Kenosha

[Pakuni]

He's an adult now, and made an adult decision when he pulled that trigger.  Sure, he's being used, and his mother is scum, but he also isn't a boy.

Science disagrees.
We know the reasoning/rational thinking parts of our brains aren't yet fully formed until we're into our 20s, leading to the kind of dumb, impulsive decision making for which teenagers are famous. This is why we don't let 16-year-olds drink, or throw 15-year-olds in the adult court system as a matter of course.

Look, I'm not saying he's a victim here or shouldn't be held accountable for his actions. He's not and he should.
But he's clearly not some white supremacist monster who went out looking to kill people on Aug. 25. He's a dumb kid who made a bunch of dumb decisions that led to tragic consequences. I'd say his actions that night were the very opposite of an adult decision.
Anyhow, I suggest you read/watch some of the Washington Post reporting on his actions that night. It paints a far more nuanced picture of what occurred than people firmly planted on either side want to admit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/11/19/kenosha-shooting-kyle-rittenhouse-interview/?arc404=true

[MU82]

A patriot, according to some.

[rocket surgeon]

wish the "rest of the story" woulda come out before all those lives were ruined

[jesmu84]

wish the "rest of the story" woulda come out before all those lives were ruined

What do you mean?

[rocket surgeon]

What do you mean?

go read the stories...ALL of them.

   the UNARMED narrative and his rap sheet has been conveniently skipped over until now.

     so, an armed man, evading police orders, trying to get into a car full of kids with a warrant out for his arrest on numerous charges including 3rd degree sexual assault.  they don't know who these kids are; his kids, friends of his kids, neighbors kids, hostages...?  all evidently in harms way.  what were the police to do?  let him go? 

  instead, blake, armed with a knife within arms length is well withing the scope of being in harms way with a fear of great bodily harm, danger or death.  the armed with the knife thing, although in the original police report, was ignored by the "media".  according to blakes own admission, he dropped the knife while struggling and getting tazed, gets up, picks up the knife and proceeds to attempt to get back into the car with these kids

the media is as much to blame for the mayhem that followed.  if the whole story and TRUTH was reported, much(i'm not saying all) of the death and destruction could have been minimized.  oh, and where was the national guard for this?   

[🏀]

go read the stories...ALL of them.

   the UNARMED narrative and his rap sheet has been conveniently skipped over until now.

     so, an armed man, evading police orders, trying to get into a car full of kids with a warrant out for his arrest on numerous charges including 3rd degree sexual assault.  they don't know who these kids are; his kids, friends of his kids, neighbors kids, hostages...?  all evidently in harms way.  what were the police to do?  let him go? 

  instead, blake, armed with a knife within arms length is well withing the scope of being in harms way with a fear of great bodily harm, danger or death.  the armed with the knife thing, although in the original police report, was ignored by the "media".  according to blakes own admission, he dropped the knife while struggling and getting tazed, gets up, picks up the knife and proceeds to attempt to get back into the car with these kids

the media is as much to blame for the mayhem that followed.  if the whole story and TRUTH was reported, much(i'm not saying all) of the death and destruction could have been minimized.  oh, and where was the national guard for this?   

[HutchwasClutch]

go read the stories...ALL of them.

   the UNARMED narrative and his rap sheet has been conveniently skipped over until now.

     so, an armed man, evading police orders, trying to get into a car full of kids with a warrant out for his arrest on numerous charges including 3rd degree sexual assault.  they don't know who these kids are; his kids, friends of his kids, neighbors kids, hostages...?  all evidently in harms way.  what were the police to do?  let him go? 

  instead, blake, armed with a knife within arms length is well withing the scope of being in harms way with a fear of great bodily harm, danger or death.  the armed with the knife thing, although in the original police report, was ignored by the "media".  according to blakes own admission, he dropped the knife while struggling and getting tazed, gets up, picks up the knife and proceeds to attempt to get back into the car with these kids

the media is as much to blame for the mayhem that followed.  if the whole story and TRUTH was reported, much(i'm not saying all) of the death and destruction could have been minimized.  oh, and where was the national guard for this?

