Best posts made by JohntheHawk

The responses to the findings in this case, as with many other similar ones in recent years, show just how incapable of fairness people have become in this era of intense partisanship. I find it terrifying that a person’s political affiliation can almost always accurately predict their opinion about the outcome of any legal proceeding. Change the races of the actors, but leave the other details the same, and the majority of people would flip flop immediately to support for the side whose actions they previously found unsupportable. It seems as though people have quit even trying to be fair to everyone. They simply want their team to win.

I agree with @FarmerJayhawk that the kid made a terrible choice to be there with a weapon in the first place. However, his presence there was not illegal, the mob had no right to come after him, and any reasonable person would have felt they meant him harm at that point. I would ask those of you who think he should not have fired shots to put yourself in that situation. If you, having already made the dumb decision to be there in the first place, found yourself attacked by a mob while armed, do you truly believe you would hold your fire and let them beat you in the interest of fairness to them? I seriously doubt anyone would do so and I question the honesty of anyone who insists they would.

As far as directing the prosecution not to call his antagonists “victims”, that is only reasonable. Using that term presupposes the conclusion that he committed a crime against them and presupposing guilt is not supposed to take place in any semblance of a fair court proceeding. Regarding dismissal of black jurors, that can also be perfectly fair in some situations. I have more than one black friend who can freely admit their inability to be fair in any case with so much as a semblance of racial injustice about it. The subject is too emotional for them. There is nothing inherently dirty about trying to have jaded jurors dismissed.

I’ll also agree with @FarmerJayhawk that the Arbery case was disgusting and the actions of the vigilantes in that instance seem without the least sensible justification. I don’t personally see any similarity between the two cases, though I’m confident that most people will do as is common today and decide how they feel about both cases based upon their team membership, rather than any use of critical thinking skills or purposeful fairness.

@mayjay I get that this particular case riles those with gun control sentiments because they find it frustrating that Rittenhouse was allowed to have a gun there in the first place. They certainly aren’t wrong that the presence of the gun inflamed and escalated the situation. Those on the other side, however, might use this case as an example of why those laws should remain just as they are. One person’s flaw is another person’s feature. Both arguments could be supported quite reasonably, in my opinion.

Personally, it’s hard for me not to see the hand-wringing from so many with regard to Rittenhouse as frustration that their team’s mob was not allowed to intimidate and bully unchecked. How can you argue that Rittenhouse was looking for trouble without seeing that his opponents were bent on creating conflict, as well? If you support mob rule and intimidation as a political tactic, it rings hollow when you accuse others of looking for trouble or creating conflict.

I think the authorities in so many cities that quite nearly openly supported rioting last year, ordering police forces to stand down and leaving citizens to fend for themselves, bear the brunt of the blame for foolish vigilantism in the mold of Rittenhouse. The actors in this situation were all young and reasonable people could forgive them for their poor choices, not so the mayors and chiefs of police who were supposed to be the adults in the room but abdicated their responsibility to provide order in favor of pandering to the mob.

@wissox Yes, it does make him culpable. Please don’t think I’m defending Rittenhouse here. I’m simply pointing out that the other team spewed forth thousands of Rittenhouses (angry young people who went out looking to intimidate and cause problems) last year, including the ones the actual Rittenhouse had it out with that day. Anyone who didn’t condemn them has no moral authority to complain about Rittenhouse himself. I’m not on either team, so I can see the faults of both without any need to deflect, dissemble, and justify one group while lambasting the other for similar behavior. We won’t be a whole country again until more people give up their teams and become Americans again. That’s my position. I get that this is a left wing site and my pointing out that the left lives in a huge glass house when it comes to the subject of mob behavior is going to be unwelcome. I’ll shut up and go away. Thanks for the discussion.