The whirlwind surrounding the death of conservative Charlie Kirk has made me think of historical parallels to this event. Jean Paul Marat was a firebrand journalist in the French Revolution. The martyrdom of Marat and Charlie Kirk have some eerie parallels, even though some might see them on opposite sides of the political fence.
Marat
Jean Paul Marat (1743-1793) was a physician, scientist, politician, and journalist. When the revolution began, he went from being a constitutional monarchist to a Jacobin. The Jacobins were members of “…a group advocating egalitarian democracy and engaging in terrorist activities during the French Revolution of 1789,” according to Merriam-Webster.
Before the revolution, Marat tried to become included in elite circles of France but was thwarted. Afterward, his newspaper L’Ami du Peuple (the Friend of the People) he often advocated violence to achieve radical change. In 1792 he was elected to the National Convention, in which the Jacobins sat on the left side of the chamber. Our modern-day notions of left vs. right in politics had their beginnings in the French Revolution.
In contrast to the Jacobins were the more moderate Girondists. In April 1793 Marat was arrested by the Girondists and put on trial for inciting violence. He put up an eloquent defense and was acquitted.
In July of that year, he was forced to resign from the convention due to a skin condition. He was instructed to take medicinal baths as a remedy. It was while he was taking such a bath that he was murdered by Girondist Charlotte Corday. She had hoped that killing him would quell the violence.
It did not.
Marat’s murder was memorialized in the painting above. He became a martyr for the Jacobins. Corday was sent to the guillotine four days after the murder. Soon afterward King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and thousands of others were guillotined in the Reign of Terror.
Eventually all this chaos led to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk was a firebrand of the right with ties to Christian Nationalism. His Turning Point USA now has college chapters in every state. In the video below, David Corn of Mother Jones Magazine gives an overview of Kirk’s career.
The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel for opining that the right is capitalizing on Kirk’s death is an ominous sign. Concurrently, the house and senate voted to make his birthday “National Day of Remembrance“. Oklahoma Republicans are now trying to require every college to have a It is not abundantly clear what the motives were for Kirk’s killer. As of this writing, It is too early to say where all this lionizing of Kirk will lead. If the killer wanted to protect improve things for transgender people, will that be the outcome?
History does not repeat itself but it does rhyme sometimes. The martyrdom of Marat and Charlie Kirk does have eerie similarities so far.
Allegheny Independent Media is now affiliated with Nonprofit Partners. It is a subsidiary of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. Thru the site you can donate to the website. It is essential to allow us to provide coverage to the critical issues facing the Alleghenies. You may donate to our site here.