No need to worry 'bout me, Mom!
Posted on 12/22/2021 3:55:57 AM PST by Kaslin
From the first reports out of Kenosha, Wisconsin, when Kyle Rittenhouse defended himself by shooting three assailants during the Black Lives Matter riots of August 2020, I've looked at this entire, gut-wrenching affair with the eyes of a father.
Of course, I recognized that Rittenhouse appeared to have acted in self-defense based on the video evidence that surfaced within days of the incident. But, to me, this story was not the epic Second Amendment debate or divisive racial scream-fest cable news and social media demanded it to be.
To me, this story was and still is about a 17-year-old boy.
I saw it this way because I have a 17-year-old boy.
As Kyle's life was threatened that night with multiple, life-threatening assaults, and as his freedom was threatened with trumped-up, politicized murder charges levied against him to appease the race-baiting caucus of the Democratic Party, I still could only think of his parents and wonder what they were going through and what they wish their son would have done differently.
Monday morning, I had the opportunity to find that out.
On my morning talk show "O'Connor & Company" on WMAL in Washington, DC, my co-host Julie Gunlock and I interviewed Kyle's mom, Wendy Rittenhouse.
Wendy could've approached our conversation in many different ways.
Given the current state of instant celebrity in our political and media culture, one would expect her to have lionized her son and held him up to be a political hero and martyr worthy of undying praise, a cable news contract, and a bright future as an elected official.
I'm not kidding. When a figure like Rittenhouse is thrust into the public the way he has been, there are advisors and handlers who would whisper all sorts of things in his and his mother's ears. "With his name recognition and his political support as a champion of the Second Amendment, he could be on the fast-track for Congress and eventually the Senate!"
Remember Sandra Fluke? After her made-for-TV testimony in 2012 complaining that she had to pay for her own contraception (she was attending Georgetown Law at the time), she became a media sensation. Next came a speaking appearance at Obama's Democratic Convention and a run for the state legislature in California.
She lost in the primary because she really didn't offer much as a candidate other than her 15 minutes of political fame, but she serves as a perfect example of how this sort of 24/7 notoriety can be spun into an ill-advised political career.
Thankfully, this doesn't seem to be the track Mr. Rittenhouse is on. At least, based on my conversation with Wendy.
She didn't prop her son up as a hero (even though I'm sure in her heart that's exactly what he is to her), and she didn't paint him to be a victim or a martyr. She didn't celebrate the events that thrust him into the spotlight, and she didn't even suggest that she was proud of her son for venturing into the "fiery but peaceful" protests that burned much of Kenosha to a crisp that hot August night.
Wendy Rittenhouse spoke of her son Kyle the exact way you or I would've related to our sons if, God forbid, they'd found themselves in the same situation. She talked like a mom. A scared and freaked-out mom who wishes her son – no matter how noble and courageous his intentions may have been – would never have gone to Kenosha in the first place.
Wendy Rittenhouse, mother of Kyle Rittenhouse, joined @LarryOConnor today for an exclusive interview to discuss the night in Kenosha, the media's coverage of her son and more #Rittenhouse #WMAL - Full interview: https://t.co/gGpzcm6Yk7 pic.twitter.com/JuwTSPChma — WMAL DC (@WMALDC) December 20, 2021
"I think about it every day," she told us of that night. "I should've went (sic) down there and grabbed him by his ear."
Julie and I chuckled with obvious recognition at such a "mom" thing to say. "Every parent knows what that means," my co-host said in the interview.
"Yeah, and told him to get his butt in the car, you know?" the charming Midwesterner said. "But you can't change the past."
I couldn't stop smiling.
From the very beginning, I held to some very important and, I thought, obvious realities about the Rittenhouse story. He did nothing wrong. He didn't break the law. He acted in self-defense. If he had been convicted of murder, it would've been an outrageous and despicable miscarriage of justice... and, most importantly, given all of those things, I would've prayed my son wouldn't have been anywhere in that town that night.
I know I'm probably not winning any fans by saying that we should not want our teenage boys to follow Kyle's example and head down to the nearest race riot with a rifle. I know it's fashionable to say we need more Kyles in this country doing just that.
But Kyle is not your son. He's Wendy's son. And she wanted to grab him by the ear and get his butt home. And Wendy has every right to wish that for her son.
Don't thrust Kyl Rittenhouse into a position that you wish him to fill for your own political satisfaction. Leave Wendy's son alone... he's been through enough.
Listen to the entire interview right here... I think you'll enjoy it:
Wow, some sense.
We don’t usually get to choose our circumstance.
