BulletMagnet wrote:
Calls to lock him up until he's in his forties or beyond, I'd hope most would recognise as unproductive, if nothing else (not that I get the impression you or anyone else ITT wants him caged thus).
I honestly hesitate to even attempt to propose what a "just" sentence might look like in this case, since there are so many contrary factors to weigh against each other (he did something really stupid...
but he's a minor; he shot three people...
but he was being assaulted, etc.), but as I've already said, putting specifics aside, what concerns me more than anything else is that so many people think that Rittenhouse did literally
nothing wrong, and moreover that anyone who dares suggest otherwise is more of a "threat" than out-of-their-league armed vigilantes like him. Even if he
had been convicted in some fashion, that sentiment would still remain, and it would still bother the living hell out of me.
I have been very hesitant to say anything about this case, since I suspect my opinion differs strongly from that of many people on this forum.
I will only say this. I think Rittenhouse did something very stupid. He open carried a firearm into a dangerous area. Even for the most pure and humanitarian motives, it is stupid to place yourself in a dangerous position like that.
However.
He was assaulted by three absolute pieces of human excrement. One was a convicted rapist of little boys. One of the others had an illegal weapons charge IIRC. So yes, Kyle did something stupid by showing up to such a riot. But that does not excuse what the three pieces of shit did. Which was to assault him. Supposedly there were even calls for the mob to kill Kyle. He definitely had reason to fear for his life. One of the assailants had a gun, which he pointed at Kyle before Kyle fired a shot.
Everything I've seen shows that Kyle did not break any laws in the procurement or carry of his firearm. Which cannot be said for his assailants, who were trying to, at the very least, assault another human being and probably murder him (seeing as one had a gun and pointed it at Kyle.)
The only argument the ridiculously inept and corrupt prosecution could offer was Kyle should have sat back and taken an ass-beating (or worse.) What kind of shit is that? Just let the mob kill you? Because vigilantism is bad? If vigilantism is bad, then so is a mob assaulting a 17 year old.
Kyle's motives for showing up are known only to Kyle. I've heard it said he was there to render medical aid. I've also heard it said he was there to murder black people. >_> If the latter, then he failed spectacularly, as all his victims were white. This should have never been framed as any sort of racial crime, and shows why news media cannot be trusted.
I particularly hate the way Kyle's "victims" have been sainted by certain individuals. They were all shit people. Woman-beaters, child rapists and felony criminals. The pedo rapist in particular should have been executed long before, and by an adult. He should never have been allowed back onto the streets to cause trouble. I take a Frank Castle approach with child rapists. It's a great shame that Kyle was forced to kill someone who should not have been alive anyway.
In summation,
Kyle did nothing illegal.
Kyle was in fear for his life.
Kyle shot and killed after being threatened by a gun.
Kyle's motives will never be known, and he was young and dumb.
I don't see how a jury could return any verdict other than innocent. The stupidity of showing up to a riot open carrying is not something the government can punish with prison time. Riots are not a government-protected activity. Open carrying is your right, as is filming (something else that rioters hate.)
Those who hate open-carry or who believe "assault weapons" (read: any semi-automatic rifle with more than 5 rounds, depending who you ask) should be banned, well that is an entirely separate discussion from Kyle's trial and cannot be considered as a mark against him. He was following the laws of the land where he lives.