US Politics Thread

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Fucking Bullshit.

Rittenhouse is cleared and then goes on Tucker Carlson.

****.
I suppose he should have gone on CNN or MSNBC where he was labelled a racist, white supremacist, terrorist, vigilante murderer, a guy running around attempting to murder black people... All this within 24 hours of the event happening and with little evidence.

There is a video collage of this on YouTube, you should watch it. It makes it clear why his only option was Fox.

Also he is probably going to sue the fuck out of all those stations and news outlets that falsely maligned him.
 
Regardless of the trial outcome and whether you believe Rittenhouse to be guilty or not - the tragedy remains. Two people are dead because it's legal to carry assault rifles to emotionally charged, confrontational events such as the Kenosha protests. It's a miracle that others haven't been killed in similar circumstances (that I'm aware of) up until now.

The legality of carrying fire arms to protests stuck me as so self-evidently ill conceived that I wondered just how insane gun laws in Wisconsin are. For example, is it legal to carry assault rifles into a pub in Wisconsin? - Apparently it is not - so I guess there are (woefully inadequate) bounds on this insanity.
Yeah I don’t disagree. It’s mental (to me)
 
Regardless of the trial outcome and whether you believe Rittenhouse to be guilty or not - the tragedy remains. Two people are dead because it's legal to carry assault rifles to emotionally charged, confrontational events such as the Kenosha protests. It's a miracle that others haven't been killed in similar circumstances (that I'm aware of) up until now.

The legality of carrying fire arms to protests stuck me as so self-evidently ill conceived that I wondered just how insane gun laws in Wisconsin are. For example, is it legal to carry assault rifles into a pub in Wisconsin? - Apparently it is not - so I guess there are (woefully inadequate) bounds on this insanity.
Great post. In the wider aspects of US law why did he go to a place where he was likely going to need to defend himself? He clearly planned on the real potential that he'd need to defend himself by taking not just a gun but an assault rifle so there is premeditation there.

There's no defence however for the folk who attacked him and so that's why he won his case. However, in any other sane country forget the need for self-defence, if this had been in the UK then he'd probably have been shot by armed police for the protection of others.
 
I have to say that I find the English system repugnant as such a huge percentage of the population is held hostage to a Chav culture that is so out of control with no recourse
The lowest crime areas in the world do not have guns. Go to Singapore or the Nordic countries and they don't have guns but they do have low crime.

Crime has everything to do with culture and the development of a country. If you have high levels of development then no-one needs to commit crime. The US is very underdeveloped in places where crime is high and it just so happens that gun laws help those people to do what they need to do.

The UK is no different to the US in many respects, it's just the bad guys here can't buy assault rifles.
 
Again, a lot of what you've said here seems reasonable in a vacuum. But it bellies a misunderstanding of reality.

1. Two people are not dead because it's legal to carry a rifle to emotionally charged confrontational events. They are dead because they acted poorly.

2. The notion that a legal ban on guns would have stopped people from having them is patently naive. I mean, the guy who got his bicep shot off coz he was pointing a pistol at Rittenhouse, had that gun ILLEGALLY at the 'protests'. He and many others would have had their guns regardless of what the law was.

3. In short the law would have only stopped law abiding citizens from being able to arm themselves while allowing those who could care less about the law to have an upper hand.

4. I mean let's apply some basic common sense here, do we really think Wisconsin law allows for property destruction and business burnings during protests? Hopefully no one is naive enough to think it does.. Now ask yourself, how effective were those laws at stopping destruction, burning and looting?
>> 1. Two people are not dead because it's legal to carry a rifle to emotionally charged confrontational events. They are dead because they acted poorly.
Individuals act poorly during protests - emotions flare. Take away guns, and we have two less shooting deaths. You might argue that a death or two might have resulted anyway even in the absence of guns - and I'd agree. Except that deaths would be far, far less likely.

>> 2. The notion that a legal ban on guns would have stopped people from having them is patently naive.
So I'll bite. You think that Rittenhouse would have been openly armed with an assault rifle were it illegal to own such a weapon?

