General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Rob Reiner appears to be grossly uninformed. [View all]Ocelot II
(115,683 posts)We are not special in that sense because we are "liberal," although I'd like to think we at least try a little harder to seek out the truth rather than rely on certain "facts" we find on social media or elsewhere just because those facts support what we want to believe.
The truth, like it or not, was that Rittenhouse decided to go to Kenosha because he wanted to "guard" businesses against rioters - apparently because he was a cop wannabe like a lot of teenaged boys (it's not clear that he was directly involved in or influenced by far-right groups like the Proud Boys before he went to Kenosha). He went there on his own; his mother did not drive him (another falsehood that got wide circulation), and when he got there he acquired a gun with the assistance of an over-18 friend who kept it in his house for him. KR did pay the friend, and the friend might be prosecuted under state and/or federal law for his involvement in the gun purchase. On the night of the incident KR got involved in several chaotic melees that ended up in him shooting three people, and that caused him to claim that he was acting in self-defense. Even though KR was either looking for trouble or else at least expected it (why else would he have brought a rifle with him?), under WI law the prosecution has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant did not act in self-defense.
The jury found that the prosecution did not meet that burden. It seems to many of us to be an unjust verdict - you shouldn't be able to insert yourself into a volatile, dangerous situation and then claim self-defense when you get into the very trouble you expected and ended up hurting or killing people - but there it is. The judge's behavior was appallingly unprofessional, but apparently he didn't say the crap he said in front of the jury (otherwise the prosecution probably would have moved for a mistrial).
To me the worst result is not that KR was acquitted, as wrong as that seems (considering that our legal system, with its presumption of innocence, offers the basic truth that it's better for ten guilty people to go free than for one innocent person to be convicted), is that the deplorable right wing has made him their hero, thereby glorifying vigilantism and encouraging people to get their guns and play cop. Eventually they'll stop wining and dining KR when they find another plaything; I don't think that dumb kid has much staying power and his fifteen minutes will be up very soon. In the meantime, though, too many people are reacting to the reaction, more than to the verdict itself, and in some instances doing that by ignoring or spinning facts. That doesn't help. The fundamental purpose of their reaction - the glorification of KR - is to own the libs. Don't be owned.