Evers talking like the moron he is the day after the incident when none of the entirety of the facts and investigation was even close to being in, also clearly stoked the flames of the mayhem that followed. Instead of calling for calm and time to see what the facts were and what led to the incident, all he made were assumptions and throwing the police under the bus. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

go read the stories...ALL of them.

   the UNARMED narrative and his rap sheet has been conveniently skipped over until now.

     so, an armed man, evading police orders, trying to get into a car full of kids with a warrant out for his arrest on numerous charges including 3rd degree sexual assault.  they don't know who these kids are; his kids, friends of his kids, neighbors kids, hostages...?  all evidently in harms way.  what were the police to do?  let him go? 

  instead, blake, armed with a knife within arms length is well withing the scope of being in harms way with a fear of great bodily harm, danger or death.  the armed with the knife thing, although in the original police report, was ignored by the "media".  according to blakes own admission, he dropped the knife while struggling and getting tazed, gets up, picks up the knife and proceeds to attempt to get back into the car with these kids

the media is as much to blame for the mayhem that followed.  if the whole story and TRUTH was reported, much(i'm not saying all) of the death and destruction could have been minimized.  oh, and where was the national guard for this?   

Evers talking like the moron he is the day after the incident when none of the entirety of the facts and investigation was even close to being in, also clearly stoked the flames of the mayhem that followed. Instead of calling for calm and time to see what the facts were and what led to the incident, all he made were assumptions and throwing the police under the bus. 

Yes.  Clearly the problems are the media and the Democrats. 

[🏀]

Evers talking like the moron he is the day after the incident when none of the entirety of the facts and investigation was even close to being in, also clearly stoked the flames of the mayhem that followed. Instead of calling for calm and time to see what the facts were and what led to the incident, all he made were assumptions and throwing the police under the bus. 

[Galway Eagle]

go read the stories...ALL of them.

   the UNARMED narrative and his rap sheet has been conveniently skipped over until now.

     so, an armed man, evading police orders, trying to get into a car full of kids with a warrant out for his arrest on numerous charges including 3rd degree sexual assault.  they don't know who these kids are; his kids, friends of his kids, neighbors kids, hostages...?  all evidently in harms way.  what were the police to do?  let him go? 

  instead, blake, armed with a knife within arms length is well withing the scope of being in harms way with a fear of great bodily harm, danger or death.  the armed with the knife thing, although in the original police report, was ignored by the "media".  according to blakes own admission, he dropped the knife while struggling and getting tazed, gets up, picks up the knife and proceeds to attempt to get back into the car with these kids

the media is as much to blame for the mayhem that followed.  if the whole story and TRUTH was reported, much(i'm not saying all) of the death and destruction could have been minimized.  oh, and where was the national guard for this?

Few days late, a lot of people have already stated that maybe Blake wasn't the best example of law enforcement injustice. While seven times in the back is excessive it's not a good case to stand on to highlight injustice

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I remember hearing about the knife within 24 hours of the incident. I don't think it was confirmed until later.

Regardless,  it doesn't change the fact that shooting Blake in the back 7 times was wrong. It may be what police are trained to do but that is just more evidence of a systemic problem.

[Billy Hoyle]

Evers talking like the moron he is the day after the incident when none of the entirety of the facts and investigation was even close to being in, also clearly stoked the flames of the mayhem that followed. Instead of calling for calm and time to see what the facts were and what led to the incident, all he made were assumptions and throwing the police under the bus.

The Lt. Gov was worse basing his comments entirely on the 30 second cell phone clip.

Last night, Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times in front of his children. This wasn’t an accident. The officer’s deadly actions attempted to take a person’s life in broad daylight. Like many of you, the video is burned into my mind like all the past videos just like it.

https://twitter.com/lgmandelabarnes/status/1297998443286106112?lang=en

[wadesworld]

If they were so concerned about the safety of the kids in the car, why in the world were they not putting themselves between him and the car? If nothing else, they were incompetent at their job.

[rocket surgeon]

I remember hearing about the knife within 24 hours of the incident. I don't think it was confirmed until later.

