An armed cop wannabe: Does that sound familiar, Florida?
Rittenhouse is the victim of a culture that preys on such aimless loners.
Kyle Rittenhouse might have grown up to be George Zimmerman.
In February 2012, Zimmermanwas a neighborhoodwatchman in Seminole County, northeast of Orlando. The police department, which monitored the program, had told Zimmerman and others only to report suspicious activity. They neverwere to intervene and surely never with firearms.
Yet the armed Zimmerman violated those rules when he confronted the unarmed TrayvonMartin. After losing control of the confrontation, the 27-year-old Zimmerman fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin. Zimmermanwas charged with second-degree murder. He claimed selfdefense.
On Aug. 25, the17-year-old Rittenhouse was inKenosha, Wis. He had left his home in Antioch, Ill., about 20 miles away. According to news reports inWisconsin media, Rittenhouse illegally carried a semiautomatic rifle.
Rittenhouse thus needlessly inserted himself into the protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake. The local sheriff and police chief did notwelcome the right-wing thugs posing as a self-styled militia.
Tensions rose. Rittenhouse ran fromthe car lot he supposedlywas helping to protect. He shot and killed two unarmed protesters andwounded another. He faces five felony counts, including first-degree murder. He is claiming self-defense.
In these Orwellian times, President Trump and others have called Rittenhouse a hero and a victim. Though they are wrong about the hero part, they are right about the victim part— just not in theway that they imagine.
Rittenhouse is the victim of a culture that preys on such aimless loners. His parents had divorced. His mother had sought a restraining order on boys who had bullied Rittenhouse at his high school. Acquaintances said Rittenhouse lived for the police, guns and Donald Trump.
So when the Trump-friendly “Kenosha Guard” asked for volunteers, what elsewas Rittenhouse to do?
“People are getting injured and our job is to protect this business,” Rittenhouse said in a social media video clip. “If someone is hurt, I’m running into harm’sway. That’s why I havemy rifle.”
Rittenhouse actually had two AR-15-styleweapons at his home. Though theywere purchased legally, no one yet knows howRittenhouse got them.
Rittenhouse bought into themyth that mere possession of aweapon makes one qualified to use it under pressure. He needs lots of help. Instead, he’s getting enablers.
The most prominentworks in the Oval Office. Trump said some of the Blake protesters “very violently attacked” Rittenhouse. But the owner of the property Rittenhousewas supposedly protecting told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he had not asked for protection fromoutsiders. Protesters attacked Rittenhouse after he began shooting. Rittenhouse put himself in jeopardy, fired hisweapon recklessly and did no public good. Right?
If only.
“Make no mistake, America,” tweeted Rittenhouse attorney John Pierce. “Nothing less than your God-given right to defend yourself, your family and your country is on trial inKenosha, Wis.” Pierce also compared Rittenhouse’s action to the “Shot Heard Round theWorld” that started the American Revolution.
For a time, Zimmermanwas that kind of “hero.” His defenders noted thatwhen Zimmerman fired, Martinwas on top and had broken Zimmerman’s nose. If you werewalking back froma convenience store and an armed man came at you for no reason, youwouldn’t fight back?
As with Rittenhouse, Zimmerman’s defenders used disinformation. A chain email showed a large Black man and disputed the notion thatMartinwas a skinny kid. The manwas notMartin.
A jury acquitted Zimmerman. There was only theword of a copwannabe. Martin’s killing started the Black LivesMatter movement.
As for Zimmerman, he has since been charged with aggravated assault and domestic violence. The chargeswere dropped. This year, he sued Pete Buttigieg and ElizabethWarren for posting social media tributes toMartin. The posts did not mention Zimmerman, but he claimed that they caused him $265 millionworth of “irreparable harm.”
In 2018, Zimmerman pleaded no contest to stalking a private investigator. The judge said, “Ifwe never hear the name George Zimmerman again in Seminole County, we’ll all be fine.”
No such luck. George Zimmerman’s spirit still haunts our tripwire public life, fromKenosha to Portland. Those whom Rittenhouse shot are the latest victims.