Fascinating take yet again Steve. So the message should be with an acquittal, guys like young Kyle will make it okay to show up and kill people. Otherwise the wrong message will be sent to the "thugs" and they will just go about plundering. Damn, i thought that was what we had a police force for.
There are two sides to every story. The simple reality is this; he didn't belong there with his illegal automatic rifle in hand. He was a minor who should have been at home away from the goofs looting and burning. He put himself in harms way and now he wants absolution for killing two men, well because he's just a guy trying to help out. What freaking nonsense.
And let's not forget the idiot judge who looks and sounds like he needs a couple of years in a cell with bubba who can help ground him in our judicial system and that it should be blind from their own bias.
The guys who ran after a teenager with a loaded rifle, beat him, and tried to take it from him when the kid was running toward police lines learned a very unnecessary lesson. The police aren’t going to help. Stupidity reigned on both sides. The kid Rittenhouse could just as easily been killed and if the situation was reversed I’m sure the same rules apply. The question you should ask is if you would want the same outcome.
I have no love for either side. The problem is if Kyle walks with no repercussion, his behavior, shooting and killing people as a vigilante becomes the norm. Every day we allow our "norms" to be crushed we get that much closer to anarchy (by both sides).
The bright spot is this;, they could give him 5 years on a lessor charge and he could be out in two. An acquittal makes his actions okay...they weren't, not in any way shape of form.
The legal bar to prove the killings were not in self-defense was not met. The legal standard for reckless endangerment, again, with self-defense as the legal defense, was not met. There’s no law against general stupidity and putting yourself in danger. There is a law supposedly prohibiting teens carrying rifles, but the Wisconsin legislature muddled it badly so it cannot be used. The case fell apart for the prosecution. What is the message here? We need better laws, not more restrictive, but clear to the point where expectations are set. It’s tragic for sure and Rittenhouse is no hero and should not be cerebrated. But the laws which exist aren’t sufficient to convict him, from my chair. The prosecution puffed up the case and it got deflated.
See I hate that statement. What do you think Kyle was just minding his own business there? Or do you think that he was probably talking shit? And yet because he was the one with the gun and the first one to use it he gets to be the one who lives with absolutely no penalty? Do you want to go back to the old west? Whoever has the quickest draw.
Literally nothing you imply here is the actual facts of the case. If it was, this would be open and shut. Kyle was there—his claim supported by witnesses who testified—at the request of his friend who asked him to help protect a business that had previously been damaged by looters. Kyle also said he had some EMT type training. He had a purpose besides looking for trouble. Now he found trouble but that wasn’t his stated purpose. He also wasn’t “the one with the gun.” There were plenty of armed people on both “sides.” That was a large part of the problem—when you have 2 opposed armed groups and the police stand back, the probability of gun violence rises to near 100%. If it wasn’t Rittenhouse it could just as easily been someone else. And yes, to use your argument, the quickest draw means self defense. If it’s shoot or be shot that’s always a defense against murder.
And your version of justice is that rioters, arsonists. looters and assaulters should be allowed their lawlessness without any resistance from the citizenry in the absence of cops who were ordered to stand down and not interfere with the thuggish activity.
Where did i ever say the rioters should be allowed to roam freely and do the damage they did? Nowhere brother, nowhere. Throw their asses in jail where they belong. Allowing a vigilantes to roam the streets and shoot them dead ain't the solution. I suspect even you would agree...but them maybe not eh?
I love this argument, was it or wasn't it an automatic rifle? Does it freaking matter? Two people are dead. But let's not stop there, here is what he had: "Rittenhouse was 17 when he walked the streets of Kenosha armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, part of a genre of firearms modeled after the iconic AR-15 long gun that was initially developed for military use." Semantics are wonderful aren't they?
"But if the Rittenhouse jury convicts him of the most serious charges—intentional homicide—that sends a chilling message." Horse crap. Dude wasn't there to "render aid" he wasn't qualified to help anyone. He had one reason to be there with a weapon. And he did it.
Now that's not saying I think he should be guilty of the most serious charge. But if he is found guilty it isn't some miscarriage of justice. It is the simple fact that the kid has horrible parents who let him endanger himself and others and he ended up paying for it. That should be the message that is sent all across America the way violence seems to be more and more prevalent throughout this country.
That’s not the case that the prosecution presented. They didn’t present a case of a badly raised boy with nefarious plans showing up on the pretext of rendering aid. They did, however, say that Rittenhouse had a duty to “retreat more” in their closing argument. That’s the takeaway.
One of the nice things about this trial is that there's no reason for me to have any strong opinions on it. That's what a jury is for. If the jury votes to convict - that's great. If the jury votes to acquit - that's swell as well. There was lots of Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes going on that night, and we have juries precisely to untangle these situations.
What is with the judge allowing Rittenhouse to select the jurors out of a hat? That is so weird...
Fascinating take yet again Steve. So the message should be with an acquittal, guys like young Kyle will make it okay to show up and kill people. Otherwise the wrong message will be sent to the "thugs" and they will just go about plundering. Damn, i thought that was what we had a police force for.
