Kirk is being posthumously celebrated by much of the mainstream press as a noble sparring partner for center-left politicians and pundits. Meanwhile, the very real, very negative, and sometimes violent impacts of his rhetoric and his political projects are being glossed over or ignored entirely.
Using the argument that he was talking to people and encouraging conversation is bullshit; he was peddling his agenda and that’s it. Was there ever an instance that anyone who he was debating brought up a point that made him change his beliefs in any way? If not, then he was just barking the opinions he was paid to propagate at people and not encouraging an open conversation with them. I’m sure there were plenty of people who proved him wrong over the years and that footage just never found its way to his propaganda network.