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Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a strong message against political violence during the Democracy Day celebrations of USC, registering his thoughts on the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on an Utah university campus. The former-governor was divided by social media and other major channels while appreciating almost 500 candidates for their courteous demeanor. The violence in its various forms and the divisions in the States appear to be growing more concerning every day.
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“When somebody is killed for having an opinion contrary to mine, I was very, very upset,” Schwarzenegger spontaneously expressed. “I mean, it’s just unbelievable.” The movie-star politician continued by asserting that Kirk was “a great communicator, a great advocate for the right, for Republican causes,” before emphasizing the human tragedy beyond political affiliations.
What really made it a special event was the atmosphere that Schwarzenegger described. On his social media channels that accompanied that video, he wrote, “There’s a little bit more important than my message in this video. It’s what you don’t hear. No heckling. No disrespect. No shouting.” That was the crux of his argument, that real life is ittermellous of the rage-fiery online ecosystem.
The star of The Terminator laid blame for the divisions that presently exist at many institutions. “The cause of all of this is the social media companies that are dividing us, the mainstream media companies that are dividing us, the political parties, the Democrats that are dividing us, the Republicans that are dividing us.” In perhaps the most earnest moment of this speech, Schwarzenegger issued a warning about approaching “that cliff” where not only democracy but the very thing it stood for would be endangered.
Schwarzenegger offered, actually as a solution, personal responsibility and leadership. He specifically addressed USC students: “Where USC students from the Democratic Club, the Republican Club, can get together. Imagine that you get together in this room having communications together and solving problems together.” He thought such cooperation would attract media attention and would set an example for the rest of the country.
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The reaction to Schwarzenegger’s message betrayed the divisions he had warned against. One user stated, “Assassinated for having a different opinion,” which captured that initial shock and dismay many felt about the murder of Kirk. Another cast a much darker tone: “Sounds great and all, but the left has declared our ‘silence is violence’ and any differing opinion is violence to justify killing us. They track down people they don’t like and do their best to harass, intimidate, and try to kill. This situation has drawn commentary from figures like JD Vance and Jesse Watters.
