Have we all lost our minds?
Every decision made in the courtroom should be based on, and solely on, the legal merits of the case. Absolutely nothing else should matter.
This is one of the most crucial foundations of the very concept of “rule of law” — and it is as self-explanatory and commonsensical as it gets.
But of course, common sense really isn’t so common anymore these days, as they say.
Yesterday, 12 jurors in Kenosha, Wisconsin unanimously declared Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of everything he was accused of. In other words, Rittenhouse acted in lawful self-defense when he used deadly force against Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz.
I’ve always maintained, ever since the trial first began, that it would simply not be legally possible for any reasonable jury to find Rittenhouse guilty. Of course, morally I’d never ever encourage any juvenile to put themselves in a highly volatile and dangerous situation, even if they are armed; but again, being unwise is not always synonymous with unlawful, and there is no evidence that Rittenhouse engaged in any unlawful conduct that night — which is the only thing that matters in the court of law.
Well, that logic might work in the court of law, but certainly not in the Court of Public Opinion™.
For starters, the sheer amount of lies about this case that have been repeated — in the news and on social media — is, to say the least, extremely concerning.
Despite the fact that the trial is over and all decedents’ identities have been made publicly available and plainly obvious long time ago, supposedly trustworthy news sources like The Independent still somehow think that Rittenhouse shot three Black men. (And there are plenty of other examples of this.)
And that’s simply not factually correct — literally not a single soul involved in this incident is Black.
- Rosenbaum was a White man shot after chasing Rittenhouse as he attempted to get away, cornering him, lunging forward and attempting to take his rifle.
- Huber was a White man shot after attempting to hit Rittenhouse (who, after being chased by a mob, had fallen to the ground at this point) in the head with a skateboard and take his rifle.
- Grosskreutz is a White man shot after pointing his own handgun at and advancing on Rittenhouse (as he himself admitted in court).
- And Rittenhouse may be either White or Hispanic (depends on who you ask), but again, no one in this case is Black.
(For a more thorough factual and legal analysis of the events unfolded on that night, refer to this video or this slightly older video.)
I can’t help but ask, why are this many people, including many (let me be abundantly clear: “many” does not mean “most,” and definitely does not mean “all”) journalists, so blinded by their biases to the point that they’re willing to ignore objective, undisputed, easily-verifiable facts?
But you see, lies like this are what inevitably led to wild (and wildly incorrect) assumptions and conclusions being made in the court of public opinion — and they were made long, long before the actual trial even began:
“Rittenhouse is a raging White supremacist who indiscriminately fired upon a peaceful crowd of Black protesters, killing two and wounding one, before being found not guilty on all charges (unjustly, but also unsurprisingly since The System™ always protects the White racist).”
- And once you’ve bought into that narrative, surely Congresswomen Cori Bush’s and Ayanna Pressley’s claims that the Rittenhouse case is somehow about “racism” and “White supremacy” would not be a tough sell.
- Or, for that matter, President Joe Biden’s statement that “the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included.”
- Plus many more politicians, including the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (oh the irony…).
Remember: every single one of these politicians (even though they might like to pretend otherwise) holds infinitely more Institutional Power™ than an average Joe like you, me, or Rittenhouse.
And to be fair, it’s not just politicians that are being stupid.
- Jesse Jackson believes that the Rittenhouse case sets a “dangerous precedent” for “vigilante justice.”
- Colin Kaepernick thinks that Rittenhouse carried out “terroristic acts” as a “white supremacist,” and that his acquittal showcased how The System™ is so hopelessly corrupt and unjust (pretty rich coming from a Castro fanboy, I must say) that it must be completely abolished.
- Then there’s Nikole Hannah-Jones who (to her credit) acknowledged that Rittenhouse killed White men but then, flaunting her impressive mental gymnastics skills, argued that they were killed for “fighting for Black lives.”
- Well, I don’t know how much they really cared about Black lives, but I do know of a rather inconvenient video footage showing Rosenbaum, the first White man shot, repeatedly yell the n-word a few hours before his ultimate demise.
- And, not too surprisingly, the NAACP, SPLC and ACLU also had to chime in. (Thank God I’m no longer donating to any one of them; but it’s still a damn shame how much these once-esteemed organizations have deteriorated.)
I don’t know what to say anymore.
I guess facts don’t matter anymore.
Despite the abundance of video evidence proving a solid case of self-defense, this incident was still nevertheless heavily politicized and made into a matter about racism. (Seriously, what kind of lousy White supremacist shoots no one but White people? Does that make any logical sense, even remotely?)
When it comes to the Coronavirus and vaccines, we’re supposed to believe nobody but experts in the field. So why can’t we do the same about legal matters?