the verdict
Written by Jason Anthony Nichols
After the Rittenhouse verdict came down, I was shocked. I was not at all shocked by the outcome of the trial, but by the emotional investment many people on the left, especially Black people, put into it. The trial was a forgone conclusion. The prosecution was inept. Rittenhouse and his companions took advantage of nebulous laws regarding open carry to walk around a highly emotional crowd with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 slung to his shoulder. Kenosha Police officers who are charged with keeping the public safe saw the men and not only allowed them to continue, they thanked them. What happened specifically to Rittenhouse in this case may have been self defense in the moment. However, the entire circumstance illustrates larger societal and narrative failures that are almost certain to repeat themselves .
Black single mothers are often demonized with the question “where were his/her parents”, whenever a child ends up in a dangerous position unattended. Somehow, those questions about supervision and parental judgement skipped Rittenhouse’s mother, who allowed her doughy-faced 17 year old son into an area that had been experiencing unrest for the previous two days. She seemingly allowed him to remain after a Sheriff imposed curfew under the supervision of 19 year old Dominick Black, who was nowhere to be found at the time of the shootings. Black purchased the AR-15 style rifle for Rittenhouse. The latter wasn’t legally able to purchase one himself, but apparently was able to carry one around in Wisconsin.
Marissa Alexander, a Black woman, felt every bit as threatened as Rittenhouse did, except she didn’t kill anyone. She fired one warning shot at her violent husband, who threatened to kill her much like Rosenbaum allegedly did to Rittenhouse. Unlike Rittenhouse, Alexander was licensed and owned the firearm. Alexander served 3 years in prison. Somehow, her tears and those of thousands of Black women and girls who defend themselves, are not as emotionally jarring as Rittenhouse’s were. When she was eventually freed, there were no Congressmen or women arm wrestling over who got the privilege of hiring her.
Trayvon Martin was the same age as Rittenhouse when he died at the hands of a self appointed neighborhood watchman. It’s clear he felt threatened as he was being followed and stalked by George Zimmerman. The right never characterized him as a martyr or championed his right to defend himself. They went out of their way to call him a lean drinking thug. Maybe if Trayvon Martin had had a rifle rather than a pack of skittles and had killed Zimmerman, he would have cemented his future with a high level Congressional internship.
Perhaps the biggest societal failure was for Joseph Rosenbaum. According to testimony by Ryan Balch, one of Rittenhouse’s militant companions, Rosenbaum didn’t appear to be a normal protester. Rosenbaum had previously spent 14 years in prison (for heinous crimes that make him a much less sympathetic character) and was often homeless. His mental health was suffering. He was diagnosed bipolar, but couldn’t get access to his medication as a result of the unrest. According to Jason Lackowski, another man in Rittenhouse’s cohort of self-appointed security guards, Rosenbaum was asking to be shot. Lackowski ignored him and turned his back. One wonders whether this was a suicide by vigilante. Rosenbaum’s tragic story is about poverty, prison rehabilitation and reentry, and mental healthcare - all things our society does poorly. In many ways, we all killed Joseph Rosenbaum and many like him.
Kyle Rittenhouse was not an avowed white nationalist at the time of the shootings. He was an impressionable teen with very poor guidance operating in a state with holes in its laws. However, he has become a folk hero to everyone from the mainstream conservatives all the way to the extreme white nationalists. Part of what made him a hero wasn’t just the shootings, but the media’s obsession with it and the left’s emotional investment in the outcome. The most extreme reactionaries will certainly feel emboldened to enter protests, whether they are peaceful or not, looking for an excuse to use deadly force. It could be outside of a school board meeting discussing masks or “Critical Race Theory.” It could be at a women’s march for bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom. It could be at a protest for racial justice. Kyle Rittenhouse actually completed the Charlottesville mission - he united the right.
My advice for people left of center is rather than focus on individual court cases, try to change systemic problems. Individual court cases will have you believing in the system (Derek Chauvin) only to be disappointed in the next outcome. Overall reforms to the justice system, education, healthcare will benefit the Marissa Alexanders of the world far more than a Rittenhouse conviction would. Lastly, protect yourself by whatever means necessary.