WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

There is trouble all over the land. Wrongdoing is at every turn.

We cannot escape it. Evil and cynicism have taken center stage.

Bad people and bad things are coming at us non-stop. Our sensibilities have left us. We are in a spin cycle of injustice and ill repute 

Transgressions are littering our once proud land. Our democracy is in trouble.

People in power have been corrupted by their misuse of it. We are suffering and help does not seem to be on the way. Our moral compass has gone awry.

It begs the question, how did the world’s greatest country become a shadow of its former self? We are shell shocked.

Our once strong and vibrant institutions have become broken and fractured. Our criminal justice system in some cases has become unhinged. Those responsible for adjudicating justice have become blatantly partial and unfair.

Recently, a case in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has drawn national attention for its not guilty verdict.

Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two people and injured another in August of last year. All of the people involved in this tragic incident were white.

Was race a factor in this case? I believe it was.

First off, Kyle Rittenhouse was not a resident of Kenosha, Wisconsin, so why was he there?

Here’s why: Jacob Blake, an African American male, 29 years of age, was shot and killed by police officer Rusten Skeskey on August 23, 2020. Jacob Blake was shot four times in the back and three times in the side. Officer Skeskey said that he feared for his life. Jacob Blake had a knife. Skeskey was acquitted of all charges.

Unrest ensued and Black Lives Matter became a part of the protest.

Kyle Rittenhouse was 17 years old and drove to Kenosha from his residence in Antioch, Illinois. According to court reports, Rittenhouse gave Dominick Black, one of his friends, the money to purchase an AR-15 rifle. Prior to arriving in Kenosha, Kyle Rittenhouse was working as a lifeguard. His mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, said she had no idea where he was at the time. I wonder if she ever thought about contacting the police about the whereabouts of her son. That in my opinion is questionable parenting.

So young Rittenhouse empowers himself as a keeper of the peace. He is in riotous conditions and is walking down the street with a loaded assault rifle. It is almost unbelievable that a teen could patrol the streets of that city as if he were the police, just without a uniform.

Video shows him waving at the police and getting water from them. The police thanked him and his group for their service. According to reports, an officer said, “We really appreciate you guys, we really do.” Really!

So, on August 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber. He injured Gaige Grosskreutz.

He was found innocent of the five felony charges against him. He is a free man.

During the trial, he was sobbing and saying that he feared for his life. Sound familiar? The judge in the case, Bruce Schroeder, had poor courtroom demeanor, in my opinion.

I know for sure that a Black man could not have paraded around any city streets toting an assault rifle and be celebrated by the police.

Kyle Rittenhouse had white privilege on his side.

So, my white brothers and sisters who look side-eyed when Black people start talking about white privilege, look no further than Kyle Rittenhouse. He is white privilege.

Tucker Carlson from Fox News has created a documentary about Kyle Rittenhouse. Of course, Rittenhouse will be seen as some type of hero by some segments of America.

We know better.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator. He can be reached at overtimefergie.2020@yahoo.com.