From Joselyn Demuth: “I have been thinking a lot about Kyle Rittenhouse. I know this boy. No, not personally but after teaching boys for 26 years, I know him still. High school can be a cruel place for boys - (girls too but this is not about them). 1/10
Looking at this boy, I am going to guess that he isn't an athlete - no crowds cheered for him on the court or the field. I am also going to guess that he felt passed over by girls. 2/10
Looking like you are 12 when you are 17 doesn't exactly fan the flames of high school girls' desire. He was probably called fat, maybe stupid at least occasionally maybe regularly because kids are cruel. 3/10
And I know that this boy very much wanted to be a hero because that is what all boys desire. He wants to save the people, and get the girl. None of that is bad or particularly original. 4/10
Most of us who weren't the heroes we yearned to be in high school grow out of those resentments. We learn to define ourselves outside of the unforgiving world of teenage judgement In short, we grow up. This boy did not. 5/10
He got a gun and it gave him the power and a place in the world he previously lacked. Fueled by Trump's rhetoric and social media, he took his gun and shot "the bad guys" - innocent Americans. And it worked - at least for now. Right-wing media is lauding him as a "hero." 6/10
I suspect five years from now, he may have very different perspective on what he did but right now, he is exactly where he yearned to be. There are many, many boys like Kyle and they are watching. This will not be the end. 7/10
Right now, a boy somewhere in America is dreaming of shooting "the bad guys" and getting the girl, the respect he was never given before. He was dreaming of this before Kyle shot the protesters but now he knows - it can be a reality. 8/10
Unless the adults in this nation stand up in unison and say "enough," this will not be the last time where a child shoots American citizens. The next child may be willing to throw a bomb into a crowd, maybe strap on explosives. 9/10
Trump is cultivating an American Taliban and we are watching it happen.”
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