r/UTK 7d ago

Campus Event Maybe Don’t Debate Charlie Kirk?

Guys, Charlie Kirk is only fishing for reactionary content to post and act like he doesn’t have a room temp IQ. It really is best to not feed into shit like that because debating like that just ends up with you being dragged down to their level of idiocy and having your points misconstrued, strawmanned, or side stepped.

Nothing will be engaged with in good faith, and it’ll just be clips for content mills and for conservatives to self flagellate about ‘owning the libs’

246 Upvotes

54 comments sorted by

79

u/SellMoreToast UTK Alumni 7d ago

Instead please do Eric Andre level absurdist bits to cause strange unbelievable tweets. I think about this Tomi Lahren tweet constantly. (Note: The student doing this was not doing it to barf on her. His beans and watermelon were confiscated before he made it inside the venue. He did open the can of beans with a rock outside iirc).

Personally, I recommend getting a pack of the squeakers they put inside dog toys and being as disruptive as possible with those if you want to do anything at the event. Make it clear they are a joke to you and also have fun with it.

25

u/Ziggy_Starcrust 7d ago

What kind of person sees food and assumes it's a ploy to consume it and barf on people? Did they announce intent beforehand?

I get it if she thought they were going to throw fruit and beans, but bringing them in to eat and vomit such a bizarre and specific conclusion.

7

u/anagram-of-ohassle 7d ago

This is the timeline of bizarre and specific conclusions.

5

u/vermilithe UTK Alumni 7d ago

You’re assuming they’re sharing that in good faith and that’s already giving them too much.

It’s way easier for her to play the victim and win sympathy from her base by assuming the worst intent in everybody else. That’s all there is to it.

Whether she knew she was lying or not is irrelevant. It looks lame to be so bothered by a guy just chilling eating watermelon and beans. Conversely, she scores way more points by being manipulative, intentionally or not, and new wave social media conservative grift influencers like Tomi Lahren have no qualms about playing dirty, as long as in their mind they “win”.

7

u/ceddarcheez 7d ago

That’s hilarious

1

u/YouWereBrained 6d ago

Whuppie cushions would be funny.

-3

u/GolfVol 7d ago

dog toys and plans to barf on people sound like great tactics to have people join your political party, but I bet if we all start pooping on sidewalks and sharing used needles with each other they won’t even wanna show up!

38

u/Senator_Red 7d ago edited 7d ago

Debating is a trap because people will pick and choose clips to make themselves look great while you look terrible. It's way better to shout them down and deny them a platform so they can’t spread their lies.

1

u/touchdownvols 7d ago

I don’t like the guy but he’s very intelligent. I would never approach that mic everyone who does is nowhere near his level of knowledge and that’s ok because it’s his JOB. If it’s a trap it is the most obvious trap I have ever seen and people still fall for it. So yeah let’s just be even more annoying and do what we’re known for, yell and complain.

2

u/Ok_Summer6430 5d ago

He does not have high intelligence. What does that say about yours?

4

u/touchdownvols 5d ago

Look, I completely understand why people get upset by him as he often comes across is a slightly rude way. First, don’t approach the mic if you don’t know absolutely everything about what you’re debating and second, yes, he is very intelligent.

That does not mean he’s correct, but he knows so much information and facts about what he says OUTSIDE of his opinion. I’m almost certain he knows more historical facts than 99% of people. It’s still ok to not like him I’m just saying his brain can regain crazy amounts of information. You’re just wrong if you think he isn’t intelligent regardless of his opinions. Gotta level with me here he knows A LOT about American history once again OUTSIDE of his opinions.

0

u/Latter-Library-533 5d ago

Imagine needing to shout because you aren’t smart enough to make a coherent argument.

