Kyle Rittenhouse, The 17 Year Old Child

Something about the Kyle Rittenhouse murder case bothers me nearly as much as the atrocious, senseless murders of young men that occurred that night. In my mind’s eye, I see a baby-faced, pouty-lipped, child with an enormous, high powered gun, meandering around a protest and riot scene, with the notion in his young head of protecting a car lot. Some Americans seem to agree that Kyle’s reasoning of protecting property by threatening lives is a rational hero’s thought process, but I can not. What I see is a situation that was bound to erupt into violence, made substantially worse by a hormone-addled teenager who brought a gun he was too young to even purchase legally.

I’ve seen the photo of young Kyle wearing an over-sized police uniform, perhaps in hopes that he could some day be man enough to grow into it. I less pity Kyle than the culture that encourages fantasies of valor and bravery without the weight of responsibility along with the potential taint of deep regret.

According to the owners of the car dealership in Kenosha , no one asked Kyle to be there. At the trial, the owners denied ever issuing any requests for help from the group who stood arm and arm, ready to protect a car lot with deadly weapons. The absurdity of someone requesting a child to protect private property with deadly force flies in the face of…