Times have changed and there are new rules. In my day, if you confronted the school bully, and you were a scrawny piss-ant, you knew you had a good chance of getting your ass kicked. If you did it anyway, when you came home, you’re parents told you it was a life lesson for being a dumb f..k. You either went to the gym and bulked up or learned other ways to settle your disputes. No more. Today, anyone can “equalize” their lack of physical power with a gun. This is as true in mass shootings and urban violence as it was on the streets of Kenosha. Anyone can be The Hulk.
There’s an old saying that you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. The two murdered men in Wisconsin, took on an AR semi-automatic rifle with a chain and a skateboard. The third thought if he brandished a pistol, the kid on the ground would lay down his rifle and surrender. They watched too many movies and didn’t understand that there are new rules. The teenager, steeped in right-wing self-righteousness, urged on by adults living vicariously through him and unwilling to take an ass whooping, showed two of them their fatal mistake. The third should now realize its shoot or be shot.
You may say this is blaming the victims. They had the right to go after this guy without fear of being murdered. That’s not the reality of the streets. A court has now said so. The result of that decision won’t be one-sided. Certainly, those who want the nation to become a continuous gunfight will be emboldened. But those who now understand the rules, won’t hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later. Another step down from a civil society and a degradation of everyone’s sense of physical security.
Underlying this is the issue of police standing down and citizens accepting that. The kid with the gun didn’t seek police protection, nor did those who felt he was endangering others. Rittenhouse felt no fear of turning himself in to the police that night. Bizarrely, when they weren’t interested in why he would approach them with his gun and hands up, he just went home. A confirmation that vigilantism is welcome under the new rules.
Those who used to realize they would get their asses kicked, worked out more peaceful ways to settle disputes. When concern over being harmed are erased, the desire to work out issues, goes away. We’re headed toward, who has the biggest gun, the fastest draw, the least concern for human life.
This is a stark example of our “no-consequences” society. We want to do whatever we want, without any price to be paid. Rittenhouse’s trial was not the neat and tidy “gun-toting whack job kills peaceful protester” scenario. There will be endless arguments over the outcome. One thing is clear, the rules have changed. The old rules allowed us to build a great nation. The new ones will destroy it.
Ihg 11-20-2021
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Great writing Ike I will be sharing
One of your best, Ike. I shared it on FaceBook or Meta or whatever it's called today.