I've only maintained that a 17 year-old and an AR-15 in a riot zone was going to end in a major fail. Even if this young man walks away without a conviction, life as he knew it is over; he will probably be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.
Yeah right... thanks for your perspective on this... To me it still sounds just like an armchair quarterback parroting leftist media talking points. We all know how reasonable the leftist media sounds while spouting nonsense. They too are just so wonderful and enlighened.
I have a grandson who is 19. He is currently out fighting wildfires in high heat in difficult and remote terrain. He started out like Kyle Rittenhouse as an explorer scout in a program that his other grandfather, a career army combat veteran and small town fire chief ran. My grandson was also introduced to firearms and firearm safety at an early age and is an excellent marksman. Like many young men he has a sense of invincibility that makes it more likely that he will take risks that put his life in jeopardy. It is not hard for me to imagine him getting into a situation like this.
It took a long time for me to get over taking risks that I should not have. In my 30s married with a wife and kid, I was standing on the edge of a cliff holding up my hang glider by the control bar looking into fog that was completely obscuring my view of the terrain below. I was not thinking about my dependents, instead I got impatient and thought, "I am here to fly not wait around all day", so when I caught a glimpse of the sun I ran a few steps, leaped, and dropped into what turned out to be a thick fog bank.
The nose of my glider dropped and I fell hundreds of feet with a sensation of almost complete weightlessness without being able to see a thing. I made no attempt to even touch the control bar lest I turn myself into the cliff. When the glider picked up enough speed it nosed up and popped out into glorious sunshine; when I looked back at the cliff all I could see was a thick cloud that completely obscured it.
It was foolhardy, stupid, and illegal but even as my glider and I were dropping through the fog without being able to see a thing, it never occurred to me that I might be about to die. I have done a lot of stupid and risky things in my life. Unfortunately, a lot of male members from both sides of my grandson's family tree had their lives cut short by taking risks that they should not have.
So I know that he is out running around through burning forests with an ax and shovel, knowing that he like myself likely has no real sense that his life is in jeopardy. 15 minutes before Kyle Rittenhouse ended up in a crisis situation, the police gave him water and thanked him for what he was doing. Neither they nor he had any idea that the mob and three felons were about to try and kill him. The police and Kyle were there, you weren't. They misread the situation obviously... But you and the leftist media's after the fact arm chair quarterbacking is about as worthless as it gets.
The events of the fateful riot were recorded with video by multiple people. These days a high percentage of the people participating are videoing themselves and others while participating in criminal behavior. Crazy but true. But this will help Kyle's legal team paint an accurate picture of the sequence of events.
He has an excellent legal team and the support of his family and community. His chances of being convicted of anything serious is close to zero. All of his actions that day are known, up to and including the shootings. They show no intent to kill anyone. He called 911 and attempted to stay on scene at the first shooting. There are witnesses and video. What they show is a young man doing the best he thought that he could to help.
Maybe he should be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life but he probably will not be. If he was someone who frets about everything all the time... he would not have been there in the first place. He is likely someone who is just happy that after he dropped into darkness that his nose is now in glorious sunshine.