Kyle Rittenhouse’s sister Faith is seeking $3,000 on a crowdfunding website in a bid to prevent the eviction of herself and her mother Wendy from their home, citing her “brother’s unwillingness to provide or contribute to our family.”

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53 points
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And the guy he actually killed had a skateboard! The other guy literally just had a bag (lol dumbass).

See this is what’s so great. Circumstances don’t actually matter, you can go looking for blood equipped with a weapons meant to kill as many people as fast as possible, and as long as someone flinches, you can just murder them! It’s completely legal. I fucking love america.

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5 points

Let me preface this with: Rittenhouse is a shithead and his politics are shit. But: have you watched the videos? If you’ve got a gun and someone tries to grapple with you, that is now a life or death situation. If you let them take your gun, you could very well be dead. It’s not a surprise that the jury acquitted him. Both shootings were demonstrably self-defense. I’m sick of us lefties falling for the same type of knee-jerk propagandistic nonsense the right always falls for.

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4 points

He’s a shithead and he shouldn’t have been there but you’re right. People are angry because he was there with a gun and that’s valid, but technically he was within the law in doing so.

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-22 points
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Rittenhouse is an idiot who shouldn’t have crossed state lines to go play police officer in another state. I have no problem that his life has been ruined, and if he had been convicted, I wouldn’t have shed a tear. Not to mention he is a fucking twat (if what the sister says is true) for not helping them out considering it was his stupidity that put this crosshair on their back. So make no mistake about where I stand on this. The guy is an idiot, but I don’t think he was “looking for blood.”

That being said, the guy didn’t just “have a skateboard” we have a video of him chasing a fleeing rittenhouse and attacking him with the skateboard and trying to grab the gun. The other guy is seen chasing a fleeing Rittenhouse when he turns and shoots. Neither of these people just “flinched.” They were both clearly aggressors.

Was he justified in shooting them? I’m not so sure. I tend to lean towards “no.” But the fact that you’re grossly misinterpreting what actually happened leads me to believe that you are not so sure either. One who is confident that the facts support claim doesn’t feel the need to grossly misrepresent the facts.

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40 points
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The guy is an idiot, but I don’t think he was “looking for blood.”

Except that there’s a recording of him saying he wanted to shoot people

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7 points

Typical librul carin bout facts

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12 points

That being said, the guy didn’t just “have a skateboard” we have a video of him chasing a fleeing rittenhouse and attacking him with the skateboard and trying to grab the gun.

Why was he doing that? Because I still haven’t heard why. Was he just out for blood and decided to attack a random teenager?

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4 points

I don’t know why either. But my guess is he was being chased for shouting the N word at a BLM protest. Just a guess though. I doubt he was being cordial.

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-3 points

The most prominent explanation being that he was stopping an active shooter. But even if we accept that story, it completely undercuts the effective argument of “but he just had a skateboard and flinched!”

I think everyone in this situation thought they were doing the noble thing. It’s just easier to process if we assume one person is a bad guy, and the other person was acting nobly and rationally in pursuit of some higher purpose, rather than accepting the messy truth.

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0 points

If you try to Defend yourself from a Random Person with a Gun you DESERVE TO DIE!

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2 points

No one alleged that Rittenhouse pointed the gun at anyone before he was charged. You need to reexamine your priors on this one.

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1 point

“Defend yourself” by chasing a fleeing guy?

Hate to break it to you bud but that doesn’t fit the legal definition of self defense anywhere in America.

In some states you aren’t required to retreat yourself if you have the legal right to be where you are when you’re attacked (this is called “stand your ground” laws). However if the attacker starts fleeing and you pursue you are not allowed to chase them and finish the job. Even if they break into your house, if you surprise them and they run out before they get shot you aren’t allowed to wing shots wildly at them down the street. If you see someone murder someone and run away, it is illegal for you to chase and kill them, you’re required to let the police take over from there.

Rittenhouse however did attempt to retreat from Rosenbaum who was chasing him and threatening to kill him, until he was cornered and had to shoot Rosenbaum when he reached for the gun. After that, the crowd shouted “he just shot that dude, get him” and surprise, he started running away from the mob of people. Then the dude with a rock took him down, he rolled over, missed jump kick man, then Huber hit him with the trucks and tried to take his gun, which Rittenhouse defended again, then Grosskreutz came and faked surrender before pulling out a gun he wasn’t legally allowed to have and Rittenhouse defended again.

At every point, Rittenhouse attempted retreat from those who were attacking him. Vigilante mob justice is super cool or whatever but it is illegal, the crowd had no legal right to “chase a fleeing felon” just as CCW holders don’t have that right. Thankfully.

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1 point

Who said anything about anyone deserving to die? Certainly not me.

