In The Comments Section – Opinion

Dear Angry White People: Please see the Comment Section.

Was I sure I thought I would touch a nerve by my recent piece on the Rittenhouse Verdict. Sure.

It would be an exaggeration to say I’m surprised. Except for a few racist remarks, it was shocking to see so many misinformations and beliefs that were un-American. I found challenge after challenge for me to respond to the comments suggesting that if I don’t, I’m a coward. In the interest of transparency and a little bit of fun, let’s do this.

As I did in the previous piece, let me begin by saying that this is exactly what I want to do.

THE RITTENHOUSEVERDICT WAS CORRECT SINCE IT HAD NOTHING TO DO MIT RACE.

Over three-quarters of all the comments were in reference to evidence of Rittenhouse’s case, and seemed to be answering some alleged point not made in my piece, that Rittenhouse was somehow guilty. Rittenhouse is innocent and justified. He should not have been charged in the first instance. Aside from that, it was alleged that I was being a race-baiter and virtue signaler, that I was peddling “white-guilt” and other adorable terms more often reserved for progressive leftists, simply because I suggested a little something called “compassion.” Although I am just some lowly writer at RedState, it is clear from the comments that many would question the mission of Christ if he walked the Earth today. I mean, where do you think you’d find Christ? Is it in the suburbs?

What made me write this? There are two main reasons. First, as I said, I felt that though the “system” got it right with Rittenhouse, it often gets it wrong, and when it does it primarily affects young, poor, minority males. That isn’t suggesting that you, specific reader reading this, are racist or that you had anything to do with building the system that perpetuates this injustice. My point is to suggest that we should all strive to make justice available for everyone regardless of socioeconomic status or ethnicity.

Second, I was struck by the double standard of arguments that were used to compare Rittenhouse and Andrew Coffee. This topic will be the subject of a separate piece.

While many thought it was about race, I was really making it about compassion. And more specifically compassion for others we might not understand. That piece was over 1500 words long and I did not suggest conservatives as the cause of the injustice. Nor did it suggest conservatives are racists for failing to understand the problem. That’s what awareness is about. It is simply saying, “Uhh, hey guys…. look over here… there might be a problem.” To suggest that the systemic problems with the criminal justice system aren’t a problem is a very narrow view, and only demonstrates that the problems with the criminal justice system aren’t a problem… For you.

That doesn’t mean you, specific reader, or that conservatives as a whole, are racist. It is part of the system. It is the Big Government. This is Big Government. It’s mandatory minimums, civil asset forfeiture, and garbage public defense programs. Our system has been implemented over the past half century by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. It inherently targets minorities. Government policies in Democrat areas and Democrat States are the main culprits for the failures suffered by the minorities. The system works. Absolutly racist – and it’s not because of Republicans. Want to see the best part? You can believe this without having to sign up for BLM’s mailing list or locking arms with Al Sharpton.

My Sunday morning article featured stories from people who had minor drug possession and their ex-boyfriend. Many of you feel those crimes are deserving of death penalties. If that’s the base you’re starting from, go ahead and click the X in the upper right. There’s no reason to keep reading. You’ve unilaterally decided that the punishment for whatever the cops say is their rationale is, is death. The tired arguments of “if only they had cooperated,” or “but they had a criminal record,” DO NOT justify killing them.

Law Enforcement’s ability to kill should be reserved for one thing and one thing alone:  An immediate and direct threat to the lives of officers/deputies or the general public. Believing that any officer or officers should have the right to step beyond that to include “well, he wasn’t listening,” or “did you see this guy’s record,” is flat out un-American.  It’s a literal argument against due process, and I refuse to sit by and say nothing while blatant constitutional violations are occurring and “our side” sits back applauding.

It isn’t racism I am calling out. I am referring to the worship of the authoritarians who take people’s rights away simply for not having the ability to properly defend themselves.

What also bothers me is the use of white injustice or black justice as a means of suggesting that injustice doesn’t primarily target minorities.  Simply because the system got it wrong with Ashli Babbitt and “right” in the case of Andrew Coffee IV doesn’t mean that it gets it right all the time or even a majority of the time. Just because it failed with OJ doesn’t mean that it got it right with Casey Anthony. Accepting that there are issues does not mean you, or any other conservative, have to take responsibility for those problems. Recognizing the problem is all that’s required. Once we choose to acknowledge there is a problem we can begin to look for solutions that don’t require defunding police or eliminating bail or the mass release of prisoners. We aren’t the Left. We aren’t a bunch of absolutists. This country is dear to us and we love the protections offered by the Consitution.

All I need is compassion, understanding, patience and the ability to see all sides of the story. These were my thoughts, and I was a conservative Christian. However many of the commenters believed they were racist dog whistles. They aren’t. They take pride in the things I believe we can do.

I will not ask for it if that is a racist or bad writer or one of 100 other epithets being thrown at me today.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Scott’s original piece caused a firestorm in the comments, quite a few of which were absolutely racist in nature and were deleted. Racialism is out of place in the comments section. Personal attacks upon contributors and wishing to inflict physical injury or violence on someone else will be punished with a time-out, or both. Those have been the rules since RedState’s inception. Each contributor is happy to share their ideas and, yes. Even accept disagreements. Being a Leftist doesn’t mean you can accept the fact that others may have different views than yours and remain conservative. But when your comment is, ‘People like you are the reason this country is messed up,’ or when your comment is based on something the author didn’t say but you simply inferred, there aren’t many options for conversation. It’s my hope that conversation on this piece can be actual respectful conversation between adults.)