The Unspoken Guilty Verdict
Where to begin? First, I am not smart enough to know all that took place during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. I have no idea what decision I would have reached had I been a juror in the trial. I do know that a whole lot of people are upset by the verdict, while others are celebrating the outcome.
I also know there is an unspoken verdict evident from this case, for we as a nation are most certainly guilty for the unnecessary deaths caused by Rittenhouse and his assault rifle. So many elements in our society celebrate gun violence. This has been evident for decades in a steady diet of violent TV shows and movies. More frightening is how guns have become a symbol of White masculinity in our current politics.
Look no further than the actions of my current representative, Madison Cawthorn. During his campaign back in 2020, as a twenty-five-year old candidate, he used a photo of himself holding a powerful rifle over his shoulder to cast himself as a defender of liberty. Once elected, he boasted of carrying an illegal gun on the floor of Congress during a violent insurrection that he helped ignite. Later he attempted to board a plane with a gun and has illegally carried dangerous knives into school board meetings. More than once he has called on his supporters to be ready to defend themselves when their liberty has been threatened. All the while his popularity and national stature have grown.
With role models like Cawthorn haunting our Congressional halls, no wonder a gullible teenager like Rittenhouse thought it was a good idea to take an assault weapon to Kenosha during the intense protests over the police murder of an unarmed Black man. This boy had been conned by our toxic gun culture to believe that he had a duty to take a lethal weapon into a tinderbox. I can’t help wonder why he was surprised to see how his actions were by nature provocative.
But, here I must digress. I spent a career teaching teenagers, and over this career I saw a lot of stupid actions by teenagers. Science tells us that their brains are not yet fully developed and they often have trouble seeing the full consequences of their actions until it is too late. To be generous, I am assuming that Rittenhouse made an incredibly stupid decision. It’s what many teenagers do. They cheat on tests, they say cruel things without thinking, and they drive drunk and sometimes kill people.
As a society, it is our duty to help these young people learn from their mistakes, to help them come to grips with the pain they have caused. In Rittenhouse’s case, however, he is being made out in many circles to be a hero, a cause for celebration. His acquittal does not absolve him of the responsibility of his actions. Two people are dead because he showed up in Kenosha with a dangerous firearm. Yet, will he be given the opportunity to reflect on his actions? Or will he serve as a beacon for others to try their hand at vigilantism, to take the law into their own hands and use their own “legal” weapons to threaten and bully those they disagree with.
Rittenhouse’s killing of two men in Kenosha should not surprise anyone who has been paying attention to our increasing cult of gun worship. Neither should his verdict. For how can we ask a young teenager to reflect on the great harm he has done when we as a society refuse to do the same. I wish I had a clear answer for what ails us, but for now I am incredibly sad.