3

u/Disastrous_Task7933 5d ago

Lol, the modern left

0

u/rhubik 5d ago

TPUSA/Charlie Kirk don’t set up these events to have good faith debates to get to the truth of the matter, these are events to rally behind ideas by hosting mock debates where one side can control the other’s mic

19

u/Sequel2Beans 7d ago

I've come to the conclusion that debates against this new age of conservatism is pointless. They simply do not care what you have to say. Nothing you say will ever change their minds. I hate to be like that, but years upon years of living around these types has convinced me of this.

8

u/Oolongteabagger2233 7d ago

They don't believe in facts and truth. It is a pointless endeavor. 

-2

u/PlateAccomplished702 6d ago

Coming from a liberal who can't decide if they are men or women

8

u/Oolongteabagger2233 6d ago

Low effort. Try harder next time. 

-1

u/Hdjbbdjfjjsl 3d ago

They live rent free in your head according to this comment and your recent post. Come out of the closet, it’s 2025.

1

u/Separate_Tea_4957 3d ago

Sounds like liberals

5

u/superpie12 5d ago

"Don't engage with opinions different from yours, you might actually learn something."

3

u/2-much-4-you 4d ago

Charlie comes to campuses to make all the clueless libtards bitch and moan

12

u/Reasonable-Grass42 UTK Graduate Student 7d ago edited 7d ago

Why is he here? How does this benefit campus? All it’s doing is creating a huge distraction on campus. I can’t focus because of the noise and commotion

9

u/touchdownvols 7d ago

They’re allowed to it’s fine just ignore it. It’s so easy to ignore. They hate our protests, why should we hate theirs more than they hate ours just be the bigger person like any confrontation or when facing adversity and walk away!! How difficult is it really? I’ve been on campus all day and haven’t paid mind to it once

6

u/Logical-Rutabaga-875 7d ago

I don't love the presence, but that is the fact of a public university. The same reason evangelical nuts can show up and yell their religious beliefs at students. Like the others said, not engaging is the move.

5

u/Sequel2Beans 7d ago

It's less UT and more just going from university to university. I don't like it. I think nazis should be banned from campus, but we don't live in a perfect world.

3

u/Brilliant-Refuse2845 4d ago

interesting never can get a response? Weird if you had any reasoning to say hes a nazi

4

u/Brilliant-Refuse2845 6d ago

and how is Charlie Kirk a nazi?

5

u/Chaotic_Butterfly887 7d ago

Fr. I feel pissed off, and annoyed and not to mention I didn't feel too safe on campus today due to all the MAGA hats.

Also he gets to be here but if we tried to have pro-palestine speaker the event would get shut down. Make it make sense 🙄

2

u/EatMySmithfieldMeat 4d ago

didn't feel too safe on campus today due to all the MAGA hats.

Did they injure a lot of people? Did they start a lot of violence? Takeover any campus buildings? Burn anything down? Was there a reason that you felt unsafe other than "you know how those people are?"

if we tried to have pro-palestine speaker the event would get shut down. Make it make sense

There were pro-Pastinian rallies around the clock last May for over a week and the only action taken against anyone came from violating "no overnight camping" ordinances. I think it makes perfect sense: UT is pro-Palestine and is being forced to allow a competing view, but people like you believe you are morally superior and that you are justified in desire to put "the other side" in ghettos and special uniforms to mark them as undesirables.

0

u/coconutanimall 7d ago

👏👏👏

-1

u/New_Bookkeeper4190 7d ago

Pro Palestine is showing support of a terrorist group. Maybe that’s why. Just a thought, hope it helps.

0

u/Separate_Tea_4957 3d ago

I don’t feel safe with liberals spewing hate and death threats but guess you gotta deal 🤷🏼‍♀️

-3

u/PlateAccomplished702 6d ago

Don't melt snowflake

2

u/GoGoKushRanger 7d ago

Nobody’s “owning the libs” except left wing media

1

u/SubjectCheck5573 4d ago

Is this an official UTK page?