>> 3. In short the law would have only stopped law abiding citizens from being able to arm themselves while allowing those who could care less about the law to have an upper hand.
Huh? It looks to me, instead, that - barring an underage infraction - Rittenhouse was allowed to carry. As was the guy who discharged his pistol into the air in front of Rittenhouse.

That either party was allowed to carry weapons into the protest directly contributed - nay, was the primary causal factor, of the shooting deaths.

>> 4. I mean let's apply some basic common sense here
Let's indeed apply common sense here. Suppose that a different scenario unfolded.

Rittenhouse is guarding some property. And here come some out-of-control protesters who now start to vandalize cars and indeed begin to set fire to nearby buildings. Law abiding Rittenhouse... what does he do? I think he's perfectly within his rights to brandish his weapon.

But I'm pretty damn sure that he doesn't have the right to shoot the vandals, even in Wisconsin. If Rittenhouse abides by the law, then his armed-but-unable-to-shoot presence is not much of a deterrent.

Unless, of course, you advocate for a change of law - making it legal for armed citizens to discharge their assault rifles against perceived vandals.
===
Insane.

I personally think that assault rifles should be banned and that high capacity cartridges should be outlawed. Failing that - and I'm against this as well - such weapons should be permissible only in households for defense of homestead and perhaps for enjoyment in carefully controlled shooting ranges.

The infatuation with carrying such dangerous weapons around with almost nary a restriction is simply going to lead to more shootings.
===
OK, OK - I get it. You've a right to carry an AK-47 to a protest - or into Congress or other forums for government conduct.

But why stop there? Isn't a grenade an even more effective weapon. Why aren't grenades allowed?

What about chemical weapons? Sarin gas is pretty effective - and works against a mass of attackers. Shouldn't sarin gas be allowed? With proper personal protection, a judicious deployment of sarin is sure to offer even better protection against attackers than assault rifles.

And so on...

Insane.
 
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Adding to my post above.... regarding the obvious inadvisability that guns should be allowed into emotionally charged encounters, except when absolutely necessary...

In England, most police are not routinely armed - for this very reason. Which is to say, officers of the law, extensively trained in conflict de-escalation are nonetheless typically unarmed to prevent deaths caused by avoidable shooting.

What a sensible idea!
 
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My view has nothing to do with 2nd amendment absolutism. Again, just common sense prescriptions. If you are anti-business, and property destruction under the guise of protest and you want to protect against such, then you should come with a gun, coz you can be rest assured that those who come to coz mayhem in your City likely are coming armed too.

It’s only common sense if you see the world through the idealogy of individualism.

Your right to own a gun makes it easier for the "bad guy" to own or possess a gun (through legal or illegal means). And soft gun laws make it easy for people to build up huge arsenals of powerful weapons and carry out mass shootings.

Having guns at protests in the possession of anyone other than law enforcement on duty makes serious violence more likely.
 
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It’s only common sense if you see the world through the idealogy of individualism.
Again, you seem to be of the view that I'm debating the 2nd amendment, I'm not. I'm just being true to what the facts are. In America, if their are riots, burnings and looting, and you decide to help stop it, you need to be armed coz those who intend to do such harm, generally are armed. Those are just the facts. What should be is an academic discussion. What is, on the other hand, is what I'm focused on.
Your right to own a gun makes it easier for the "bad guy" to own or possess a gun (through legal or illegal means). And soft gun laws make it easy for people to build up huge arsenals of powerful weapons and carry out mass shootings.
None of this is relevant to what I said. I'm simply addressing the realities on the ground. Not the intellectual discussion of the 2nd Am.
Having guns at protests in the possession of anyone other than law enforcement on duty makes serious violence more likely.
For starters, it's NOT a protest. By nightfall the protest and marching in and speeches have long ended. What we have are looters, property destroyers and burnings and people milling around witnessing or documenting the event.

It's not like there is a secluded area for the protest. The mob ( and that's what it often is) just goes wherever it pleases and wherever there is a soft target and coz mayhem.

Again, when I say you guys are not thinking about the realities on the ground, this is what I mean.

Again, I'll repeat, property burning are against the law at ALL TIMES, even during protests... How observant of that law were the rioters?
 
