Addressing Gun Issues in the Midwest
Rittenhouse and Crumbly are warning signs of a worsening conversation relating to guns in America, this could lead to more dangerous vigilantism or school shootings!
Kyle Rittenhouse, Midwest freelance murderer and wannabe cop, recently received a verdict of not guilty after killing two protestors with an assault rifle in 2020. Issues challenging the 2nd Amendment have come up again and again in the past few decades. Rittenhouse’s verdict sets an odd precedent in the country that builds on “stand your ground” legal theory. His case, from the beginning, spurred the conservative mentality to the defense of a noble, good boy. This perception of him has been specifically tailored by conservative media to portray Rittenhouse as the typical American boy caught in the wrong place at the wrong time—but crucially forced to defend himself in the course of his vigilante duties in Kenosha. Add to that the key moments that revealed the crooked design of the trial—the dopey racist judge, the obvious bias towards Rittenhouse by seeming association, the single minority in the jury. The pre-meditation of this trial warrants a separate discussion, but further analysis can show the conservative strategy to pack courts is actually working before our very eyes.
The most recent school shooting by Minecraft veteran Ethan Crumbly will only complicate the deteriorating discussion on guns in the country. Crumbly, 15, is being charged as a terrorist. The context isn’t identical, but I don’t see how Rittenhouse and Crumbly are any different since they both wholly fetishized a lifestyle of gun-toting aggression that led to their eventual murder of innocents. Crumbly’s father bought the gun he used in the massacre days before the shooting. Whether Rittenhouse felt he was protecting himself or not, his presence in Kenosha that evening puts the blame on him for “white-knighting” with an assault rifle during a protest of police violence. He should not have put himself into the situation as he did—a thought his mother shares. His presence as a “protector” of local business only proves him a vigilante, and his curious coordination with police officers on the scene puts him categorically against the protest by nature.
We need to ask ourselves serious questions about the place of guns in our society. The Republicans are actively trying to pack courts that deliver Rittenhouse verdicts for a reason. This decision could be used as precedent in the trial of anyone claiming self-defense, even if the circumstances are shadier than this trial. Crumbly is becoming the norm across the Midwest—the awkward quiet kid that is so crushed by their parents identities that they develop murderous intent. We cannot fix everything wrong with the world to avoid people doing terrible things, but we can at least restrict the capabilities for them to hurt others. Proof of possession of a gun locker/safe before being able to purchase weapons would be a good start, but until a more complex system of checks and safeguards can be devised more guns will be sold to father and son duos in the Midwest. With increased gun violence, even in Indiana in recent years, you’d expect Republican leadership in the state to respond to the issue—however they will not, as curiously the issue can be side-stepped by changing the discussion to defense of personal gun rights instead of insecurities that allow murderers to buy handguns. Until the the open discussion can be had, we will be forced to live in fear of more deadly gun violence.