Instead of empathy, a moment of reflection on Charlie Kirk's death can be used to dismantle the altar of bigotry with which we are confronted.

While on Instagram a few days into the aftermath of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk's death, I came across a video by professional counsellor Jeff Guenther, who was talking about how "it's okay not to feel sympathy for Charlie Kirk".

This was a statement he recognised as being controversial, but, since it had piqued my interest, I gave it a listen.

I should also say that before his death I had no knowledge of who Kirk was. But I know of people like him, and my position on them is very clear: I am repelled by their regressive thinking because I am a black, feminist woman, but mostly because I subscribe to enlightenment and evolution and not ignorance and devolution.

But back to Guenther. He went on to explain that "empathy is a natural human response but it isn't something you can force. Yes, Charlie Kirk was a human being, a husband and a father, and it may be easy to connect with that part of his humanity...

"But if you don't feel empathy for him because of the harm he caused, the way he mocked marginalised people and the culture of cruelty he helped build, that doesn't mean you're...