this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2025
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"he didn't mean it" is not a legal or moral defense.
If someone's officially stated reasons damn them then there is no reason not to take them at their word. That doesn't mean everyone has to be taken at their word, but there are more argumentative steps involved in going from "You say X when it was actually Y because..." than in saying "You claim X, so let's assume X is true...."
I'm not going to argue with you about his "true" reason for being there when Rittenhouse himself says otherwise. You say he went to Yap about a political issue, I say he went there to have an excuse to shoot someone. So let's meet in the middle at Rittenhouse's stated reason. His official reason was "to defend property" which he stated in court. And that was deemed perfectly fine by the legal system and the people parading him around to give speeches.
As far as the the legal system and the people supporting him are concerned, Rittenhouse went there to defend property, ended up taking lives as a result, and that is perfectly fine.
He's very obviously just virtue signaling to the MAGA crowd. I'm just surprised someone from outside his target demographic fell for it.
His reasons for driving there, prior formed or thought up after the fact, are irrelevant. If you attack someone with a gun in the US, there's a pretty high chance they'll shoot at you. The jury would have no reason to take his explanation for his presence into account. Either he was there legally or he wasn't. He was, hence the acquital.
And why would that work with the MAGA crowd? Is it because they believe "you can kill people to protect property, you cannot damage property to protect people"?
And if you believe there's a pretty high chance someone with a gun is going to shoot you, it's legal for you to attack them in self defense. Arguably neither Rittenhouse nor the person who attacked him broke the law.
I am not saying he should have been found guilty based on existing laws. I'm saying it's really fucked up that he went somewhere he had no good reason to be, with a gun, with a stated intention of using that gun to protect property that wasn't even his, and not only was there no consequence for it he was actually rewarded and celebrated for doing so.
Whatever his "real" reason for going there, regardless of the actions of other people, the simple fact is Rittenhouse's presence directly resulted in deaths that would not have occurred had he stayed home.
The fact that so many people think that is perfectly fine is fucked up.
Mostly the MAGA crowd wants BLM to suffer at any cost and enjoys when anyone left of them is upset.
I don't know what you're basing the assertion that the deceased had reason to suspect Rittenhouse was going to shoot him. If memory serves from photos and testimony of the incident, Rittenhouse was getting chased down by a guy with a skateboard who swung on him, he fell down and then shot the guy. If you think someone with a gun is going to shoot you, why would running at them help?
If you agree that he should have been acquitted and you're sad that MAGA celebrates him we're on the same page about everything except your feeling that MAGA values and American values are 1:1. That and you seem to think that anyone who harbors ill will in their heart towards their attackers forfeits the right to self defense, which I disagree with.
Because you think they are going to shoot someone else.
I don't think they're 1:1, but by all available information MAGA values are at least 50% +1 of American values and the law of the land.
I still don't know where you got the idea it was so certain he was going to blast people at random that chasing him down to hit him with a skateboard was reasonable and prudent.
The only way your conclusion about MAGA = 51% of America makes sense is if voter participation was 100%.
About a third of Americans bothered to vote against Trump. The remaining 66% are either MAGA or have no problem with it.
You are hilariously wrong and I do not wish to converse with you further.
It's always the "hilariously wrong" people that need to announce they will no longer respond, instead of just not responding.