It was self-defense

The fallout from the Kyle Rittenhouse incident has been wild. How can the country be so divided after watching the same videos? Some think there was a crazed white supremacist out hunting BLM protesters, while others think he was defending private property and shot in self defense. My initial reaction was that most people did not watch the videos and formulated their opinion after watching the "news". Perhaps this is true for some. But, I think there is a larger percentage of people who have an entirely different world view than myself. They think anyone carrying a gun out in the open is obviously up to no good. If you're not out with the protesters, then you are (by default) the enemy. It seems they can't view these things objectively and instead react off pure emotion.

Here's my take: Kyle was a young kid who never should have been out there in the first place. He was an excited kid (who aspired to be a cop) and saw this as an opportunity to feel like he was important. But he likely wanted to help these businesses from getting destroyed. According to reports, his mother dropped him off out there to help protect businesses near the looting from the night before. I would never have let my kid go out there. At this point, if you're out in those protests you should expect some level of violence.

However, if the police stand down and do not protect private property and businesses then this is the inevitable (and entirely predictable) outcome! If I spent years building up a business, I would not watch it burn without putting up some resistance.

I don't want to rehash the entire night, but one event in particular seems to go unmentioned by the media. The guy that nearly got his arm blown off backed up with his hands up, and Kyle showed surprisingly good judgement and didn't shoot when he was no longer a threat. But then, this guy goes to make a move with his gun and at that point, Kyle shot his arm. That was a false surrender. He likely had every intention to shoot him. In fact, he later said to a friend that he regretted not killing Kyle.

Kyle was also running away the entire time. He was trying to flee the confrontations (even before the first shooting). They were literally chasing a guy with a gun. 🤦‍♂️ These are not the brightest people in the world.

What's even more shocking to me, is the response by social media companies. Facebook banned posts in defense of Kyle. Go Fund Me removed a campaign for his legal support (while leaving up those of the injured). Then a Christian alternative to Go Fund Me kept their campaign up, and then Discover cut off payments to the platform. There has been an immediate trial by public opinion. No longer are these companies neutral platforms to express your opinions. If you don't have the correct opinions, you will be blocked. All the more reason to move to decentralized social media and currency. (But that's a topic for another day!)

I waited to comment on this until more videos came out, etc. We'll have to wait and see what happens at trial. He'll probably get a charge for being a minor with a gun (or something related), but it sure seems to me that this entire event was an act of self defense. I'll await my ban.