>> 1. Two people are not dead because it's legal to carry a rifle to emotionally charged confrontational events. They are dead because they acted poorly.
Individuals act poorly during protests - emotions flare. Take away guns, and we have two less shooting deaths. You might argue that a death or two might have resulted anyway even in the absence of guns - and I'd agree. Except that deaths would be far, far less likely.


I'm more concerned about the ability to protect ones self from harm than I am the 'likelihood of death,' which exists whether there are laws against guns in a riot or not.
>> 2. The notion that a legal ban on guns would have stopped people from having them is patently naive.
So I'll bite. You think that Rittenhouse would have been openly armed with an assault rifle were it illegal to own such a weapon?
No, Rittenhouse is actually law abiding. Grotkruez who pointed a pistol at him at one point was in possession of it illegally. Which is my point. Those who don't follow the law will be armed. A law that says you can't carry a gun, generally only affects law abiding citizens.
>> 3. In short the law would have only stopped law abiding citizens from being able to arm themselves while allowing those who could care less about the law to have an upper hand.
Huh? It looks to me, instead, that - barring an underage infraction - Rittenhouse was allowed to carry. As was the guy who discharged his pistol into the air in front of Rittenhouse.
Again, I bring your attention to Groukruez (sp) was in illegal possession of his conceal pistol.
That didn't stop him.

Also just for kicks, it was still illegal to burn or destroy property, break windows and loot business. How well wrr those laws observed?
>> 4. I mean let's apply some basic common sense here
Let's indeed apply common sense here. Suppose that a different scenario unfolded.

Rittenhouse is guarding some property. And here come some out-of-control protesters who now start to vandalize cars and indeed begin to set fire to nearby buildings. Law abiding Rittenhouse... what does he do? I think he's perfectly within his rights to brandish his weapon.

But I'm pretty damn sure that he doesn't have the right to shoot the vandals, even in Wisconsin. If Rittenhouse abides by the law, then his armed-but-unable-to-shoot presence is not much of a deterrent.

Unless, of course, you advocate for a change of law - making it legal for armed citizens to discharge their assault rifles against perceived vandals.
===
Insane.
Again, this intellectual discussion is only interesting from a distance. There were 4 people killed in different Cities trying to protect their property or their community. 2 were shot ,( by looters and Rioters), one was bludgeoned with an object went into a comma and later died. The 4th was a looter who had ganged up with 4 others to pile on an owner outside his restaurant. After being whaled on, he pulled out a gun and shot one off his back from the ground. The restauranteur would have simply been another unarmed victim of a mob. While you and other intellectuals in far away lands debate the efficacy and intricacies of a 'gun-less protest.'
You all do this as if rioters obey laws. It's quite amusing to read.

I personally think that assault rifles should be banned and that high capacity cartridges should be outlawed. Failing that - and I'm against this as well - such weapons should be permissible only in households for defense of homestead and perhaps for enjoyment in carefully controlled shooting ranges.
That's all well and good. But absent a law breaking rioter shooting a gun and another chasing down and lunging at someone with a gun, it would have been a death free night. Perhaps we should spend just a tad more energy on those who break the law 'AS IS' that's my point.

I'm not interested in Gun Law debates that have little bearing on the rates of survival in these 'protests'/riots. But

The infatuation with carrying such dangerous weapons around with almost nary a restriction is simply going to lead to more shootings.
===
OK, OK - I get it. You've a right to carry an AK-47 to a protest - or into Congress or other forums for government conduct.

But why stop there? Isn't a grenade an even more effective weapon. Why aren't grenades allowed?

What about chemical weapons? Sarin gas is pretty effective - and works against a mass of attackers. Shouldn't sarin gas be allowed? With proper personal protection, a judicious deployment of sarin is sure to offer even better protection against attackers than assault rifles.

And so on...

Insane.
Again, Fox in a Hole made similar arguments to this. You both seem to be of the impression that this is a 2ns amendment discussion. It really isn't.

I'm simply pointing out that your anti-gun rhetoric makes no difference here. That wasn't what was at issue. 2 men did not die because of gun laws.

They died because they acted poorly. Intended to cause others harm and they got harmed instead.
 