Regardless,  it doesn't change the fact that shooting Blake in the back 7 times was wrong. It may be what police are trained to do but that is just more evidence of a systemic problem.

yes tamu, but almost ALL of the reporting, almost as if they collaborated , cops shooting an UNARMED black man in the back.  our media needs to be more responsible,  they could have helped to prevent a lot of death, injury and destruction.  our media needs to do better.   not until it reintroduces itself to their supposed "standards" and it fits their narrative, nothing will change.  many here realize what is right and what is wrong.  our media is setting up the powder keg.  only the truth shall set us free

[withoutbias]

yes tamu, but almost ALL of the reporting, almost as if they collaborated , cops shooting an UNARMED black man in the back.  our media needs to be more responsible,  they could have helped to prevent a lot of death, injury and destruction.  our media needs to do better.   not until it reintroduces itself to their supposed "standards" and it fits their narrative, nothing will change.  many here realize what is right and what is wrong.  our media is setting up the powder keg.  only the truth shall set us free

So Mr. Trump has blood on his hands, too, hey? I mean, riling up the terrorists because of a “rigged election” full of “voter fraud” when all the facts show he’s completely and entirely off base. But it didn’t stop him. And it resulted in an insurrection attempt and the death of multiple people.

Donald Trump needs to be more responsible. He could have helped to prevent a lot of death, injury and destruction. hey nah aina hey na na hey na?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

yes tamu, but almost ALL of the reporting, almost as if they collaborated , cops shooting an UNARMED black man in the back.  our media needs to be more responsible,  they could have helped to prevent a lot of death, injury and destruction.  our media needs to do better.   not until it reintroduces itself to their supposed "standards" and it fits their narrative, nothing will change.  many here realize what is right and what is wrong.  our media is setting up the powder keg.  only the truth shall set us free

You preaching media standards and narratives is LOL-worthy considering the media you consume.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

yes tamu, but almost ALL of the reporting, almost as if they collaborated , cops shooting an UNARMED black man in the back.  our media needs to be more responsible,  they could have helped to prevent a lot of death, injury and destruction.  our media needs to do better.   not until it reintroduces itself to their supposed "standards" and it fits their narrative, nothing will change.  many here realize what is right and what is wrong.  our media is setting up the powder keg.  only the truth shall set us free

Personally, I think if the cop hadn't shot Jacob Blake in the back 7 times that would have prevented a lot more death, injury, and destruction than anything the media did.

[Uncle Rico]

Personally, I think if the cop hadn't shot Jacob Blake in the back 7 times that would have prevented a lot more death, injury, and destruction than anything the media did.

The media is the boogeyman of the right.  It’s been perpetuated by Fox News and right wing radio for so long, it’s become a default reaction by many.  Instead of having a discussion about uncomfortable real truths in this country, some immediately blame the media.  It’s ironic because the media they’ve chosen to consume has warped their minds to the point they can’t see past it.

Why was Jacob Blake a powder keg?  His past is irrelevant to the larger issue but it’s easy to use to distract us from that.  Racism still permeates this nation.  Poverty still permeates this nation.  Distrust of law enforcement still permeates this nation.  That was the root of what happened in Kenosha, not the media.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The media is the boogeyman of the right.  It’s been perpetuated by Fox News and right wing radio for so long, it’s become a default reaction by many.  Instead of having a discussion about uncomfortable real truths in this country, some immediately blame the media.  It’s ironic because the media they’ve chosen to consume has warped their minds to the point they can’t see past it.

Yep.  The "media is biased" narrative is pushed by perhaps the most biased media in American history.

[Buzzed]

If any of you guys need a criminal defense take the card of the lawyers the cops used.  What they did was textbook criminal defense.  Cops did not say a word, and the lawyers crafted every word of their statements to fit the series of events that there was no possibility to criminally convict.  The lawyers had the option to publicly release the cops' version at any time, much like Blake's team did, but calculated correctly that it would do nothing to help their case. 

While the narrative relieves the cops of criminal conviction; it does not make sense from a policing process and procedures view.  This should probably play out similar to the MPD Red Arrow Park shooting and death of Dontre Hamilton in 2014.  The cop did not faces charges, but was fired because he did not follow department procedures related to "defense and arrest tactics."  So there needs to be an investigation into whether the cops followed their training, and if no fire them, or if yes then the department needs an overhaul to provide proper training.  I haven't heard of any of this in the works, which leads me to believe this will have to be an external investigation forced on Kenosha PD by the state or feds.  This should not end with just no criminal charges, but warrants an investigation.

[MU82]

The media is the boogeyman of the right.  It’s been perpetuated by Fox News and right wing radio for so long, it’s become a default reaction by many.  Instead of having a discussion about uncomfortable real truths in this country, some immediately blame the media.  It’s ironic because the media they’ve chosen to consume has warped their minds to the point they can’t see past it.

