I don’t have to quote tweets from both sides here. Just visit Twitter and search #Rittenhouse. Or go on Facebook. Or just watch the news. They’re all wrong, okay?
Also, don't count on the local laws in your area (or another state you head to play action hero) to be as poorly written or as forgiving as the ones in Wisconsin that allowed Rittenhouse to play G.I. Joe on the streets of Kenosha.
Mob behavior is unpredictable. Some people do things they would never otherwise do if they took a brief moment to think it over. That's why peaceful protests often do not remain peaceful when large crowds are involved. I think protests should be shut down at the first sign of looting, violence, arson or violence. Easier said than done unless crowd size is restricted and a serious peacekeeping force is present. I would expect outrage because my opinion would be seen by some as taking away free speech and the freedom to assemble. It's really not much different in principle than background checks for weapons purchase.
"Not guilty doesn't create a license to be stupid." Seemed to work out okay for Rittenhouse. Hell everyone should run out and buy an AR. Let's all just start slaughtering each other, its the christian way.
It is not for the jury or an individual case to determine how the public reacts. That’s the point here. If we twisted all individual cases to the will of the common crowd, justice would be the will of the mob.
You know Steve, if he did read your column, he did so in bad faith(especially when one assumes that buying an AR-15 for the purposes of shedding human blood is the Christian way. Christian teachings are opposed to the actions of the two guys that ostensibly rioted, as well as the actions of Kyle.). It wouldn't be markedly different than calling Islam a murderous religion because a few jihadists exercise their agency to make evil choices. Plus an AR or whatever kind of firearm a person buys or currently possesses doesn't make them any more or less predisposed to kill someone. In the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, the gun that he carried had is irrelevant to his decision to engage in vigilantism.
Kyle made poor choices that brought him to this predicament. What is also true is that the right of self defense is not attenuated for even people who make poor choices. This verdict is correct, and Steve is right that Kyle will bear the burden of moral guilt for the choices he made that day. In any free society, the law requires only a minimum baseline behavior necessary to maintain a civilization. But it allows a considerable amount of immorality and bad behavior without legal consequence. Kyle's actions appear to be legal but clearly immoral.
David French's column in the Atlantic nicely complements Steve's well summed up column here.
Without a grammar checker, I will include the words "carried had", in addition to other grammatical flaws in my commentary. This sums up my middling grammar skills.
Your grammar skills are good. You just don't have the luxury of spending an entire day writing two or three pages like a successful novelist who then has editors to check his work.
There are a lot of eighteen year old guys (and some much older, like me) who are lucky to have survived some of the dumb-ass stuff they have done. Some of that could have, but didn't, resulted in tragedy. In his case, it did.
Where is the condemnation of the authorities that let this protest develop into a Riot and Millions of Dollars in Property destruction and countless lives turned upside down through this property destruction. Kyle was misguided in showing up with a firearm but if the rioting continues, in this way, others will overstep their authority to stop it in the future.
I like the column Steve, the problem of course is you're are trying to write from a logical position to people who have clear heads and are capable of digesting what you are telling them in some sort analytical perspective. Impossible to achieve when a third of the country, 15 to 17% of the populace on either side of the equation simply want to be angry and get even.
Like you, my wife said he would get off; and quickly told me she was right and i was wrong. Big shoulders, i'm used to it. I always hope for the wisdom of Solomon in these matters, this was one of those times where splitting the baby made sense and helped distill the hostilities that will come from it. Unfortunately, the one thing that was clear was the judge was closer to bozo the clown than to any type of wise man.
Both sides now will use this verdict to validate their arguments, vent their anger and stiffen their resolve. It was the worst of all outcomes and the country will continue to spiral downward. I see nothing on the horizon that will change it and this will hasten it further.
Young Kyle will become the hero to the far right and rather than feel any guilt for taking two people from this earth, he will be celebrated. I would love to believe i am wrong (again) and in this instant i would be delighted if i was. Unfortunately we will quickly be able to judge simply based on the number of programs he appears on like Hannity and the like.
Prediction on where Kyle will end up: sad, not a happy landing for him. He may even flip and become anti-gun (and watch the anti gun folks use him then discard him). Or he may end up like George Zimmerman, a perpetual loser. I don’t see a fairy tale future for Mr. Rittenhouse. The outcome is indeed poor for everyone.
I hope not. He may be ostracized by the bureaucrats who control who gets to be firemen and EMTs and other civil service positions that do not involve guns. That would be a pity. He is not a hero but he is not evil. He has been found not guilty. I hope he gets a chance.
He killed two people because they were looting, what would he do if he had to respond to an arson or someone who got injured committing a crime? I wouldn't want him anywhere near anyone.
I'm certain the jury found him not guilty of killing any one except in self-defense. It was a jury trial - not just the opinion of a judge. He did not kill anyone for looting.
As days have passed. i fairly well expected to return to this thread. So, since his absolution, we've seen him do a Fox News interview, tell us he was a BLM supporter and the real kicker was his trip to Mar A Lago to visit with the orange guy and treat us all to a thumbs up. So much for shrinking from view and living with the fact two people are dead due his decisions.
His lawyer is a bold faced LIAR!! He just stood on tv and said Kyle was invited to provide security . Why would anyone ask a 17 year old from another state ? This is why we call lawyers “ liars”! There was testimony that no one was invited to provide security!
Also, don't count on the local laws in your area (or another state you head to play action hero) to be as poorly written or as forgiving as the ones in Wisconsin that allowed Rittenhouse to play G.I. Joe on the streets of Kenosha.
