The PC and Perpetually Offended Brigade

[Bigmac]

I stayed exactly where you brought the topic; three white guys essentially lynching a black guy.

You suggested switching races, not me.

Those two incidents vary significantly in their circumstances, and the only parallel that can really be drawn is that they would both involve 3 white guys and a 'black' guy, so it's of little use.

The point still stands that if the footage we all are accustomed with showed a black man running away, then being hit over the head with a skateboard  by a white guy, followed by another white guy looming over him with a handgun while he's on the ground, then that black man defending himself from them, the perception of  most people about the whole situation would be wildly different. Nevermind the storm that would have been created by a white man saying to him "shoot me n-word" prior to it all kicking off.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Kev, race was the reason for the riots, therefore the reason Rittenhouse was there in the first place. And if you don't understand why a white teenager strolling around no bother on him among policemen with a rifle doesn't evoke race in a country where black teenagers strolling around supposedly with things that look like rifles get shot dead, often by the police, who is the one not thinking?

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

The point still stands that if the footage we all are accustomed with showed a black man running away, then being hit over the head with a skateboard  by a white guy, followed by another white guy looming over him with a handgun while he's on the ground, then that black man defending himself from them, the perception of  most people about the whole situation would be wildly different. Nevermind the storm that would have been created by a white man saying to him "shoot me n-word" prior to it all kicking off.

I disagree. The whole point is about trying to understand how the average white American would perceive a non-white teenager wandering around armed with a rifle, which you omit from your scenario.

[Bigmac]

The point still stands that if the footage we all are accustomed with showed an armed black man running away, then being hit over the head with a skateboard  by a white guy, followed by another white guy looming over him with a handgun while he's on the ground, then that black man defending himself from them, the perception of  most people about the whole situation would be wildly different. Nevermind the storm that would have been created by a white man saying to him "shoot me n-word" prior to it all kicking off.

I disagree. The whole point is about trying to understand how the average white American would perceive a non-white teenager wandering around armed with a rifle, which you omit from your scenario.

Fixed it.

[Makeshiftatomsmasher]

There's far too much talk on this forum about American politics, the American judiciary, American news and general American bullshite.
Is our own cesspit of a political system, our own corrupt judiciary  or our own propagandist media not deserving of a bit of attention at all?
I know I certainly don't give a fuck about some snot-nosed little American prick, but perhaps I'm in the minority.

Well said.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

An armed black teenager would have been, at the very least, if he was lucky, arrested and disarmed by the police as soon as they saw him. Geddit??

Also agree with son of Morrigan here though. Too many people here watching Fox News, or worse, then coming out with BS they learn there that worse eejits like me can't resist expressing bewilderment at.

Enjoy your weekend lads!

[Caomhaoin]

Fox News is , at least, entertaining.

[Kurt Cocaine]

Looks like Chris was overdosing on The Independent again... 

[Caomhaoin]

No mention that one of them was a violent, insane convicted child rapist who tried to take his gun or that both other men were violent criminals, one of whom pointed a loaded gun at his head. The guy who kicked him in the head is already in jail too.

Doesn't justify the shootings in and of itself (Wisconsin law does), but it's still worth noting, even though them being white criminal pieces of shit rather than black will result in them not being canonized.

[John Kimble]

Your knowledge of the US has to be completely fucked up (which it is) if you think a black or latino guy would have gotten out of an identical situation alive or without spending his life in prison.

While I don't disagree with this, my own take (admittedly simplistic, I haven't been following this very closely) is that Rittenhouse's victims, or injured parties if you prefer, undoubtedly suffered by virtue if the same inequality. It is very unlikely that he would have been acquitted in the current climate if the deceased were black. That's not to say he was justified, or not, in his actions, and this whole scenario just typifies why I really can't be arsed with the US in general. Seriously, people openly and legally going around armed with assault rifles, it just defies belief. Could not give a fuck about the 2nd Amendment and whatnot. It seems to be the same here in Ireland, the most braindead of society constantly deferring to the Constitution when trying to assert their own warped interpretation of 'rights', and failing to realize that Constitutions are as flawed and fallible as the persons who created them.

[Caomhaoin]

The right in the USA banging on about the constitution as if it's divine and utterly beyond reproach is extremely embarrassing at times, no doubt about it. Critics have a point that the times in which it was written and now are so distinct as to make it redundant.

On the other hand, the vast majority of gun crime is committed with illicit weapons, and therefore in the spirit of self defence, the man on the street perhaps should have the right to an equaliser considering the scale of the problem.

I think the class of weapon is kind of redundant though, most shootings are carried out with pistols for obvious reasons, if they are going to ban anything, maybe start with the glaring issue of tens of millions of handguns rather than harping on and on about 'assault style' weapons when one creates a mountain and the other a relative molehill.

[blessed1]

I don't think they will ever sort out their gun problems.
Who cares anyhow. Let the yanks deal with their own shite!
Funny seeing lads on here getting so worked up over something that has no effect on their lives whatsoever

[Caomhaoin]

The ruling class dividing and conquering us by distraction with a US 'culture war'.

It's ingenious.

[open face surgery]

I fully agree with both of the above posts.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

The ruling class dividing and conquering us by distraction with a US 'culture war'.

It's ingenious.

The harder to swallow truth is that "the ruling class" have no need to be active in this at all; we willingly tune directly into US news outlets. "The ruling class" have nothing to do with that, it's simply the result of the pseudo-democratization of information via the internet and the fact that most news in the west is designed to be as sensational as possible for a local audience. You personally know more about Fox, CNN, mainstream US news in general, than any of us. All I really know is that it's designed for an audience composed of one of the most poorly educated populations in the western world.