Charlie Kirk and the “Lost Boys”

The day before Erika Kirk spoke at Charlie’s memorial, I woke up with an idea to write about the lost boys. The following day I was stunned when I heard Erika speak these words.

“Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West”. She later went on to add, “My husband, Charlie, wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. Our Savior said, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do.’ I forgive him. I forgive them because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.”

Charlie Kirk worked tirelessly to reach our lost children! Thank you, Charlie and Erika. Thank you for battling the lies, that took our children captive, with truth.

Lamenting the Lost Boys

Myles/Margot Lewis. Robert/Robin Westman. Tyler Robinson. These names have taken me to the keyboard and brought me to my knees. News of their actions has pierced my heart in ways I’m still searching to describe. And I’m not alone.

We’ve heard much about ROGD (Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria), especially in girls and in large part due to Abigail Shrier’s book, Irreversible Damage. But less has been written about the boys. We’ve seen drag queens and images of demented looking men, but the parents of many trans-identified kids have a different perspective.

After our son came out in 2014, it soon became obvious there was a common thread in these boys. As one parent after another shared their story, my heart cried out, “Oh, dear God, are they all autistic?” They were often gamers, artists, highly intelligent, quirky and sensitive boys who stumbled into the darkest places of the internet.

But the most striking and troubling resemblance is that many of them made a radical shift. The people they once loved became despised. Excelling academically, they started failing. Their bright eyes, once filled with affection, became empty. Some of them vanished.

There are parents that went along with every socially and medically advised approach. Some did everything they could to love without compromising truth until this messy middle was not enough for their child. Others couldn’t face the radical changes tainted with rage and told their sons they needed to leave. And a few parents have become prisoners of their own homes, held captive by the demands of their sons and society’s pressure.

I’m not suggesting there was never any fault on the side of the parents. They tried. And unless they were affirming the madness, there was no help. There was no understanding. Those of us in underground support groups eventually found it in one another and shared resources but the shame, and challenges in finding one another, left many of these parents isolated.

I must not fail to mention, some of these kids have been abused. Sometimes by the very people who were supposed to be protecting them. It is not a stretch for them to claim a trans identity and seek these communities as an escape and a place of safety. Tragically, many of these kids fall into further abuse.

I’m not suggesting that our son or anyone else’s is desiring another’s death but we know they have already chosen death to themselves. We know because we dare not use their “dead name.” With our son’s 10-year absence, I know next to nothing. I can only draw conclusions from the growing number who have escaped this madness, trying to find their way back to reality as best they can with the damage done. And I’m not suggesting these young men all have the potential to be shooters, but often parents have no idea what they are capable of because of the unrecognizable changes that have taken place. And this worries us.

I know only God is able to fully rescue them but I share this in hopes that I can help prevent all the quirky, sensitive sons out there from becoming one of these lost boys. And I beg you to pray. Pray for these lost boys (and girls) and pray for their parents. They need it now more than ever.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 1 Timothy 1:15