Mob behavior is unpredictable. Some people do things they would never otherwise do if they took a brief moment to think it over. That's why peaceful protests often do not remain peaceful when large crowds are involved. I think protests should be shut down at the first sign of looting, violence, arson or violence. Easier said than done unless crowd size is restricted and a serious peacekeeping force is present. I would expect outrage because my opinion would be seen by some as taking away free speech and the freedom to assemble. It's really not much different in principle than background checks for weapons purchase.
Well said Steve. Agree wholeheartedly with every point you made.
"Not guilty doesn't create a license to be stupid." Seemed to work out okay for Rittenhouse. Hell everyone should run out and buy an AR. Let's all just start slaughtering each other, its the christian way.
Did you even read it?
I did, and you're wrong. As evidenced by the mountain of people telling everyone to arm up. An example was set, now the blood will flow.
It is not for the jury or an individual case to determine how the public reacts. That’s the point here. If we twisted all individual cases to the will of the common crowd, justice would be the will of the mob.
And the will of the mob majority can be no better than average.
You know Steve, if he did read your column, he did so in bad faith(especially when one assumes that buying an AR-15 for the purposes of shedding human blood is the Christian way. Christian teachings are opposed to the actions of the two guys that ostensibly rioted, as well as the actions of Kyle.). It wouldn't be markedly different than calling Islam a murderous religion because a few jihadists exercise their agency to make evil choices. Plus an AR or whatever kind of firearm a person buys or currently possesses doesn't make them any more or less predisposed to kill someone. In the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, the gun that he carried had is irrelevant to his decision to engage in vigilantism.
Kyle made poor choices that brought him to this predicament. What is also true is that the right of self defense is not attenuated for even people who make poor choices. This verdict is correct, and Steve is right that Kyle will bear the burden of moral guilt for the choices he made that day. In any free society, the law requires only a minimum baseline behavior necessary to maintain a civilization. But it allows a considerable amount of immorality and bad behavior without legal consequence. Kyle's actions appear to be legal but clearly immoral.
David French's column in the Atlantic nicely complements Steve's well summed up column here.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/kyle-rittenhouse-right-self-defense-role-model/620715/
Without a grammar checker, I will include the words "carried had", in addition to other grammatical flaws in my commentary. This sums up my middling grammar skills.
Your grammar skills are good. You just don't have the luxury of spending an entire day writing two or three pages like a successful novelist who then has editors to check his work.
There are a lot of eighteen year old guys (and some much older, like me) who are lucky to have survived some of the dumb-ass stuff they have done. Some of that could have, but didn't, resulted in tragedy. In his case, it did.
Where is the condemnation of the authorities that let this protest develop into a Riot and Millions of Dollars in Property destruction and countless lives turned upside down through this property destruction. Kyle was misguided in showing up with a firearm but if the rioting continues, in this way, others will overstep their authority to stop it in the future.
I like the column Steve, the problem of course is you're are trying to write from a logical position to people who have clear heads and are capable of digesting what you are telling them in some sort analytical perspective. Impossible to achieve when a third of the country, 15 to 17% of the populace on either side of the equation simply want to be angry and get even.
Like you, my wife said he would get off; and quickly told me she was right and i was wrong. Big shoulders, i'm used to it. I always hope for the wisdom of Solomon in these matters, this was one of those times where splitting the baby made sense and helped distill the hostilities that will come from it. Unfortunately, the one thing that was clear was the judge was closer to bozo the clown than to any type of wise man.
Both sides now will use this verdict to validate their arguments, vent their anger and stiffen their resolve. It was the worst of all outcomes and the country will continue to spiral downward. I see nothing on the horizon that will change it and this will hasten it further.
Young Kyle will become the hero to the far right and rather than feel any guilt for taking two people from this earth, he will be celebrated. I would love to believe i am wrong (again) and in this instant i would be delighted if i was. Unfortunately we will quickly be able to judge simply based on the number of programs he appears on like Hannity and the like.
We'll see.
Prediction on where Kyle will end up: sad, not a happy landing for him. He may even flip and become anti-gun (and watch the anti gun folks use him then discard him). Or he may end up like George Zimmerman, a perpetual loser. I don’t see a fairy tale future for Mr. Rittenhouse. The outcome is indeed poor for everyone.
I hope not. He may be ostracized by the bureaucrats who control who gets to be firemen and EMTs and other civil service positions that do not involve guns. That would be a pity. He is not a hero but he is not evil. He has been found not guilty. I hope he gets a chance.
He killed two people because they were looting, what would he do if he had to respond to an arson or someone who got injured committing a crime? I wouldn't want him anywhere near anyone.
I'm certain the jury found him not guilty of killing any one except in self-defense. It was a jury trial - not just the opinion of a judge. He did not kill anyone for looting.
They found him not guilty of murder. He still killed 2 people.
But not for looting. The jury decided it was for a legitimate reason.
As days have passed. i fairly well expected to return to this thread. So, since his absolution, we've seen him do a Fox News interview, tell us he was a BLM supporter and the real kicker was his trip to Mar A Lago to visit with the orange guy and treat us all to a thumbs up. So much for shrinking from view and living with the fact two people are dead due his decisions.
Poor judgment does not magically go away.
Or in Congress. Or Fox News/OANN/Newsmax
His lawyer is a bold faced LIAR!! He just stood on tv and said Kyle was invited to provide security . Why would anyone ask a 17 year old from another state ? This is why we call lawyers “ liars”! There was testimony that no one was invited to provide security!
You may be correct but there is testimony disputing what you say. So it boils down to who you believe and instead of what is known.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-kyle-rittenhouse-murder-trial-defense-begins-20211109-t32fq6tz4na5tpiquegdtidsq4-story.html