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-37 points

And the guy he actually killed had a skateboard!

Yeah, try to minimize this after you let someone whack you on the head full swing with a skateboard–that is, if you survive. They weigh over 10 pounds on average, did you know that? Very literally a potentially lethal weapon. Also, he actually WAS hit by a full swing of said skateboard, on the head, before he shot at that guy, who was clearly trying to kill him by doing so.

you can go looking for blood

Every single action he took in Kenosha directly contradicts this, lol.

and as long as someone flinches

Trying to kill someone is not a “flinch”. This is some absurd fantasizing you’re doing.

Everyone shot by Rittenhouse was actively in the act of attempting to kill him at the moment they were shot. The first LITERALLY screamed “I’m going to kill you”, and after chasing him down, tried to wrestle his rifle out of his hands (gee, wonder what he might want to do with it if he got a hold of it?). The second tried to cave his skull in with a heavy, blunt object. And the third was only shot after he pointed his handgun at him–luckily, Rittenhouse was able to react fast enough to stop him.

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23 points
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luckily, Rittenhouse was able to react fast enough to stop him

No. Rittenhouse is a fucking fool who should be ashamed that his decision to bring a rifle to “assist as a medic” caused this entire scenario. Wandering alone, caused this scenario. He only walked on the charges because he was juuust within the law, not because he was a hero

Like yes, when he was filmed extinguishing a dumpster on fire, and walking around asking people if they need help, that’s admirable. But just as we rightfully criticize cops who let situations escalate and are ‘forced’ into using lethal force, so too with Kyle. He’s the idiot who inserted a rifle into the scene and went wayyy away from friendlies off on his own

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7 points

assist as a medic

Is that the story now? I thought he was protecting businesses that never asked for his help.

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-1 points

Oh so “wandering alone” is it? You gonna tell a lady that “wandering alone” is what caused her rape?

Fortunately, people aren’t legally justified in attacking “alone” people for being alone.

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-25 points

his decision to bring a rifle to “assist as a medic” caused this entire scenario.

Objectively untrue. The ‘scenario’ was instigated by a maniac going into a literal homicidal rage over having a dumpster fire he set, extinguished. It had literally nothing to do with the fact that the person who put out that fire was armed.

P.S. Well, actually, it may have, but not for the reason most think–I have a ‘pet theory’ that Rosenbaum freaked out on Rittenhouse because he wanted to get shot and killed. This is based on a few things: the fact that Rosenbaum was suicidal–in fact, he was let out of a mental health facility’s 3 day hold FOR a suicide attempt literally THAT DAY. Secondly, simply the fact that the way he reacted makes literally no sense, completely over the top, and would be arguably comically exaggerated if it happened in fiction. And reason 2.5 is that he, unarmed, screamed death threats at and then chased down and attacked a clearly armed person, which is something only someone who was completely out of their mind, and who had no sense of self-preservation, would do.

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14 points

In not familiar with exactly what happened that night but just an uneducated guess:

All of the threats that Kyle encountered was in response to the fact that he was playing Timmy Toughguy and actively strolling around with a gun

If he was just wandering around being an unarmed cunt then the chance of being swung at is still not zero but pretty damn close to it.

If at any point he ran - and kept running, or dropped the gun and ran, fully retreating from the crowd I doubt he would have been chased too far and the need to shoot would have been eliminated

In the same way he (correctly) saw others as a threat, the primary reason he was being threatened was because everyone else saw a random civilian with an assault rifle that was a 50x larger threat well before they threatened him. Even if he intended to do nothing with it, he knew he was sending a threatening message just being there with it and he then seemed shocked when people started responding to that threat - of course they would try and disarm him at a bare minimum.

The threat to Kyle at this point was genuinely high because most adults in the US - or anywhere - instantly recognise what a random civilian in public with an assault rifle means - mass shooting. This is exactly the message Kyle intended to send in order to scare rioters off. If he wasn’t there just to scare people off then he was there to actively murder people. At this point I could put it down to a dumb kid making a really stupid mistake. Maybe worth a few years in jail for gun charges or inciting violence?

But he didn’t retreat as he was being threatened - a fraction of what he was threatening others. He chose to attack instead and it’s at this point he deserves to spend the rest of his days rotting in jail. He tried to send a message, that message wasn’t received so he murdered those who were fearing for, and attempting to protect their own lives.

Kyle choose to be the aggressor - and much greater threat to anyone there - from the start. He wasn’t protecting his own family, house or neighbourhood, he crossed state lines to be an aggressor. Kyle continued to act as the aggressor at every stage of the encounter.

Fuck Kyle.

