Rittenhouse was guilty, no question. He took his hunting rifle out looking for fire. I most of the trial, and was appalled at the grandfatherly treatment the judge gave him and his lawyers, and how the judge yelled down the prosecutor. That is exactly the opposite of most every trial and to me as a northern white man, it looked like complicit white supremacy in action. I’m torn about the use of violence, especially given Martin Luther King’s successful nonviolent campaign as the greatest use of the organized protest.

Democracy ultimately is about protecting the individual rights from physical force and intimidation to allow for their freedom of expression and protection of their political voice. Clearly the state uses violence to repress blacks for minor infraction through what can only be described colloquially as “over-policing.” Justice is rarely addressed and achieved, as seen by the once in blue conviction of the George Floyd murderer, due in large part to the protection of the only union the far right is for and not against, the police union. It certainly appears when reflecting on this article and these comments that I am “forced” to acknowledge we live in a type of police state where violence is a daily occurrence, especially and above against blacks.