Giving Kyle Rittenhouse the Celebrity Treatment Is a Horrible Idea – Opinion

Kyle Rittenhouse was the case that caused controversy. He was found not guilty of the murder charge and half the country raged, while the other half was proud.

But now that the jury found him “not guilty,” the conversation has taken on a new form. Although the left continues to lie about Rittenhouse’s guilt, the right now has a new approach: they are turning the 18-year old into a conservative celebrity.

Rittenhouse made a surprise appearance Monday night at AmericaFest, Phoenix, Arizona. The conference was held by Turning Point USA, a conservative youth group. His time came to stand on stage. He was greeted by a roaring applause, and thousands of students from high schools and colleges yelling his name. A song in which Rittenhouse’s name was repeated was played while fireworks exploded. As you can imagine, the left wasn’t too happy about it, but when are they ever happy?

Rittenhouse joined Turning Point USA’s founder Charlie Kirk and conservative commentators Jack Posobiec, Elijah Schaffer, and Drew Hernandez. He did not say much during the conversation but mentioned that the trial “helped me grow a lot, it’s helped me mature.”

He also said the crowd should “be on the lookout” for potential legal action against activist media outlets who deliberately and falsely smeared him.

This isn’t the first time Rittenhouse was hailed as a conservative hero.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL indicated last month that he was interested in Rittenhouse being hired as an intern. “You know what, Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a good congressional intern. We may reach out to him and see if he’d be interested in helping the country in additional ways,” Gaetz said during an interview with Newsmax.

Matthew Peterson, vice president at the Claremont Institute, posted a tweet saying, “[w]e need to make the Rittenhouse as hero movie.”

Later, he pushed back against the argument that Rittenhouse shouldn’t have been in Kenosha that night:

“He shouldn’t have been there? Brother, we all should have been there.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) seized on the moment to get a bit of attention and introduced a bill a few weeks ago to give Rittenhouse the  Congressional Gold Medal. This award is typically bestowed by Congress and is the legislature’s “highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions,” according to Senate.gov.

The idea that Rittenhouse would be given the celebrity treatment is not popular with everyone to the right. Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren chimed in during an appearance on Fox News’ “Outnumbered.”She stated:

“I believe we can put up Kyle Rittenhouse as someone who was innocent … but I think we should step back a little bit and maybe not treat him like he is a rock star or a celebrity.”

I’ll put it simply: There is absolutely no good reason to turn Kyle Rittenhouse into a celebrity.

Rittenhouse, for starters is It is notA hero. His story was one of many that was placed in an extremely difficult situation. He defended himself as Americans often do every year. Yes, his case was more high-profile because the left-wing activist media tried to use it to push their “everything is racist” narrative. But this does not qualify him for celebrity status or Congress’ highest honor.

As many people have noted, Rittenhouse, 17, shouldn’t have gone into the region armed with an AR-15. His actions were a shrewd one. He admits that it was an error. During an appearance on the “You Are Here” podcast with Elijah Schaffer and Sydney Watson, he said it “probably wasn’t the best idea” for him to have gone to Kenosha, but that he “couldn’t change that.”

He also said that he was uncomfortable being called a “hero”. He stated that it was the “God-given right to self-defense” that was on trial during the case.

Yes, activists media and leftist politicians lied constantly about Rittenhouse’s shooting of three people. Rittenhouse also killed two others. They tried to portray Rittenhouse, 18, as a white supremacist and ruthless bloodthirsty who killed innocent but virtuous protesters defending black Americans’ rights.

However, Rittenhouse does not need to be placed on a pedestal. A 17-year old kid was forced into two deaths by his parents. It was a traumatic event in this young man’s life and he will likely be dealing with it for years. All of us saw his tears when he recounted the event.

It is wrong to add flashing lights or fawning admiration to the situation. We should be happy about the verdict of Rittenhouse’s trial. Rittenhouse was clearly in the right. But celebrating the killing itself is not a good look – especially since even he acknowledges he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. It was not an act de heroism. The act was one of self-defense and should never have happened.

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