The Pythonesque farce known as the Kyle Rittenhouse trial makes me nervous – not so much the goings-on at the hearing itself, but the possible aftermath. No matter what the verdict, no matter what charges stick, no matter what the sentence if the lad is convicted, I fear that the doo-doo is going to hit the fan.
If Rittenhouse walks, that will outrage Blacks, as well as many progressives and liberals. Remember the riots that erupted after those LAPD cops were acquitted for beating Rodney King? Of course, there was no excuse for that violence; but there was no excuse for the verdict, either. Judge Bruce Schroeder has made matters worse by forbidding the use of the term “victims” for the two men whom Rittenhouse shot and insisting that they be labeled “rioters” and “looters.” All this does is fan the flames of racism and encourage violence. Words can become very potent and dangerous weapons in the right context.
If Rittenhouse is found guilty on even one charge, that will hack off Q-anon, Proud Bois, and other assorted right-wing bugnuts. After the 6 January putsch, I have zero faith in their ability to control themselves. They’ll label Rittenhouse a martyr and regard his case as a bloody shirt for them to wave, just as BLM protesters wave the bloody shirts of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, etc.
No matter which way you slice it, the Rittenhouse trial is likely to be a pivotal moment in our country’s history and the saga of race relations. Right-wingers harp on the claim he was attacked, and assert that he was acting in self-defense. OK, I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what really happened; and had I been in his shoes, how would I have acted? On the other hand, what was a 17-year-old doing with an AR-15, a weapon that no civilian should wield, let alone a teenager? Even if he was trying to protect an auto dealership, as one source claims, you don’t send a child to do an adult’s job. Teens are notorious for having little common sense, if any at all.
Batten down the hatches, y’all – I see a bad moon rising.
9 Responses to “SOUND OFF! 11/16/21 – Rittenhouse in a Rotten House”
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Small town judge. Small town prosecutor. Small town justice. Small town values. Where it’s perfectly fine for a 17 year old to be walking around with an AR-15. Small town in the middle of skin head country. I expect he will get off. Lets see what kind of life is ahead of him.
Great posting, Freya.
I’ve been following this trail for days and have been furious with some of the actions/changes this judge has allowed to take place. Like I mentioned in today’s open thread he’s been acting and doing like he’s the parent instead of being a judge like he’s suppose to be.
Rittenhouse had no reason what so ever to be there in the first place. He crossed county line and stuck his nose into a situation he never should of. Then on top of that shooting 3 guys two of which died.
To me, a normal case, he should be prosecuted to the fullest, life in prison. But with the Judge creating 36 pages of instructions, Rittenhouse picking 6 numbers out of the basket, etc. Makes this a Totally strange trail/case.
I really hope he’s prosecuted and that it doesn’t create a major crisis like you’re mentioning above. I know that ever since the insurrection that took place on January 6, we’ve had all sorts of violent creatures come out of the woodwork everywhere.
If they don’t prosecute him. I feel justice failed.
Our only hope is that the one lugal pundit is right about what he is seeing – that the jury is horrified by the judge’s antics. That does show on people’s faces (if you haven’t seen the somprison photos of the Italian translator with Trump** and the same person with Biden, you might want to google “Italian translator.) We can’t see the juroy’s faces, and neither could he, but he deduced that from the body langusge of the defense attorneys. And of course he coulc be wrong. But not everyone swallows the actions of judges just because they are judges. I know that fro the reactions of a Girl Scout troop I once led.
You’re absolutely right, Freya. No matter what the outcome is, one side of the fence is not going to be happy.
The judge still carries on with his antics and given his obviously prejudiced but also extremely erratic behaviour the prosecutors need to go for a retrial with another judge presiding. This time without a judge suffering from dementia. https://www.rawstory.com/judge-bruce-schroeder-2655752488/?
Thanks Freya–sounds like Portland, OR where protesters were also killed the only protest that was not fully peaceful. Have read a ton of experts expressing concern that this gives the go-ahead for right-wing vigilantes to kill protesters so that we may have repeats coming…also that right-wing violent groups not previously aligned and often at odds with each other are unified behind celebrating his being found not guilty, etc….that does not bode well.
Yes, this does NOT bode well. Blood will have blood. If the right-wingers keep shooting people, knowing they’ll almost certainly walk, their opponents are not going to take this lying down. You’d be amazed how many people on the left pack heat. I fear that this will keep escalating until bloodbaths are a regular occurrence. We may be careening right towards a new civil war.
I actually iam not amazed at how many people on the left pack heat (though I am not one of them, I see comments on Dail Kos and Democratic Undreground and a few other places.) The difference is, we on the left shut up ablut it , don’t flaunt it, and don’t even consider using it unless truly necessary. But if the right decides to make it necessary … they will be in for a surpriuse.
I’m a veteran. The oath we took never expires. I’ve 23.4k followers on Twitter and you’d be surprised at how many old Vietnam veterans, and younger ones, are still willing to honor that oath. I do own a personal firearm, I haven’t hunted since I was a teen, I’ve a concealed carry permit though I never have and likely never will. I like to shoot at a range. I hate to think that violence of that kind could happen in America but I actually believe it could. I am not at all sure our union is going to survive and that’s the first time in my life I’ve felt that way, all 72 years of it.
The trial is over. Acquitted on all counts. No riots. But that is not the end of the story. That was an incompetent, extremely biased judge. But that’s not the real story either.
This is a dangerous time in America, perhaps apart from the Civil War, the most dangerous. When confidence is lost in the impartiality of the legal system, well, that is when true rot has set in. Every great power in history that has fallen has fallen to rot and corruption from within. This is no different. For the first time, I question America’s survival. I know people want to give Biden the benefit of the doubt, and I’ve recently read he’s running again. I have had enough of old white men. I am not impressed with his administration so far, apart from economically and even that is fragile, though it is many magnifications better than Trump did.
We need new leadership. I am confident that the new voters entering the system will right the ship, the youngest generation is the most diverse and progressive in our history, even with republican gerrymandering, if that survives the courts, sheer numbers can overwhelm the republican party which is less than 29% of the population and shrinking. It is white racism which must die and it will, the two youngest generations do not see race the way it has always been seen in America, they were raised in increasingly diverse classrooms and neighborhoods, they do NOT see race the way others have. They’ve always had friends of other races, racism is taught not inherent. Even the children of the south, of the racists, are going against their older relatives. Time will rectify this, but right now, we are at a cusp and a violent outcome is not out of the question, though the violence, if it comes, will come from the right.
More white people, police, killing black youth will reignite the flames of the past few years protests, those actions will not be tolerated any longer. It is a dangerous time in America, only one party is dedicated to democracy, the republicans have full out embraced fascism along with their evangelical enablers. The next few years will be hard. And that’s only if the climate doesn’t kill us off first – climate change, which despite the latest news is going to reshape the planet, and not in a good way. It is generations to come who will bear the brunt of that. The planet’s reaction to our hubris will not be racial, but it will be brutal. It’s coming faster than people think. Sadly.