Why was Jacob Blake a powder keg?  His past is irrelevant to the larger issue but it’s easy to use to distract us from that.  Racism still permeates this nation.  Poverty still permeates this nation.  Distrust of law enforcement still permeates this nation.  That was the root of what happened in Kenosha, not the media.

Bingo!

Thank goodness for the legitimate news media. Those dedicated to fighting misinformation, madness and authoritarianism have been true American heroes these last 4 years.

[forgetful]

The media is the boogeyman of the right.  It’s been perpetuated by Fox News and right wing radio for so long, it’s become a default reaction by many.  Instead of having a discussion about uncomfortable real truths in this country, some immediately blame the media.  It’s ironic because the media they’ve chosen to consume has warped their minds to the point they can’t see past it.

You are right, and this was Rupert Murdoch's goal all along. But now that we are here, we have a serious problem that is only getting worse.

The nation is divided along ideological lines. But worse, they now are divided by their news sources, their social media sources, etc. All aspects of peoples lives are being compartmentalized along ideological lines, and with people spending most of their time isolated and only interacting through social media, there is an amplification of the "echo chamber".

So there really is no way out, people are close to the point that they will never be exposed to reality.

[NCMUFan]

So apparently that is their reality?

[skianth16]

Bingo!

Thank goodness for the legitimate news media. Those dedicated to fighting misinformation, madness and authoritarianism have been true American heroes these last 4 years.

In the case of Blake, though, a lot of the big media outlets were part of the misinformation. There were a lot of headlines with the word "unarmed" in them even though the facts weren't clear at the time. And then in addition to media outlets running disputed facts that were later proven to be wrong, many political and social leaders repeated the unarmed talking point as well.

Those initial headlines and stories were a big part of the huge national response to this story. If the story was about an armed man with a warrant who had been shot, would the Bucks and the NBA have gotten involved? Would people have donated millions of dollars to Blake? Would there have been massive protests? It's all possible, but I've got to think it's much less likely. (To be clear, I'm not saying the protests are the fault of the media, just noting the response probably would have been less significant.)

The two things I see as fair criticisms worth discussing with the media response to stories like this are how they can better handle muddy facts in the initial reporting and then how they can better clarify stories when the reporting turns out to have included errors.

The current business model seems to favor speed and hyperbole to drive clicks and get more eyeballs on a story. And the impact of the first impressions of a story seem to be way stickier than any correction or edit made after the fact. Case in point - even after the Kenosha DA laid out all the facts that were uncovered after a lengthy investigation, most people's reactions were based on their initial understanding of the situation, which was based on disputed/incorrect points.

Once the facts did come out, most notably that Blake did have a knife, there was little to no coverage of this very important detail now being confirmed. I think Washington Post was one of the big outlets that still used the word unarmed in a headline after the DA's decision, almost as if the writers there didn't listen to the press conference that laid out all the information that had been gathered. Any correction that came once the facts were clear was much quieter, much less impactful than all the initial, misleading coverage. Shouldn't the truth be the biggest story? Or is it OK to just move on without ensuring that the public really does get the whole truth?

It's not fair to expect perfection from journalists, because they're human, and they'll make some mistakes here and there. But outside of the Rolling Stone debacle, how often do we hear about the correction making the same splash as the error? There has to be a way to do this better, to hold up the facts higher than the splashy headline, right?

[rocky_warrior]

I just want to be clear...everyone walking around with a pocket knife in America is armed?   My kitchen knives make me armed to the hilt!  Technically true, but pocketknives (in the US) are not inherently considered a deadly weapon.   

Also, 2 sides to the story:
https://abc7chicago.com/jacob-blake-shooting-kenosha-police-interview-officer-rusen-sheskey/9648411/

This part was interesting:

"I'm not really worried," Blake said. "I'm walkin' away from them so it's not like they gonna shoot me. I shouldn't have picked it up only considering what was going on, you know? At that time, I wasn't thinking clearly."

After putting the knife in the car, Blake said he was going to, "throw myself to the ground and, you know, put my arms behind my back because if they did it there, and they killed me there, everybody will see it."

According to the Wisconsin criminal investigative report, Officer Sheskey said that Blake drove the knife toward Shesky's body. Blake denies this

The one thing that the video is clear about, is that after opening the car door - Blake did no lunging or "driving a knife" at a police officer.  Watch the video again yourself. 
https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1297698630875385856