I wasn't surprised. Over the past weeks I have
found the threatening presence of white folks
toting guns amidst protests disconcerting. My
concern being that one slip of the trigger could
start another American civil war. Then just that
happened. Tuesday night a seventeen year old
"vigilante" shot three people in Kenosha WI -
killing two. Filmed and interviewed earlier that
night said young man claimed "his job" was to
protect property from destruction by rioters.
Not at the request of the owners themselves.
But simply because he believed said protests
infringed on his rights. Endangering America.
I wasn't surprised. In that the shooter - Kyle
Rittenhouse was a white male from an nice
suburb of Chicago. Who traveled over state
lines to enforce his vision of civil justice. It
has been proven that over the past months
many ultra-conservative types have trekked
from afar to participate in civil unrest. Yet
I was confused as to why a parent of any
seventeen year old boy would allow this to
happen. Let's assume they didn't know their
son was wandering Kenosha's streets late at
night. And that they knew about said guns.
Should we assume that they didn't care?
I was surprised. When I compared Kyle's home
of Antioch, Illinois with the city of Kenosha,
Wisconsin. I assumed Kenosha suffered from
urban blight. Due to a decline in manufacturing.
And that whites fled as a result. When in fact,
I was wrong. From the late 19th through 20th
centuries Kenosha was a blue collar bastion of
hard working immigrants. However over recent
decades Kenosha reinvented itself. Shifting to
white versus blue collar growth. Which explains
why over 50% of it's residents are newcomers
who purposefully chose to move and live there.
Just like Jacob Blake from Evanston, Illinois.
I'm not surprised. Racial injustice is a cancer.
Even as some suggest that prejudice, hate, or
even murder are their constitutional rights.
While others are forced to live with racism on
a daily basis. My concern is not the residents
of Kenosha or Antioch. But rather their sons.
Like twenty nine year old Jacob Blake who
moved to Kenosha with his extended family
for a fresh start. Only to be shot in the back.
Or seventeen year old Kyle Rittenhouse. A
suburban scion who was allowed to fire his
legally licensed weapon at innocent strangers.
Racism must END before it destroys all of us.
