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:
OUCH!. . that's gonna leave a mark!!. .beautiful!
"I made my cocoa with almond milk.", said Pajama Boy.
Tens of defrocked 'newsmen' will agree with this statement!
I re-viewed The Patriot last night.
Kyle is an idiot, lacking military or law enforcement training, taking up a weapon to defend property not his own, in a hostile area where shooting, looting, and arson were already occurring, almost guaranteeing that a confrontation would happen. He then moved away from the property he was there to defend, instead of staying at that property and maintaining some semblance of safety and base of operations with others guarding his back, he went roaming to police another area and allowed himself to become separated from those who would help him remain safe. He made a number of tactically idiotic decisions that resulted in him having to kill others to remain alive himself. If you took the idiocy of going to that area to “defend” property out of the picture, no one would have died, Kyle would not have ended up almost getting railroaded, and all the horseshit we have seen in the past year pertaining to these events would never have happened.
Kyle, in defense of his person, made tactically sound and lawful decisions to shoot those attacking him. He has good judgement where this is concerned- close quarters, self defense. He has idiotic judgement where the bigger picture is concerned. He has the brashness of youth and lacks the wisdom of age and experience. He can’t see the consequences of his actions clearly and makes poor decisions when the scope of those decisions have far ranging consequences.
Golly!
So have I!!
So; if anyone is thinking of ever attacking me; you've hereby been forewarned!
Damn. If Kyle were only “smart” like a genius such as you.
Excuse me, I didn’t realize I was addressing the Master of the Universe, the all-knowing NicoDon. . .I stand corrected and now recognize your authority to cast aspirations, denigrate someone’s character and divine the truth clairvoyantly from behind your computer screen. What a burden you must carry never ever being wrong about anything.
No parent would want their son to go thru what Kyle went through. It doesn't change the fact that he was defending his life in a legal manner. I would advise anyone to stay away from any Antifa or BLM riots, these people are thugs, most have records and the others are mentally ill or druggies, yep, stay away.
From Lin Wood to now Charlie Kirk, Kyle's being used as a prop.
Fact is Kyle never did anything illegal. Only your deviant pals did.
“Whether or not Kyle should have been there” is a litmus test revealing where one stands on understanding uniquely American liberty.
Thanks for letting us know where you stand.
Yeah, me too. Where the hell has Kyle's been through this whole affair?
Other than "he lives in Kenosha" we know literally nothing about him.
But, but....
Then Kyle would not have been a HERO!
(sarc or no sarc. you decide.)
Glad she didn’t get to do this. We need more heros like him.
Waiting for the arrival of the keyboard-warrior rabble, asking fantastically “should the Founders have also run away?” in 3...2...
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I’ve arrived — to tell you that being a hero and fighting the mob is never easy. There’s always a hindsighter who tells them that they should have put up with the evil and taken the safe way out.
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.
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And his mother messed up by publicly humiliating her son with “grab his ear” talk, as if he were a nothing but a little kid.
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