Thoughts on Charlie Kirk & Iryna

Hi all,

The culture war shifted significantly in the last two weeks. First, we had the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska by a man who had been let out of prison multiple times. Then, yesterday, the tragic death of Charlie Kirk, who was killed while bringing free speech to college campuses. I tweeted my thoughts on both incidents, and rather than write an article, I will post them here — in the order they were posted.

September 7

The brutal murder of a Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, in our streets isn’t just a headline the media chose to bury — it’s the deadly fruit of liberation ideology, born in the late 1960s. For decades, this toxic framework taught the weak-minded that all their struggles, failures, and pains stem from an eternal oppressor: the whites.

It’s not mental illness alone that drives someone to commit such a gruesome act. It is the spark of tribal hatred ignited by this divisive worldview.

We permitted this hatred to thrive in the black underclass and what began in one community has metastasized, breeding resentment and violence across the nation. Our schools, through “liberated” ethnic studies, drill this poison into young minds, framing history as a simplistic battle of oppressed versus oppressor. Our governments apply this poison to how they mete out justice, and that is why the killer was free.

This ideology doesn’t liberate. It teaches tribal hatred and this is the evil we must eradicated before more damage is done.

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September 9

The time has come to reclaim reality from distortions fracturing our shared humanity. The Left’s relentless re-racialization of America has derailed us, prioritizing poetic truths over truth—including George Floyd, whose death was less tragic than this one. His choices led to it. This young woman had no choice. Her story demands attention, not for ideology, but because it pierces the heart of what it means to be human. We will decline as a nation if we tolerate this racist, dehumanizing dogma longer.

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September 9

Throughout my life, people have asked my father, Shelby Steele, how to counter the Left's white guilt racism, pointing to the flawed promises of affirmative action or recent tragedies like Iryna Zarutska’s death, and his answer has always been the same: Have courage.

To him, courage is no mere platitude but the force to reject groupthink, to see reality, to see individuals beyond stereotypes, and to refuse the attempt by others to reduce us to mere skin.

Courage is the antidote to the cowardice that fuels prejudice, the apathy that lets it fester, and the cynicism that says nothing can change. That is our test now: do we have the courage to step out of the shadows and say no more?

My father's quotes on courage over the last 30 years:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to act despite it." "To speak honestly about race in America is to invite attack, but silence is a greater cowardice."

"Moral courage is standing for what you believe when the world insists you bend. It’s the only way to change anything."

"White America has to find a way to restore its moral confidence... It requires the courage to say ‘look, I’m not a racist and I don’t care what you say, whether it agrees with you or doesn’t.’"

"Genuine freedom stems from the courageous act of liberating ourselves from the constraints inflicted upon us by others as well as those created by our own minds."

And many more.

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September 9

Race is always a seductive poison, no matter who uses it. It infuses itself into your mind and makes you forsake your humanity. Only grifters benefit.

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September 10

This is tragic. I never met him, but he was one of the earliest champions of my film with my father, Shelby Steele, "What Killed Michael Brown?" He interviewed my father two days after the film was released, during its ban from Amazon. They talked about the Left's systemic racism lie and the insidiousness of white guilt. Afterwards, I would hear from people that Charlie Kirk talked about white guilt on his program. He was one of the more intelligent beings and he was generous enough to spread our ideas. I will also say that Charlie Kirk was one of the braver souls who did not have an ounce of white guilt in him -- he spoke his mind freely and he lived life without fearing the charge of racism. He did not deserve what happened to him today. May his soul rest in peace.

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September 10

The past two weeks, especially Charlie Kirk's assassination today, have exposed the Left’s relentless assault on our nation’s soul, reaching lows that I haven’t witnessed since joining this culture war as a teen. We can no longer give quarter to an ideology hellbent on dismantling America. Our principles—liberty, truth, and the unyielding spirit of this nation—are non-negotiable. We must be unapologetically American.

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September 10

Hours after the shooting of Charlie Kirk yesterday, I had a moment of realization. Nearly everyone I know—family, friends, colleagues—has had their lives affected by the Left.

I saw it firsthand in the late 1980s, when my father, Shelby Steele, was called a race traitor for his views on race. Soon after, I met Thomas Sowell, who had faced similar attacks years earlier, before cancellation was even a term. I experienced it myself at Claremont McKenna College. I was ostracized for not joining the black student union and engaging in reductive black politics.

As I got older, my father and I thought that exposing the truth would lead to change. But the Left grew stronger and took control of most American institutions. It changed our moral code from individual character to immutable traits like race.

We met more people harmed by this—whites who lost jobs over diversity policies, Asians discriminated for being successful, and many others shunned for speaking freely. We kept hoping our work would make the Left see their mistakes.

Instead, the Left ushered in the era of re-racialization with Trayvon Martin's death. My father fought back, denying systemic racism and defending America. I made a documentary exposing identity politics. Then we went to Ferguson to expose the truth about the Michael Brown shooting. Our film reached across the political divide and woke some people up. But more stayed quiet, their fears real after seeing what happens to those who speak out.

Now we live in a Leftist America reshaped after George Floyd. Through it all, Charlie Kirk spoke out bravely. His death made me reflect on my life, and that's when I saw it: nearly everyone I know has been harmed by the Left. But none of these people pitied themselves. Rather, they just shrugged at their fate and kept smiling. Even my father, when he should be enjoying retirement, continues to work every day as he has since seventh grade. So, that moment of reflection gave me the time to draw strength from each one of those souls.

They continue to fight because they refuse to give up the hope that a better America is within their reach. The death of Charlie has only made them more determined.

Have a great weekend,

Eli