I’m not a lawyer. I like to argue, but that’s about as far as it goes. My legal knowledge comes from watching almost every episode of Law & Order: SVU and a strange habit of watching Judge Judy. So if you clicked this thinking you’re going to get some detailed legal analysis of the Kyle Rittenhouse case, well I’m sorry to disappoint. Thanks for clicking the link though.
Now that you know my opinion is uninformed and has no meaning in the grand scheme of things, here it is.
As far as the not guilty verdict, I agree 100%. Rittenhouse was acting in self defense. He did not go out hunting for three people to shoot and picked these guys. They were attacking him, one even pointed a gun at him, and he did what he had to in order to stay alive. It was his right to have the gun for self defense, and he used it to defend himself. Not to mention the people he shot weren’t really the cream of the crop. One was a domestic abuser and the other was a child molestor. In my mind, the only reason this went to trial is because of political pressure. This should have been a quick hearing and a swift dismissal.
That being said, my point in writing this isn’t to just agree with the verdict, post it and go have a few Bud Lights on this Friday night.
Now that it’s over and Rittehouse I’m sure is gearing up for a bunch of lawsuits against everyone that called him things like “racist” and a “white supremacist” after he, a white man, shot three white people. Which I don’t get either by the way. I wonder if he has any regrets?
Let’s go back to the day before he went into Kenosha. Do you think he might sit it out? He could have saved himself a lot of aggravation and a lifetime of being infamous. And like it or not, a big portion of the country still and always will treat him like a murderer.
Break it down to what really happened before the shooting even happened. Rittenhouse, a 17 year old lifeguard, went into an active riot zone that the police were not trying to stop. I’ll stop there. That’s enough for any and all of us to not go. Whether you agree or disagree with the cause, probably not the brightest move.
Now let’s get to the AR-15 he brought with him. I bet today, he is glad he had it. In my estimation, it saved his life. He’d probably be dead or severely injured if he didn’t have it. But again, why are you going to a place where you need to bring an AR-15 to defend yourself? He saw the riots on TV just like the rest of us. In fact, he may have seen them in person. So why in the world would you put yourself in that situation?
I know what some of you are saying, “He was trying to help people!” That may be true, but is that an intelligent move for a 17 year old kid to be doing? Not to mention a 17 year old kid with as much medical training as a gym teacher and a medical bag you can get at Walgreens.
I’m sure some of you are going to take this as me saying he got what he deserved. That’s not at all what I’m saying. What happened is what was going to happen in that situation. An active riot scene got violent and he had to defend himself. Guess where he probably wouldn’t have had to defend himself. At home.
Obviously the Governor of Wisconsin telling the police not to intervene in the riots was dumb. It should have never got to that point. But looking at this from Rittenhouse’s perspective, the best choice definitely wasn’t made. Now in any job interview he has, someone is going to think twice because of this. Honestly, it doesn’t even matter that he was found not guilty. The court of perception is reality.
If I had a chance to sit down with young Mr. Rittenhouse, I’d tell him he did what he needed to do to stay alive and he got railroaded for a political agenda. I’d also tell him he wasn’t smart to put himself in that situation. He put himself in a dangerous situation that was easily avoided. No matter how noble your intentions may be, you have to think of yourself sometimes. And Kyle, I wouldn’t do that again. Especially in this political climate. Just make some money off of a few lawsuits and do a couple of speaking engagements. It’s safer and you won’t end up in criminal court again.
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