage suddenly blamed the left for fueling the violence, the truth is that the self-confessed culprit in Kirk's murder was an unbalanced young member of a fairly conservative family.
Killing is almost always condemnable, but I'll keep my hypocrisy to myself and in this case say that I'm surprised (and over-indulged) by the praise, tributes, and even the highest decoration decreed by Trump for a figure who had been spreading hatred and violence for a good number of years. Because violence isn't just about killing, but also proclaiming that we must do violence to others: those who don't think like you, those who don't love like you, those who are of a different color, those who have less than you. The PP would do well not to join the pro-Kirk slogans without having read or listened to the outbursts of a figure who not only exercised his right to freedom of expression, but also endangered the freedom and lives of others every time he tweeted. I don't expect anything from Vox, because it seems they'd be happy to reproduce here the pre-Civil War atmosphere like the one we experience in the United States today.
In a country with more guns than citizens, Charlie Kirk has dedicated himself body and soul to defending the free ownership of weapons. The massacres in American schools and institutes that have occurred in recent years have been of little use. Hundreds of children and young people murdered by their own classmates in most cases, since the notorious Columbine massacre in 1999, which was supposed to mark a turning point in gun control, but not only did it not happen, but has been relaxed over time. The acidic Michael Moore portrayed the highly recommended documentary Bowling for Columbine as in the background of these types of events there is a culture of fear deeply rooted in American society since the ancient pilgrims, as well as the influence of pro-arms institutions like the National Rifle Association.
But let's return to Ramon Llull's words, presented in the form of a question: if there is no justice, is peace possible? In the democratic, "civilized" world, what guarantees justice is not only the judicial system, but above all a state that ensures that people have a minimum of existential rights covered, through the so-called "welfare state." The United States, however, has led the way in its dismantling over the last four decades, to the point that it is the only OECD country without universal health coverage. This drives millions of individuals and families into debt and despair, to the point that there are repeated cases of elderly people committing petty crimes in order to be arrested and receive minimal assistance in prison. I won't go into the thousands of fentanyl overdose deaths, which, in addition to not being treated at the pandemic level the issue deserves, are a reflection of a flight forward through drugs. Another problem that won't be fixed by sending aircraft carriers against the 'narco-gangs'.
It is this absence of justice that has made another young man, Luigi Mangione, become a folk hero for many Americans after murdering a prominent healthcare CEO months ago. This is the danger of not pointing out the structural violence of the American system or any other: that people try to take justice into their own hands. But this, evidently, will only bring more violence.
Democracies, starting with the American one, but with a clear warning for navigators, are in danger today, not because fascism is knocking at the door, or even occupying important offices, but because there can be no justice if states do not look out for the demosAnd this means that administrations cannot be empty shells that fail to solve problems, but above all, the needs of the majority of the population. For the time being, here too, a large part of political and media activity is dedicated not to solving problems, but to denying them, or worse, inventing them. And along the way, they also invent culprits, but always careful, of course, to avoid touching the powerful.
