So obviously everyone and their mother has an opinion on the whole Kyle Rittenhouse controversy and is most likely either celebrating his freedom or livid that he is free of the consequences of his actions. However, it seems that the lessons learned from this whole ordeal are being lost in the shuffle of social media virtue signaling by politicians and peasants, including yours truly. I’m sure most of us are already moving on to whatever the algorithms and media are pushing us towards next, but I think it is important to reflect and learn from the mistakes that were made from long before Rittenhouse pulled the trigger.

First, he was influenced by the wrong things in life. I can easily point the finger at one particular 2A “influencer” who likes to salt his brand of bullshit with copious amounts of inexperienced garbage on what is intelligent from a tactical or practical point of view, but that is simply one slice of the pie here. It’s important to avoid radicalization from people who haven’t ever “seen the elephant” so to speak. We have heard several SOF veterans talk about how they would have never gone to a volatile riot like that, because in their experience it is smarter to avoid confrontations that have higher odds of going violent. The experienced among us preach the concept of the grey-man, blending in and not attracting attention like a white kid wielding a rifle at a riot. Maybe if Kyle had paid attention to the message of those who know, he wouldn’t have found himself in that position in the first place.

Second, competent parents are more important to a child’s development and can influence them by not enabling poor behavior. Primary example in this whole situation is Kyle being driven to the riot by his mom, who lacked either the brain power or the situational awareness to realize her seventeen year old son was toting a rifle to a riot that had already proved to be violent. Any parent that is OK with this sort of thing has no business raising kids, period. I shouldn’t need to point out her complicity in her son being in a situation where he had to kill two people and wound a third, not to mention making him a pariah and “literally Hitler” to maybe a solid twenty to thirty percent of the population.

Third, without question the media set a particular portion of the population up for disappointment. When you tell an outraged group that Kyle is going to jail otherwise the system is racist, you’re shaping a false narrative that will only lead to more destruction, violence, and a deepened divide. Truly, I think the media, with their so-called “experts” who support one narrative and drag the other, are partially guilty of inciting whatever results from this court case. This should also be a lesson to those who believe media narratives without and clear understanding of situations like these, don’t jump to conclusions or buy into what you are being sold.

Fourth and arguably the most important lesson, it that while self defense is an inherent right, putting yourself into a situation where you know the likelihood of you needing to defend yourself is high, makes you much less than a victim. I’m not going to say he all out deserved to be attacked, but when you have thousands of people rioting in the street because of perceived racism and you’re a white kid carrying a rifle and keeping those people from destroying shit like they want to, you’re gonna have a bad time. The smart play is to recognize your mental, physical, and legal limitations, and just stay the fuck away.

Also of note, slings are super important pieces of kit, flashlights are a close second.