Well, I think he clearly also wanted to not go to jail for outright murder. If you don’t want to get in the boy’s psyche then just say he legally should be let go based on the facts and leave it at that! Rest of us have plenty of reason to believe that his psyche is that he went there looking for trouble and found it, and we find it unsettling that he is going to walk.
I’ve hearted your posts that pertain to the objectivity of the facts but come on man.
The video of him talking about shooting his AR at poc for simply protesting and exercising the same right that is the cornerstone of this conversation is pretty telling.
The kid has obvious homegrown racism. Even if his fantasies are noble on some level putting him in that situation is a terrible idea. I still maintain that the mom should have been the target of the prosecution.
8 Likes
I believe Rittenhouse when he says he thought he was there to help and to defend property and to Support The Boys In Blue, etc. Sure, it’s impossible to separate all that from racism because literally everything about American culture (if not global culture) is entangled with racism. But I also think that your typical 17 year old Midwestern white boy that has grown up immersed in American conservative culture is not going to have the self awareness to connect those dots. I would speculate that even if his world view is heavily tinged with racism he probably just thinks of it as Good Guys and Bad Guys. The fact that the Good Guys are disproportionately white and the Bad Guys are disproportionately may not bubble to the surface of his consciousness. That level of delusion is common among adults, let alone adolescents.
1 Like
For what it’s worth I accept criticism from @Cactus on this front. I am not an expert on the details of this case because I don’t think the debate about whether he is technically guilty under the law or if the broken legal system is being applied just so here actually matters that much. We all know the broader context and it’s insane to put our heads in the sand and chant Let The Courts Decide in unison.
3 Likes
Sure, I don’t disagree with any of that. The fact that it is treated as a mitigating factor in a case like this is part of the problem. “It wasn’t racist because he sincerely held his racist views” is a pretty shitty statement on US society.
It’s tough because it seems like, by the letter of the law, he’s probably going to be innocent here. He’s guilty of being a colossal piece of shit, but if we were to convict him and everyone else who held those views we’d have like 60% of the US population in jail.
1 Like
Don’t think you’ve been following this thread. Pretty sure everyone thinks he’s being acquitted except for maybe jman220 who said he doesn’t think he’s walking.
Most of the activity ITT was lamenting that the law is such that you can strap up and live out your LARP fantasies with near impunity. You can feel the rush of cold steel in your hands and the snuggly comfort of camouflage against your skin because our laws are so silly that all you have to do is conjure up some fake tears and say the magic words “I feared for my life!” while upping your KDA.
9 Likes
I actually don’t disagree with any of that
So if you have a problem with the right to assemble bearing firearms, then like I said above, that’s a different issue. Change the laws. But given what the current laws are, he wasn’t the one who initiated any trouble and it looks to me as though he had reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily harm and was simply defending himself against other violent people.
yes look at all the grown adults who shot even more people than kyle did that night
5 Likes
I get that some people want to live in a society without senseless gun violence, but on the other hand I can also see that a higher priority is determining if zooming in on a digital picture is permissible in a court case. Let’s get our priorities straight.
6 Likes
correct, he went there specifically to shoot people, it was not an accident
4 Likes
… and?
Then what’s your hypothesis on why he didn’t initiate any violence nor shoot anyone until he was being violently attacked?
Yeah it’s not like lighting a dumpster on fire and trying to blow up a gas station, smashing someone’s head with a skateboard or pointing a gun at someone could be considered violent or anything
this is your big GOTCHA? “The only two possibilities are 1) he indiscriminately blasts everything that moves from the moment he crosses the state line or 2) 100% completely innocent”
3 Likes
Good thing someone was there to shoot them for it!
It’s not a gotcha. It’s a fact. He didn’t engage ANYONE!
Except that’s not what they got shot for. They got shot for violently attacking someone with an AR-15. Talk about stupid
we’re so close
2 Likes
I always bring my glove, bat, and ball to the baseball field with no intent to play.
10 Likes