Kyle Rittenhouse abruptly departed the stage during an appearance at the University of Memphis on Wednesday, after he was confronted about comments made by Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk.
Rittenhouse was invited by the collegeās Turning Point USA chapter to speak at the campus. However, the event was met with backlash from a number of students who objected to Rittenhouseās presence.
The 21-year-old gained notoriety in August 2020 when, at the age of 17, heĀ shot and killed two menāJoseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, as well as injuring 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutzāat a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
He said theĀ three shootings, carried out with a semi-automaticĀ AR-15-style firearm, were in self-defense. TheĀ Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest where the shootings took place was held afterĀ Jacob Blake, a Black man, was left paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot by a white police officer.
If you unnecessarily bring a gun somewhere and end up in a situation where you need to use it to kill people, youāre a murderer. I choose to label that murder because I place him in the same category as convicted murderers in my head. He isnāt some dude going about his life and needed to use lethal force in self defense due to unforseen circumstances. He actively sought out the situation, and therefore bears some responsibility. This is more a question of if you want to see his pattern of behavior encouraged or discouraged rather than a question about any individualās culpability.
Even if he didnāt provoke anyone? As long as the gun isnāt pointed at anyone and threats arenāt made with it, thereās nothing provocative about it being there. I understand how others may feel different when their only exposure to firearms is what establishment news decides to show them, but reality is that the simple presence of a weapon like this is not alone a threat.
If Kyle instead brought a concealed handgun (ignoring how thatās illegal for a 17 y/o) and only drew it a moment before when he shot his first attacker, would your opinion change? How about if it was a knife, or a rock he found nearby? What if someone else jumped in and killed Kyleās attacker instead?
He did not actively seek out to kill people, youāre misinformed at best if you believe that, arrogant at worst.
I donāt feel that trying to stop property damage for a family friendās establishment in the middle of a riot, where police refused to stop people, is a pattern of behavior I want to discourage people from doing. If a convicted sex offender tried to kill me for stopping them from destroying my friendās livelihood, and I killed them in self defense, I wouldnāt feel remorse for my actions.
Iām happy the jury ruled on facts and not liberal propaganda. And I say that as a registered Democrat.
Youāll notice I didnāt disagree with the verdict. I just think Kyle is scum and a murderer even if thatās not under the technical legal definitions.
Really? Letting children be judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to property damage is something yourāe totally okay with? I think you have a little bit of growing up to do, buddy.
Property rights uber alles.
Carrying around that weapon in a place he had no need to be in is not provoking anyone?
Dude provocation is entirely dependent on how others feel. If I find you bringing a rifle to my kidās birthday party is unsettling then youāve by definition provoked me. I donāt care if youāre not pointing it at anyone lol