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4 points

No one could watch the videos and come away with this take you’ve constructed. He obviously is retreating in both videos. And carrying a gun in the open is not a provocation to violence. Not is it illegal in Wisconsin.

I hope that, rather than knee-jerk down vote, people will go watch both videos. We can do better than shitheads on the Donald.

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4 points

The problem comes in with

All of the threats that Kyle encountered was in response to the fact that he was playing Timmy Toughguy and actively strolling around with a gun

Perhaps this may surprise you, but you are not legally justified in trying to kill someone just because they have a gun. Also not allowed to kill someone who has just legally defended themselves in a deadly force encounter, that is for the court system to decide. It is legal to get involved in third party encounters, however you best be sure you’re not helping the side that will later be declared the aggressor in court and so it is generally seen as very risky to do.

If at any point he ran - and kept running, or dropped the gun and ran, fully retreating from the crowd I doubt he would have been chased too far and the need to shoot would have been eliminated

Ok at this point it may behoove you to actually look at at least the videos of the incident if not the whole trial which was streamed. He did run. He walked by a car, Rosenbaum popped out screaming “I’m going to kill you,” Kyle runs, chase ensues, Kyle gets cornered and turns around to find Rosenbaum reaching for the gun, Kyle shoots Rosenbaum 4x, makes a phone call, the crowd yells “he just shot that dude, get him,” Kyle starts running again, unknown man hits him with a rock in the back of the head which downs Kyle, Kyle rolls over and misses Jump Kick Man, then another dude walks up but surrenders when Kyle points his rifle (but didn’t fire), then Huber hits him with a skateboard and gets shot attempting to take Kyle’s rifle, then Grosskreutz feigns surrender and pulls out a gun he wasn’t legally allowed to own pointing it at Kyle, Kyle shoots, Gabe backs off, Kyle gets up and goes to the line of police cars right up the road who give him a bottle of water and tell him to go home, he turns himself in the next day.

Again, you can’t “disarm someone” who is legally carrying a gun, that is illegal to do and constitutes a deadly threat, and if he shoots you for trying he will get off.

But he didn’t retreat as he was being threatened -

But he did, at every opportunity and by all definitions he retreated until he was cornered and then again until he was downed by a rock to the back of his head.

“The aggressor” isn’t whoever you decide, it’s the guy screaming “I’m going to fucking kill you” while chasing you through a parking lot.

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3 points

If you’re not familiar, why don’t you inform yourself? There’s plenty of video footage of the night. There’s plenty of witness testimony. We all hate Kyle, myself included, but it doesn’t help to go around spreading misinformation. It makes our side look like imbeciles living up to the memes.

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3 points

Kyle wasn’t the only person there with a rifle.

Also if you’re not familiar with what happened that night, why are you commenting? Everybody makes assumptions based on the outcome of the incident, but nobody seems to have watched the videos which paint things differently and more clearly.

If everyone would shut the fuck up about this incident there wouldn’t be so much misinformation around it, and better yet we’d stop seeing this fuckface in the news.

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-10 points

This is a lot of words to say that you don’t understand that nobody freaks out about someone open carrying in a state where open carry is legal.

No one felt threatened by his presence. No one reacted to him showing up. No one had any problem with him walking around doing his thing for hours, while the rifle was strapped to him the whole time. If him merely existing with a rifle on him was such a threat, why is that? How come no one gave a shit about him except for a crazy guy who set a fire that Kyle put out?

Funny how this question never gets an answer, because there’s no way to answer it honestly without piercing a massive hole in your argument.

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1 point

you let someone whack you on the head full swing with a skateboard

So, like, a club. A mace. A melee weapon against a semi-auto 5.56 broomstick with enough rounds to kill 30 people in as many seconds (with aiming) before requiring a reload.

Phew. Lucky he was there to be the timely victim; otherwise, who would that guy NOT SHOOT and the skateboard guy NOT HIT? It could’ve been anyone not injured at all from those people.

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1 point
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Heads up, clubs, maces, and melee weapons are all classified as deadly weapons by the US gov because it is easy to kill people with them. Take a CCW class (you’re not obligated to actually go through with getting the permit by just taking the class), it teaches you the laws regarding self defense in your area, including things like “blunt objects, knives, and significant disparity of force (like say 3 v 1), are all considered “deadly threats” and you’re allowed to defend yourself with equal opposing force (which is to say “deadly force.”)”

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-3 points

A melee weapon against a semi-auto 5.56 broomstick

Wrong. Not against anything, because Kyle was literally trying to flee when he was struck.

But both are lethal weapons, so it’s absolutely reasonable and justifiable to use either of them to prevent being killed by someone attacking you with the other.

Rittenhouse was 100% in the right to shoot that guy, who was trying to kill him, and had already landed blow that could have succeeded in doing so.

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