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Plus, thoughts on the reaction to the Rittenhouse verdict.

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Happy Sunday! It was a busy news week: President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held a virtual summit, Russia made a big mess in space, a federal grand jury indicted Steve Bannon, the House passed the Build Back Better Act, and a Wisconsin jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges in his trial for killing two men and injuring another during riots in Kenosha last summer.

The verdict in the Rittenhouse trial came down early Friday afternoon. The jury had deliberated  for more than 25 hours over the course of four days. Alas, it took about 30 seconds for the reaction to the verdict to get really stupid. Missouri Rep. Cori Bush tweeted that the decision was “white supremacy in action.” And New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney put out a statement protesting that Rittenhouse was able to bring a gun to “a protest against the unjust killing of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man.” Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s statement bemoaned that “a violent, dangerous man chose to take a gun across state lines and start shooting people.”

It wasn’t much better from the other side. In response to Bush’s tweet, several people responded with a meme claiming that a black high school student served one day in jail and was “never mentioned again” after shooting a classmate and a teacher. Some chose to celebrate Rittenhouse as “king.”

I’m not here to weigh in on the case itself. For that, you can read David’s French Press from Tuesday, or his newsletter over at The Atlantic. I’d rather reflect on what the reaction says about the state of things. Facts matter, and there weren’t enough of those on display. First, Maloney’s statement: Jacob Blake, whose shooting by police kicked off the protests and riots, was not killed. And he wasn’t unarmed: He had a knife. Maloney is the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the DCCC issued an apology and a corrected statement, but the original is still out there spreading on social media. De Blasio was incorrect to say that Rittenhouse took “a gun across state lines.” People who read the statements from Bush or the ACLU without knowing the full details of the case might well assume that Rittenhouse’s victims were black. They weren’t. 

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  1. N T

    I am in NO WAY saying his actions are defensible but read Unabomber Manifesto, it is rapidly approaching 30 years old, and it is curious how creepily prescient it is.

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  2. Scott Mc

    As always Rachael great wrap up and an approach I yearn for. Thank you and wishing you and the family a great Thanksgiving week ahead! 💚💚💚

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    Mike Kupfer

    "Facts matter, and there weren’t enough of those on display." Yeah, that was my impression of the coverage of the verdict in my local paper: quotes from people who either thought Rittenhouse is a hero or that the verdict was a miscarriage of justice, but little in the way of important details. So I just want to offer my thanks to the team at The Dispatch for caring about details and for, as you put it, keeping the temperature down.

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  4. Monty Brown

    Steve and David: on leaving Fox. It was inevitable from the outset that taking part-time gigs to ease the financial burden on the Dispatch would at some point time for you to split. You could never be a defining voice with an independent course and serve other masters. I have watched both of you and you did the best you can. Now put your prime year's energies into making the Dispatch the go-to place for balanced views. If that isn't possible and this effort won't make itself great, go find a good place or work for many, gigs essentially.

    I bought into this effort counting on you two to pull it off. Make the place to go for insights. Trump and the failed efforts to revive him aren't the future; finding a new balance and ways to revive our constitutional order will do for starters.

    Build this effort into a strong institution; make it happen and don't look back.

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    Mark Stobbe

    I'm an old social democrat from Canada. As a result, most of my Facebook friends are from the left/liberal/socialist end of the political spectrum. I posted a link to a Washington Post article following the Rittenhouse verdict (quite q good one) suggesting that people who argue against "mass incarcertion", etc. should support due process rights for a defendent, even when we don't like the defendent. The explosion of hostility - hatred even - was remarkable.

    It struck me that, from the liberal left, the Rittenhouse trial has generated far more emotion than the trial of the three guys who killed Ahmed Arbery - even though the facts of that case appear much more disquiting. Upon reflection, I think the reason is "white privilege". Arbery was a black guy - killing him was bad, etc. etc. but ... the people shot by Rittenhouse were white guys "demonstrating" - that is, people my friends could identify with. Killing a white leftie or two, no matter what the justification, seems to strike far closer too home than killing a black guy who was out jogging.

    Something else - many people, both from the left and the more thoughtful right - have stated that Rittenhouse was unwise to be at the site of the demonstration/riot. I agree. But I also believe it was at best unwise for the people who got shot to be there as well. This was not a peaceful demonstration that suddenly turned nasty - it was the third day of riotous protest. The only people who had any business being in the neighbourhood were those who lived there. Rittenhouse's unwise decision to attend should not result in a lifetime in prison just as the decision of the guys who died to be there should not have resulted in their death - but it was the same stupid, unwise, wrongheaded decision by all of them. By and large, only Rittenhouse has been condemned for it.

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      Andrew

      I like to call these people ‘anarcholiberals’ they just want revenge and violence. They want to see suffering. They want to present themselves as extreme and more left than than democrat (or similar party for Canada) for the sake of social status. They’re the perfect foil to the proud boys and trumpers. Good riddance

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      PaulH

      I think the main reason the Rittenhouse trial is getting more play than the Arbery trial is that there is more controversy around the Rittenhouse trial. Basically everyone on the left and the right think the defendants in the Arbery trial are guilty; to find any defenders of the defendants, you would have to go to the real fringes of the right. On the other hand, most people on the right think that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense (even if they think he was an idiot for being there). The difference of opinion allows for clash and provides a forum for people to trot out their favorite narratives.

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        Mark Stobbe

        A more charitable explanation than mine.

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    Frank Lee

    "And nothing is gained by describing a teenager who unnecessarily put himself into a dangerous situation as a “king” or “hero.”"

    Knowing ALL the facts of the story including he was there at that gas station remaining at that gas station as it is owned by his family members and he first put out a dumpster that was ignited and then pushed toward the gas pumps clearly meant to cause an explosion. I think it is reasonable to say that he was a hero... but certainly not a king or queen. We will save those titles for old Joe and old Nancy.

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      Mistapch2

      Think you need to check your facts. It was a used car dealership and none of the owners are related to him.

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        Kmregan7

        Don't worry - he could check the facts (but won't) and they'll bounce off of him like Teflon.

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  7. Jaybrown

    Thanks for your both-feet-on-the-ground, rational take on the responses to the Rittenhouse verdict. It's why I'm here.

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      Dave Conant - MO

      Well said, I agree.

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    Paul Britton

    Excellent reflections, as always.

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    Synchronize Your Dogmas (Bill B)

    The nonsense coming from both sides on Blake and Rittenhouse is just a disgusting abdication of truth-seeking or objectivity. There has to come a point where no matter how sympathetic or averse to some figure we are that we can agree on plain, basic facts.

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    Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

    I read an interesting article last week in relationship to the idea of social order breakdown. It appears that social isolation may increase the risk of dementia. Fortunately I'll be dead before today's young 'uns get old enough to retire and face dementia.

    I intend to be a professor and teach as long as my health permits. Coming to work, interacting with peers and students, ought to keep me young at heart, or at least immature. It may delay dementia. Yes, I bought my wife a t-shirt that reads "Raising my husband is exhausting".

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