Waiting for the arrival of the keyboard-warrior rabble, asking fantastically “should the Founders have also run away?” in 3...2...
Kyle has brought HOPE to millions......
.....and God has brought him through and out of this ordeal.
From every indication, Kyle knew his father but his father was not a good role model.........and there is no reference of Mr.Rittenhouse supporting Kyle each day in the courtroom.....Maybe all of this is conjecture on my part, but Wendy was/is the solid parental force behind her son....
....and the night he was out doing this, she was working ( she worked as a nursing assistant).....
I have no doubt she wished she could have prevented this happening.....but it did, and Kyle accepts this.
‘What Satan means for evil, God uses for good’
Kyle’s role models were policemen, fire fighters, EMTs......and good on Kyle for choosing this type of role model.....Kudos!
But Kyle grabbed the attention of the world......much of which is being presently oppressed.
The world saw him in court, just like the jury!
An honest, articulate, caring kid who only wanted to do good!
I think this article tries to dilute him......and it can’t!
Kyle has schieved a 2nd amendment win for all righteous patriots!
God bless him!
We know a good person when we see one.
Kyle will be carefully protected and nurtured...
...and Wendy will get her well deserved rest from providing for her 3 children through long hours of hard work
I believe they have already moved to the ‘free state’....
...and CNN, MSNBC, Biden, celebrities have defamed him publicly that Kyle could be looking at multiple payouts from them!
Everyone that was shot deserved it.
Kyle Rittenhouse is an example of some good resulting from a lot of bad choices by everyone in that area.
Its a lightning rod for people with agenda, but the circumstances came about because city officials and public safety abandoned their responsibility completely.
There is no “appeared to have acted in self defense” about it. He DID act in self defense as the jury clearly ruled. "Townhall" has got too many weak kneed RINO's.
Who the heck is Larry O'Connor anyways? Some vegetation milk drinking sop?
This is Larry O’Connor doing what Connie Chung did to Newt’s Mom. . .just to hype the ratings. Sometimes a 17 year old is confronted by real life. Kyle handled it admirably, end of story. . no need for Larry O’Connor’s casting of aspirations and looking for the shadows. Sure, Moms are prone to make embarrassing statements, not wanting to see that their baby is growing up and when faced with a crisis, her baby didn’t need “mommie” in the least. . .he handled it, like a BOSS. If Kyle were my son. . I would be DAMN proud.
Kyle was an idiot. He never should have gone to defend anything unless it was his own home. Wisdom would tell most people that if there are riots and violent protests going on then you should stay away from the area unless you want to risk being a victim. Kyle went and became a victim (who also fully, successfully, and lawfully defended himself from being victimized and made dead)
That said, if our legal system worked the way it used to, and the way it was supposed to, then Kyle going to defend someone else’s property would have been dangerous but more appropriate in that he would never have had to worry about the near-railroading he received at the hands of politicians trying to advance their careers.
If there were any justice, those politicians (the prosecuting attorney) would be facing the bar, getting their license revoked, and facing civil court cases against them for unlawful\unethical behavior.
This whole Kyle Rittenhouse story needs to put blame back on the media for not calling these riots what theywere, and especially the local officials who chose to abandon the city to a mob.
The city officials and media should have been on trial, not Kyle Rittenhouse.
America is in the sorry shape that it is because generations of young men have shrunk from the fights necessary to defend our society and way of life. Kyle is an inspiration and a role model.
There were no mothers grabbing ears on Concord Green. Thank God for that.
While it seems common sense to say that any 17 year old should not have to protect a city, you have to wonder why adults have allowed some cities to burn.
I do recall that Nick collected tens of millions of dollars from CNN and NBC, and perhaps others.
The Rittenhouses are doing this wrong. Bad advice I suppose.
Kyle is one of those (increasingly) rare individuals who possesses a strong sense of public duty. The same can be said for all the men and women who set aside family interest to serve the public cause. It's wrong to hurl pejoratives at such people. He's not a "idiot," he is a fine young man and you should apologize for that inappropriate characterization.
“should the Founders have also run away?”
_____________________________________
Interesting question.
If you do your due diligence and properly research the matter, you will discover that at most, only 5%-10% of the colonists support the revolution after the events at Lexington and Concord in 1775.
So, my response to your question is NO, our nation’s founders shouldn’t have run.
And wouldn’t run today either, but a majority of Americans today are no different than the majority in 1775 and would most definitely run while clutching their pearls tightly.
Yup.
Moms tend to freak when, right before their eyes, their 'boy' turns into a MAN!
No need to worry 'bout me, Mom!
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