Charlie

by Thomas Greco, Publisher

I’m old enough to remember the 60s. I remember the Vietnam War, the protests, the division in our country. Sure, I was a kid, but seeing those things play out on TV left an impression on me that lingers to this day. I always hoped I’d never live to see us return to those days. But sadly we have. 

Never has that been more apparent than by what has taken place over the last few weeks. I was driving to a trade show when an alert came up on my phone that Charlie Kirk had been shot. As someone who is pretty active on social media, I was familiar with who Charlie Kirk was. I wasn’t a follower, but when he came up on my feed, I stopped and watched. He seemed like a genuinely good guy who was challenging people to debate. I found him entertaining, and he didn’t seem like your typical political con man. I liked him. 

Once I walked into the trade show, I kept refreshing my feed to find out if there was any more information on how badly he was hurt. I will forever remember exactly where I was when that horrible video came up on my screen. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

There have been so many words written about that day, most of them from a political viewpoint. But to me, it wasn’t about politics. It was about the cold blooded murder of another human being. A murder that was being seen by hundreds of millions of people simultaneously. And it made me want to throw up. 

As you well know, the outpouring for Charlie Kirk came from many places. I was surprised how many people I knew, who had never heard of him, were upset over the assassination. People I knew who have no interest in politics at all. It made me wonder why Charlie Kirk had this effect on so many people. 

I came to the conclusion that even people as old as I am had never witnessed something like this happen to a national figure. By that, I mean we never saw it happen almost instantaneously, replaying over and over. There was no footage of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Robert Kennedy or John Lennon. Even if there were, TV back then would never show something so graphic. People tend to forget that no one saw the JFK assassination footage until years after it happened.

Today? Today, we live in a world where this horrific moment in time is right in our pockets on our frigging phones. 

Take the f#$king politics out of it. I don’t want to hear your “what abouts?” A young man was murdered in cold blood for all the world to see. That alone should have brought us together. But did it? 

Go ask a Jimmy Kimmel fan.

Want more? Check out the October 2025 issue of New Jersey Automotive!