1) legally not murders, officially.
2) one did fire a shot
3) another admitted on the stand that “Rittenhouse did not shoot me until I pointed my gun at him”

Yeah, I get all that. The thing I don’t get is treating this as a set of events within the protest itself - ‘Shot fired, shot returned etc’ - but ignoring Rittenhouse deliberately inserting himself into this drama which then leads to two deaths. It’s akin to the actions of an agent provocateur, the role of stirring up trouble and then absenting themselves from the consequences.

The framing of the action, the trial feels wrong to me. But at the end of the day, that’s just my take.

Apologies for delay in replying.
 
Yeah, I get all that. The thing I don’t get is treating this as a set of events within the protest itself - ‘Shot fired, shot returned etc’ - but ignoring Rittenhouse deliberately inserting himself into this drama which then leads to two deaths. It’s akin to the actions of an agent provocateur, the role of stirring up trouble and then absenting themselves from the consequences.

The framing of the action, the trial feels wrong to me. But at the end of the day, that’s just my take.

Apologies for delay in replying.
No worries. Look, the bloke’s a ****, the laws are mental but with the laws as they are, it was only going one way.

The worst thing is that we’re now going to have to deal with him being a demi god to the alt-right for the next 40 years.
 
Again, you seem to be of the view that I'm debating the 2nd amendment, I'm not. I'm just being true to what the facts are. In America, if their are riots, burnings and looting, and you decide to help stop it, you need to be armed coz those who intend to do such harm, generally are armed. Those are just the facts. What should be is an academic discussion. What is, on the other hand, is what I'm focused on.

None of this is relevant to what I said. I'm simply addressing the realities on the ground. Not the intellectual discussion of the 2nd Am.

For starters, it's NOT a protest. By nightfall the protest and marching in and speeches have long ended. What we have are looters, property destroyers and burnings and people milling around witnessing or documenting the event.

It's not like there is a secluded area for the protest. The mob ( and that's what it often is) just goes wherever it pleases and wherever there is a soft target and coz mayhem.

Again, when I say you guys are not thinking about the realities on the ground, this is what I mean.

Again, I'll repeat, property burning are against the law at ALL TIMES, even during protests... How observant of that law were the rioters?

Sorry yes it is relevant to what you have written.

You say it isn't about the 2nd ammendment but use the same sophistry that is used against gun control ad nauseum.

Individualism. It is a persistent idealogy at the core of American culture. It is why people want to have guns to defend themselves and open carry them outside their homes, it's also why arseholes tag along to protests and riots and grab themselves a new TV, it's why those dickhead rioters thought it would be a good idea to push a flaming dumpster towards a petrol station.

Maybe you could rely on the state to control the protests and prevent property damage. Rather than rely on loose groupings of militia with no recognised chain of command and no jurisdiction.

Do you acknowledge that having all these military fetishists on the street actually stokes up tensions more?

 
Adding to my post above.... regarding the obvious inadvisability that guns should be allowed into emotionally charged encounters, except when absolutely necessary...

In England, most police are not routinely armed - for this very reason. Which is to say, officers of the law, extensively trained in conflict de-escalation are nonetheless typically unarmed to prevent deaths caused by avoidable shooting.

What a sensible idea!
There has been an argument to remove guns from the Police in the US but they just can't do it because the bad guys won't do it... The rest of the population who wants to own a gun won't do it either and then some minority of that population goes on to become a bad guy anyway.... It's just a classic Mexican standoff.

The biggest stain on guns in the US is not just how many are killed but also how many are injured, the number of events involving guns is just staggering. Over 300 people per day are shot by a gun in the US, most survive but many don't.

There have been less gun incidents in the UK over the last year than in 1 day over there....
 
There has been an argument to remove guns from the Police in the US but they just can't do it because the bad guys won't do it... The rest of the population who wants to own a gun won't do it either and then some minority of that population goes on to become a bad guy anyway.... It's just a classic Mexican standoff.

The biggest stain on guns in the US is not just how many are killed but also how many are injured, the number of events involving guns is just staggering. Over 300 people per day are shot by a gun in the US, most survive but many don't.

There have been less gun incidents in the UK over the last year than in 1 day over there....
Poofs
 

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