There are two sides to every story. The simple reality is this; he didn't belong there with his illegal automatic rifle in hand. He was a minor who should have been at home away from the goofs looting and burning. He put himself in harms way and now he wants absolution for killing two men, well because he's just a guy trying to help out. What freaking nonsense.
And let's not forget the idiot judge who looks and sounds like he needs a couple of years in a cell with bubba who can help ground him in our judicial system and that it should be blind from their own bias.
The guys who ran after a teenager with a loaded rifle, beat him, and tried to take it from him when the kid was running toward police lines learned a very unnecessary lesson. The police aren’t going to help. Stupidity reigned on both sides. The kid Rittenhouse could just as easily been killed and if the situation was reversed I’m sure the same rules apply. The question you should ask is if you would want the same outcome.
I have no love for either side. The problem is if Kyle walks with no repercussion, his behavior, shooting and killing people as a vigilante becomes the norm. Every day we allow our "norms" to be crushed we get that much closer to anarchy (by both sides).
The bright spot is this;, they could give him 5 years on a lessor charge and he could be out in two. An acquittal makes his actions okay...they weren't, not in any way shape of form.
The legal bar to prove the killings were not in self-defense was not met. The legal standard for reckless endangerment, again, with self-defense as the legal defense, was not met. There’s no law against general stupidity and putting yourself in danger. There is a law supposedly prohibiting teens carrying rifles, but the Wisconsin legislature muddled it badly so it cannot be used. The case fell apart for the prosecution. What is the message here? We need better laws, not more restrictive, but clear to the point where expectations are set. It’s tragic for sure and Rittenhouse is no hero and should not be cerebrated. But the laws which exist aren’t sufficient to convict him, from my chair. The prosecution puffed up the case and it got deflated.
See I hate that statement. What do you think Kyle was just minding his own business there? Or do you think that he was probably talking shit? And yet because he was the one with the gun and the first one to use it he gets to be the one who lives with absolutely no penalty? Do you want to go back to the old west? Whoever has the quickest draw.
Literally nothing you imply here is the actual facts of the case. If it was, this would be open and shut. Kyle was there—his claim supported by witnesses who testified—at the request of his friend who asked him to help protect a business that had previously been damaged by looters. Kyle also said he had some EMT type training. He had a purpose besides looking for trouble. Now he found trouble but that wasn’t his stated purpose. He also wasn’t “the one with the gun.” There were plenty of armed people on both “sides.” That was a large part of the problem—when you have 2 opposed armed groups and the police stand back, the probability of gun violence rises to near 100%. If it wasn’t Rittenhouse it could just as easily been someone else. And yes, to use your argument, the quickest draw means self defense. If it’s shoot or be shot that’s always a defense against murder.
And your version of justice is that rioters, arsonists. looters and assaulters should be allowed their lawlessness without any resistance from the citizenry in the absence of cops who were ordered to stand down and not interfere with the thuggish activity.
Where did i ever say the rioters should be allowed to roam freely and do the damage they did? Nowhere brother, nowhere. Throw their asses in jail where they belong. Allowing a vigilantes to roam the streets and shoot them dead ain't the solution. I suspect even you would agree...but them maybe not eh?
I agree with the sentiment but the police were not assuming control. That is the norm for left-wing riots in blue state blue cities.
Not an automatic rifle.
I love this argument, was it or wasn't it an automatic rifle? Does it freaking matter? Two people are dead. But let's not stop there, here is what he had: "Rittenhouse was 17 when he walked the streets of Kenosha armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, part of a genre of firearms modeled after the iconic AR-15 long gun that was initially developed for military use." Semantics are wonderful aren't they?
It matters. There is a big difference in lethality and self-defense capability and the potential for collateral damage.
Not to the people he murdered.
I did not realize the jury had returned a verdict.
Whether he gets off or not, he still killed them and will live with it the rest of his life.
"But if the Rittenhouse jury convicts him of the most serious charges—intentional homicide—that sends a chilling message." Horse crap. Dude wasn't there to "render aid" he wasn't qualified to help anyone. He had one reason to be there with a weapon. And he did it.
Now that's not saying I think he should be guilty of the most serious charge. But if he is found guilty it isn't some miscarriage of justice. It is the simple fact that the kid has horrible parents who let him endanger himself and others and he ended up paying for it. That should be the message that is sent all across America the way violence seems to be more and more prevalent throughout this country.
That’s not the case that the prosecution presented. They didn’t present a case of a badly raised boy with nefarious plans showing up on the pretext of rendering aid. They did, however, say that Rittenhouse had a duty to “retreat more” in their closing argument. That’s the takeaway.
One of the nice things about this trial is that there's no reason for me to have any strong opinions on it. That's what a jury is for. If the jury votes to convict - that's great. If the jury votes to acquit - that's swell as well. There was lots of Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes going on that night, and we have juries precisely to untangle these situations.