【By Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】On September 10 local time, American right-wing conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated, causing a great commotion across the United States. For a moment, conservatives and liberals again argued fiercely, and this "mutual attack between left and right" once again exposed the deepening political divide in the United States.

On September 11 local time, a user named Colin Wright on the X platform posted an image with the caption "It's time to update," and the billionaire Elon Musk immediately re-shared the post and wrote in agreement: "Indeed, it has come to this." In fact, this image was one of the "American political spectrum maps" that Musk had previously shared.

Musk re-sharing the post on X platform

If you look closely at this image, if "me" (me) is considered as Musk, then he was still in the slightly left of center position in 2008, closer to the "liberal fellow" rather than the conservative side.

But by 2012, as the "liberal fellow" ran further to the left, Musk also moved more towards the center.

In 2021, the "liberal fellow" changed its name to "woke progressive," and called Musk and the conservatives on the far right "bigots."

So what about the updated 2025 version of this chart? The conservatives are obviously on the far right, and Musk is also on the right side, moving further away from the center; ironically, the far left is still the "woke progressive" who calls others "bigots," but this person is now on the ground, holding a rifle aiming directly at Musk and the conservatives.

Cartoon X platform

In fact, this picture and the point it makes have been expressed by Musk on multiple occasions on social media or in public interviews. Previously, Musk always described himself as a "moderate Democrat," leaning slightly left of center.

On April 29, 2022, Musk posted a similar image on social media, created by Colin Wright. The image satirizes the increasingly radical stance of so-called "liberals" in America, to the extent that even though he remained in place, he had become a "bigot" in their eyes.

Moreover, Musk has stated that he used to vote for Obama and Hillary, so he was slightly left of center, but as the far-left took over, he looked like a "far-right extremist."

Musk's previous posts on X platform

However, in the comments section of Musk's latest re-shared post, some netizens raised their own doubts. One person pointed out that some data were not as Musk said.

A netizen posted a chart cited by The Washington Post from the American Jewish non-governmental organization "Anti-Defamation League" (ADL), which showed that from 2013 to 2022, right-wing extremism (Right-wing extremist) usually accounted for the highest number of events and deaths caused by different ideological types of extremism in the United States, followed by domestic Islamist extremism (Domestic Islamist extremist), while left-wing extremism (Left-wing extremist) was relatively less.

Other netizens snorted at this comment, mocking, "Ha ha, the ADL is so far left that they would certainly manipulate the data."

It should be noted that, regarding the assassination of Kirk, the suspect has not yet been caught, and there is no information indicating the shooter's political stance.

Nevertheless, Reuters reported that many American conservatives were furious about Kirk's death, blaming the liberal side. Before the shooter's identity was confirmed, including Trump, many well-known right-wing figures labeled the incident as part of a broader attack by the left wing against conservatism. Meanwhile, Democrats focused on condemning gun violence.

After the incident, Shaun Maguire, a partner at the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, posted that "for years, the left has been preaching the threat of right-wing violence, but now the danger comes from the left," and Musk re-shared the post and replied, "The left is the murder party."

This statement by Musk echoed the general view of his Republican allies. They believe that the rhetoric of Democrats and left-wing media has long exacerbated hostility toward conservative figures, encouraging an atmosphere of violence against conservatives.

This also led Mike Cernovich, a right-wing commentator who self-identifies as a "nationalist" and has nearly 700,000 X followers, to set aside their dispute over immigration and support Musk, saying, "Not only 'left-wing,' but also those funding them, such as Soros, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn). Any sensible person would not think that an old fool brainwashed by inciting propaganda is the real culprit behind today's incident." Musk responded, "Indeed."

Musk also liked another post, which stated, "The mainstream left-wing media, and people like Newsom who claim 'Trump plans to be a dictator,' create a climate of fear against right-wing figures, which may radicalize countless emotionally unstable people and lead to political violence."

On September 10 local time, American conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot shortly after giving a speech at Utah Valley University. Visual China

According to CNN, POLITICO and other outlets reporting on September 11 local time, President Trump blamed the death of Kirk on "extreme left-wing nuts," while Vice President Vance personally went to Utah to carry Kirk's coffin and used Air Force Two to return Kirk's casket to his home in Phoenix.

The report stated that Trump delivered a speech on the South Lawn of the White House and answered reporters' questions about Kirk's assassination, stating, "We have a great country. There are some extreme left-wing nuts in our country, and we must beat them down."

Trump also said, "There is a group of extreme left-wing nuts in our country, absolute nuts, and we will definitely solve this problem. I care only about the country." However, Trump also encouraged supporters to respond to the shooting in a non-violent way and mentioned that Kirk himself was also a "proponent of non-violence."

The New York Times published an article pointing out that Kirk's death shows that political violence in the United States has become increasingly common, and videos recording violent incidents can quickly spread throughout the United States via the internet. With political violence gradually becoming "normal," U.S. experts worry that under the current intense political division, more new acts of violence may occur.

Facing frequent acts of political violence, many U.S. politicians have called for restraint. Former Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was once shot, said that the U.S. cannot become a "country where disputes are met with violence." She believes that both the Democratic and Republican parties are targets of political violence and should take "meaningful actions" to stop gun crimes from taking more lives.

However, POLITICO commented that attacking political figures, then condemning, calling for reflection, and vowing to stop violence, only for violence to happen again soon, this "cycle of death" has become a "terrifying American ritual." Violence infiltrating American politics reflects the country's division and increasing distrust in government institutions.

The latest cover of Time magazine features a "blood-red" filter for this event, along with a large "Enough" written on it. Time magazine pointed out that acts of political violence in the U.S. often trigger chain reactions, and Kirk's death may become a "catalyst" for more Americans to become radicalized, making the U.S. political environment increasingly dangerous.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7549120533896413738/

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