Who the hell is Charlie Kirk?

That was my reaction to the news yesterday. Maybe I don’t follow politics very carefully, but I don’t think I had much of a knowledge of the name outside of maybe seeing his name mentioned in a news article in passing about some right-wing dark money interest group with a strange name, Turning Point USA.

Truth is there is a lot of money sloshing around in politics, and at least some of it is directed towards grass roots organizing. Activists and other politically motivated citizens get free swag and often things like free lunches and bus rides to attend protests, conferences and other events. Other activists partially pay their way on subsidized events. It happens on both the left and right.

If anything it’s a reminder of the high cost of political involvement. If you don’t get shot and assininated, chances are good that you will have the cops and corporate security tailing your ass. I know I was pretty carefully monitored by Pyramid Corporation and Guilderland Police, for my opposition to Costco and Rapp Road apartment. I am sure they maintained a detailed file on me along with carefully monitoring my blog and taking detailed notes. Your tax dollars at work. And history is rittled with stories of paranoid government employees actively working to take down political opponents, either directly through the criminal code or more devious ways by leaks to press and others who can ruin reputations.

COINTELPro was a real thing. Government is staffed with people with ideological agendas, even the cops have views on issues of the day – and feeling that they must do whatever in their power to defend the institutions they represent. As are assains and others in the political realm. At least in my mind, the safest thing is not to be politically involved if you don’t want to end up behind a jail cell or a bullet. Find what actually matters in your own life, don’t try to save the world. It’s not to say we don’t need political activists but I’m not that interested in getting hit by an assain’s ‘ bullet.