Who is more Violent? The Left or the Right?

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has raised the question again of who is more violent? Right or Left? Left-wing commentators are rationalizing the murder of Charlie by saying, “You do it, too.” You-do-it-tooism is a pathetic excuse for left-wing violence. This is a longtime tactic of the Left. It’s called moral equivalency. They say violence on the right is equivalent to violence on the left.

No it isn’t. There is no question the Left is more violent.

In an impassioned speech on Charlie Kirk’s podcast on Monday, Vice President JD Vance argued that the American left has a much stronger propensity than the right to justify or celebrate political violence.

In City Journal Heather MacDonald, one of the most astute observers of the American crime scene says: “This sense of entitlement to commit violence in the name of tolerance and social justice has become a primary characteristic of the Left. To be sure, the Right has its thugs who ambush and attack politicians, but their numbers are dwarfed by the routine violence of members of the Left… That leftist sense of entitlement unites Antifa, the Ferguson, Missouri, and George Floyd race rioters, the Los Angeles anti-ICE rioters, the destroyers of statues, the arsonists who torch cars and police precincts, the mass looters, the stalkers of judges, the assailants of conservative college speakers. It bred the assassination of a health-care executive, presumably the attempted assassinations of Donald Trump, and now apparently the murder of Charlie Kirk.”

Roger Kimball, writing in the Spectator, said: The leading characteristic of the left it is bloodthirstiness. Behind all the emollient rhetoric about brotherhood and equality, bloodthirstiness is the left’s most reliable calling card. I used to ask my Marxist colleagues about left-wing violence. One of them admitted that a billion people may have to die but that was a price worth paying to bring in the worker’s paradise. Of course, he didn’t include himself in the one billion.

John Davidson in the Federalist on organizations that promote violence: “Those institutions are all on the left. They are well-funded, they are part of the liberal mainstream, and they are unrepentant. Until they are destroyed utterly, those are the only monsters in our midst worth talking about.”

Public opinion polling reveals the penchant for violence on the Left. The Federalist report last spring on a recent polling result: 55% of Leftists said that assassinating President Trump would be at least somewhat justifiable.  The Wall Street Journal polling showed that of people 50 and older 90% said violence was never acceptable in settling politic debates. Tragically, nearly 60% of those under 30 deemed it acceptable. People who self-report as politically left of center are three to four times more likely to approve of violence than those who are on the right.

Then there is the rhetoric. Left-wing politicians, bloggers, media figures, and other Leftist regularly use language that invites violence. Charlie Kirk himself recently said: “The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response…This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end. The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb.” A time bomb that too the life of Charlie Kirk.

Left-wing rhetoric constantly calls the other side names that lead to violence. Nazi, fascist, racist, et al. You can’t use that kind of language and not expect a violent result. It was the slur, “transphobic” that got Kirk killed.

Elon Musk recently said at a rally in London: The left is the party of murder and celebrating murder. I mean, let that sink in for a minute. That's who we're dealing with here.

One of Fox News’ host Greg Gutfeld’s regular personalities is Tyrus, a former pro wrestler, but an entertaining and insightful social commentator. His response to Charlie Kirk’s death was quite moving. He began by saying he did not like what Charlie Kirk did, trying to persuade people to become Christians. He said, “I feel bad because I did not like what Charlie was doing. I am not a religious person.” But he added that, “Charlie in his death…his faith was unbelievable.” Then Tyrus mad an extremely important observation. “How many buildings burned last night? How many people were dragged in the street…? Not one. How many police officers were spit on…? Not one.” Tyrus ended his monologue by telling the Left, “You just created a million Charlie Kirks.”

So yes. The Left is more violent. Both-sides-ism does not work here.

But why is the Left so violent?

The reason is, of course, religious. Or to be more precise, religious doctrine. People are basically good but stupid. They need to be whipped into shape. Utopia can only be achieved through coercion. The enemies of utopia must be exterminated. History is all violence—oppressed versus oppressor. And oppressors—their identity determined by the Left-wing elite—must be destroyed. When I was in Cambodia I got to observe the results of leftist religion. In the early 70s, a Marxist name Pol Pot took power and decided to implement a leftist utopia. He decided to kill the middle class. And he mostly succeeded. He killed 20% of the Cambodia people, about 2 million in all. But Pol Pot’s theology infects every left-wing brain. For society to be perfected violence is required.

What can be done?

First and foremost, the most potent weapon against the Left is Christianity. And Christian revival would roll back the Left even if it did not eliminate it entirely. Don’t underestimate the power of Christ. I am watching videos and reading testimonies of many, many young men and women who have turned to Christ because of the witness of Charlie Kirk. One write for World magazine called him the “Stephen of our time,” referring to the first martyr for the Christian faith, Stephen in Acts 8. After his assassination by the angry religious establishment a revival broke out that began Christianity’s spread around the world.

A second step would be to dismantle the universities. Corrupt, violent, Left-wing religion begins here. I saw it plain as day as a young student in the 60s. I taught at a large, secular university for 25 years and saw firsthand the corruption of the Marxist cult. This won’t be easy. But first steps are under way starting with defunding these corrupt institutions. But until their influence is subdued the Left will be a powerful force in our society. A government-funded source.

Third, provide alternatives. Charlie Kirk, a victim of terrible violence, was still on the right track. Engage the enemy graciously and with love and compassion. That will help turn the temperature down.

The problem we face is spiritual and therefore the solution is spiritual. Pray for the supremacy of Jesus Christ in our society. The result will be the defeat of His enemies.



More: Tyrus on Gutfeld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVJr98HaL5A

John Davidson in the Federalist states unequivocally that the violence is overwhelmingly on the Left: https://thefederalist.com/2025/09/16/there-can-be-no-peace-or-unity-with-a-violent-unrepentant-left/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=there-can-be-no-peace-or-unity-with-a-violent-unrepentant-left&utm_term=2025-09-16

Heather MacDonald, Left-wing violence dwarfs the right: https://www.city-journal.org/article/charlie-kirk-murder-speech-violence?utm_source=virtuous&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cjdaily&vcrmeid=1GQdFt9aG0eSOqBirtg3Hw&vcrmiid=86QfeMrW2Eyl8NB4Nx4M3A

The Federalist—Charlie warned us: https://thefederalist.com/2025/09/10/a-ticking-time-bomb-charlie-kirk-warned-us-of-the-growing-violence-of-the-left/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-ticking-time-bomb-charlie-kirk-warned-us-of-the-growing-violence-of-the-left&utm_term=2025-09-11

Roger Kimball: https://thespectator.com/topic/the-bloodthirstiness-of-the-left-is-not-new/?utm_source=Spectator%20World%20Signup&utm_campaign=6505d03e00-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_09_05_12_12_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-2ceef9a309-154787678

The Wall Street Journal poll on the acceptability of violence: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/why-do-so-many-young-americans-justify-political-violence-ee8d2e2d?mod=MorningEditorialReport&mod=djemMER_h

Elon Musk: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/09/14/elon_musk_at_london_rally_the_left_is_the_party_of_murder_and_celebrating_murder_if_this_continues_violence_is_coming.html