Doubling Down on Victim Blaming

American Thinker ^ | November 16, AD 2021 | John F Di Leo

[jfd1776]

The murder trial of young Kyle Rittenhouse, the only noteworthy prosecution to come out of the 2020 Kenosha riots, has become a surrogate for a war that the American Left has long tried to keep under the radar: the war against the concept of self-defense.

The Left finds itself in a quandary.

They cannot say “you have no right to self-defense” in so many words. They must get there in another way, a roundabout way, but one in keeping with their longstanding effort to defang America’s police departments.

Create technicality acquittals, and erect restrictive rules of engagement for police. Build red-tape barriers to keep private security guards from being armed and trained. Overrule the castle doctrine in the courtroom. Build in so many restrictions to self-defense that it becomes a toothless defense.

In the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, the self-defense case is so obvious that the prosecution had to resort to a claim of provocation, that the young man’s armed presence was itself a provocation. The evidence is clear that he was one of many (if not enough) law-abiding citizens who arrived in town in the hope that a show of solidarity in support of the business district would dissuade the protesters from further rioting.

Sitting there with a gun, as one of hundreds of other property owners and supporters with guns, should have -- theoretically at least -- discouraged the demonstrators from escalating into violence.

[Pollard]

Victim blaming is inappropriate in any circumstance. Those three criminals should not have tried to kill Rittenhouse. Period.

Rather than asking why Kyle Rittenhouse went to Kenosha that day, there are other pressing questions to ask:

We should ask why our country tolerated all these riots in 2020, these dozens of violent, arson-filled riots in city after city, all summer long.

We should ask why we haven’t investigated the fomenters of those riots, and prosecuted the groups that funded, equipped and organized them, with Craigslist ads and cross-country buses, with food and hotels and pallets of bricks.

We should ask why city councils, mayors, and even police chiefs told the local police to stand down during so many of these riots.

We should ask why governors failed, or refused, to send in state troopers or National Guardsmen.

[Lurker]

“ We should ask why city councils, mayors, and even police chiefs told the local police to stand down during so many of these riots.”

Better yet would be voting them all out of office.

L

[Ancesthntr]

You forgot 2 questions:

1) Why was Rittenhouse lambasted by the prosecution (and media, since the incident) for being in Kenosha...but no one has made a peep about how many of the rioters were bussed in from out of state?

2) Why is it that Rittenhouse has been accused of committing a gun crime for crossing a state line - by the very politicians and new media types who absolutely love it when millions of refugees cross an international border illegally?