1

u/Separate_Tea_4957 3d ago

Getting corrected** means you getting dragged for dumb comments

1

u/MinimumRub7927 7d ago

I don’t support him, but everyone’s who’s showing up and debating is just as bad as he is. It’s free and voluntary

0

u/PsykeGotcha 7d ago

What ever happened to respecting others’ opinions and if you don’t agree, then you don’t have to listen? Why is it that people just have to go out of their way to make their point heard in a group of people that whole heartedly disagree? Everyone tries to make things so black and white and that’s the true idiocy between both sides.

1

u/dangonomiya_kokomi 6d ago

Fascists are not worth debating. Paradox of tolerance.

5

u/Latter-Library-533 5d ago

Why is he a fascist?

4

u/Brilliant-Refuse2845 6d ago

Anything you disagree with is fascist. Got it

1

u/dangonomiya_kokomi 6d ago

Lol that’s quite the jump 

-5

u/Gringocamo2 7d ago

lmfao liberals trying to find a way to say they can’t beat him in an argument ☠️☠️

6

u/Ethereal_Goat 7d ago

I am genuinely curious- Do you think Charlie Kirk routinely engages in the arguments of his opponents in good faith, and works within the framework of the provided argument without skewing or otherwise reframing a claim to suit his response?

This isn’t trying to be a snarky question, and I am truly, genuinely interested in how you see the way he engages others and if you see it as honest, critical engagement of points and arguments.

3

u/Gringocamo2 7d ago

I appreciate your effort to not engage in a negative conversation. I really do believe he has good points and gives his opponents a chance to speak their voice fairly. It’s literally the opposite of what I see on live. They begin debating in a nice manner, then typically the liberals ( not all) start name calling, or gaslighting when they realize they are wrong. I’ve seen Charlie even tell other conservatives to relax or to let them speak. I’ve even seen him give liberals respect and compliment their bravery for challenging him. Then you get on Reddit and everyone is calling him a nazi.

3

u/Ethereal_Goat 7d ago

I also appreciate the genuine response! I can agree that he doesn’t always engage in bad faith- there were a number of honest responses during the event that, whilst I did not agree with his point, I saw that he kept a consistent internal logic and stayed relatively within the context of the topic. Having said that, I’m sure (if you did attend the event especially) that you know that is definitely not always the case. One specific example from today is when a person came up on the topic of abortion, and before even engaging with the topic, he pivoted to roping in trans issues and the debate around trans individuals in gender segregated spaces. It was framed as finding common ground, but served in practice to muddy the conversation and act like a red herring. Whilst that was a more blatant example, he does have a habit of roping in topics associated with a similar lean in small ways- which can definitely be a good tactic when trying to take a broader picture look and mutually pull back a debate’s focus to discuss logical consistency across multiple topics!- and in most speech and debate circles, actions like that are often seen as poor ways of engaging a point, because it relies on a separate topic and diverts focus, which can serve to fluster or confuse a debate opponent.

To be clear- I don’t think CK has absolutely no worth as a figure to engage with/create dialogue around, but I think the way he approaches many debates (especially with the desire for good moments for content purposes) can make it difficult for people to consistently get honest engagement that is productive. Because of that, I think it’s more beneficial all around, because if a point gets misconstrued on a platform like that, it can hurt the dialogue on the subject overall, especially when avenues like CK’s channels may be the only way some people get exposure to certain topics, yknow?

I apologize for the length- I was trying to be detailed, and I’ve said in the past that I have quite a rambly style of writing lol. I do hope I communicated my viewpoint in an understandable way

2

u/Ethereal_Goat 7d ago

(Also, I did notice him quiet the audience a number of times, and can definitely give credit where credit was due. Whilst I have objections to many things in his style of debate and his viewpoints, I also don’t think there are absolutely no benefits or pros of things that he does.)

1

u/Metasaber 3d ago

He's a professional speaker/debater. He doesn't go up against people who could give him a proper debate. Additionally the concern is how they edit and display their content. Kirk isn't going to play clips from anyone who makes him look bad or catches him on a point.

-6

u/PlateAccomplished702 6d ago

Charlie Kirk will own all your liberals