The Rittenhouse Case (2)

I read the whole article and I didn't see anything that changed my mind about the case.  I did learn that it was about an hour after the incident when Kyle's mother persuaded him to turn himself in instead of the next day as I had previously believed, but I consider that an inconsequential detail.  Although I have previously wondered whether Rittenhouse would have ever been arrested if he hadn't turned himself in, that was indeed pure speculation and I never intended it to be taken as anything else.  This speculation was based on the reports that Rittenhouse tried to surrender to police at the scene and was literally chased away.  I now understand that there might have been a legitimate reason for this given the chaos and confusion of the moment.  By the way, it was not a taser but pepper spray that police threatened to use on Rittenhouse if he didn't go away, another inconsequential detail.

I believe that Rittenhouse had as much right to be there as anybody else, but that doesn't mean it was the smart thing to do.  There is no way I would have gone into that situation unarmed, but that's a moot question because I would not have voluntarily gone into it at all.  The summer of 1967 was a summer of riots in Southern Michigan, and it was also my first summer in Cheboygan.  There was some concern among our citizens that the riots Down Below might spread all over the state, even as far north as God's Country.  I owned two shotguns at the time, and I carried them both in my car the whole summer.  They were unloaded and enclosed in cases as required by Michigan law, but they were close at hand in case I needed them.  I had no intention of going anywhere near those riots but, if a riot came to me, I was prepared to shoot my way out of it.