Theoretical Approach on The Recent Trial Of Kyle Rittenhouse
The 18-year old Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two individuals and wounded a third person during unrest in Kenosha County, was acquitted of all charges in his criminal trial in November 2021. The jury deliberated over four days on the five counts which Rittenhouse had been charged with, specifically first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree attempted intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment (Sullivan, 2021). The jury acquitted him on all counts and was not swayed to consider lesser versions of several counts.
It is, however, prudent to note that this verdict had followed a highly watched trial as different groups held their views towards the case. On one end, a crowd of activists shouted the notion of Black Lives Matter as they insisted on Rittenhouse being a ‘white supremacist’ who was driven by evident racist motivation, which prompted him to wield a dangerous weapon against anti-racist protestors championing for Black lives. On the other end, other individuals argue that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense which is not a crime (Craine, 2021). Most of the proof presented in the criminal trial, including the prosecution itself, bolstered the argument. During the riots and destruction, Rittenhouse was chased, and witnesses asserted that Joseph Rosenbaum – one of the persons killed by Rittenhouse- did threaten to kill the latter if he ever found him alone (Koran, 2021). Therefore, it was prudent that the jury understood the self-defense position that Rittenhouse was in at the time over the claims that he was anti-racist towards the protesters.
Notably, while Kyle Rittenhouse, the duel chants crystallizing the case still represent different views held by millions of people across the United States. This discussion seeks to take a theoretical approach to the case, specifically discussing what the theorists of race, symbolic interactionism, and feminist theories would say comprehensively.
The Theoretical Perspectives On The Kyle Rittenhouse Case
The Race Theory
According to Croom (2020), the race theory looks at race as a consequential social practice. In this case, race is not considered part of human beings’ bodies which s the fundamental assumption of the common sense racial view. Rather, the race is a system of social practices that encompass consequential attributions and appropriations of individual bodies such that human beings will do race with their bodies in conjunction with other physical and psychological tools for either good or ill effects (Croom, 2020). The race is from intersectionality to follow any mode and is culturally-historically ingrained. The race theorists analyzing the criminal trial of Kyle Rittenhouse will have to consider the implicit and explicit practice of race among the persons and groups involved with relation to their respective meanings and powers. Over the entire process, it is evident that the parties involved have been conventionalizing and innovating forms of race practice both at the individual and institutional levels.
The protests at Kenosha were a Black Lives Matter protest calling for justice after the killing of a young black man, Jacob Blake, who was shot numerous times in front of his children by white police in this country. One important point that the theorists would associate from this killing by police would be the familiar law enforcement racial profiling storyline, which associates the minorities, especially the Black male individuals, with uniform criminality tendencies. This kind of storyline has been troubling for Black male adults since the police have been conditioned to believe many Black male individuals are criminals, especially those coming from the white majority. Most of these individuals end up dead like Jacob Blake because police officers fail to carry out the entire due process to determine that the individual was a criminal. Notably, the association between the black community and engagement in crime is socially meaningful because of the racial genre known as social classing. This racial genre or conventionalized manner of sharing racial meaning aids in establishing the rhetorical level that goes beyond words to allow the application of a uniform ‘crime tendencies’ in equivalence in describing any Black male individual that is mostly above the age of 12.
The criminal tendencies associated with Black individuals do not apply to young men from the white majority. That is why minutes before the killings, the Kenosha law enforcement were seen appreciating the armed white Rittenhouse and other individuals accompanying him for being present and providing them with water. After the shootings, the police failed to question or arrest Rittenhouse which did not even stop carrying the murder weapon. He was allowed to walk free threatening other protestors. Despite Rittenhouse already posing a security threat by carrying the weapon, the race theorists would assert that American law enforcement has been oriented into a racially white system that orients all incomers into the race for a long time. In their operations, their first thought on an armed white individual is not how they can be a threat, especially during the chaos, but rather how they help the community at the time. It is prudent to acknowledge that if it was a Black man carrying the weapon, it was more likely to be considered a threat and a criminal putting lives in danger. This kind of thinking is evident in how they show laxity in handling the matter of Rittenhouse killing the anti-racist protesters. It is prudent to note that the latter were white individuals. In this case, the police are made to believe that these individuals are just like the black male persons known to be criminals.
Symbolic Interactionism theory
For symbolic interactionists, race and ethnicity provide solid symbols as the sources of identity. Some interactionists indicate that the symbols of race and not the race itself are the causes of racism (Lumen, 2021). Racial prejudice is created through the interactions between members of a dominant group. If these interactions do not occur, then the persons in the dominant group will not have racist views. The interactions are contributory to the abstract image of the subordinate group that permits the dominant group to support its perspective of the subordinate group and works to maintain the status quo. In the Rittenhouse criminal trial, it is evident that race is a social construct that affects the decisions that different individuals take.
This social construct played a huge role in the decision taken by the police to fight the anti-racist protesters. According to one of the witnesses on the chaos that had unfolded, he asserts that the decision taken by the police to push protesters towards the crowd of armed and agitated citizens set in motion the violence that happened that day. Generally, these protesters were fighting a protest against racial profiling of one Black man committed by the police. The police chose to fight this important call since they believed that these people were causing chaos from their protests rather than providing a conducive environment for this case to be heard. Another party, Grosskreutz, actually filed a lawsuit against the city and Kenosha County by indicating that the police did deputize a group of white nationalist vigilantes. This complaint asserted one comment made by the police, who spoke to Rittenhouse, specifically thanking him for what he had done (Moorehead, 2021).
The interactions within the criminal justice system have been known to hold onto racial biases against minorities. Apart from the police, outrageous bias was evident when Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder indicated during a pre-trial hearing that the people killed and injured by Rittenhouse could not be termed as ‘victims’ or alleged victims’ by the prosecuting attorneys (Moorehead, 2021). However, the defense attorneys were allowed to term these as ‘rioters’ and ‘arsonists’ in their closing arguments. This raised concern on who was being tried, Rittenhouse who was alleged to be the white supremacists or Rosenbaum and Huber who were already dead hence could not defend themselves. At the same time, impartiality is required from any judge. The move made by the Circuit judge did not demonstrate it since it was evident the side he was taking.
Feminist Theory
In this theory, feminism and racism are greatly intertwined concepts within the intersectional theory that focuses on women in the Western world who have experienced both sexism and racism (Yancy, 2000). The Western feminist movement has been seeking to end gender oppression specifically for the non-white women facing racism. In American society, the women in minority groups have asserted facing racism and sexism in various ways where both race and gender oppression are intertwined.
The Rittenhouse case was listened to by a jury randomly selected seven women and men (Gutierrez et al., 2021). These Individuals were responsible for deciding whether Rittenhouse was criminally responsible for gunning down the two men during the social justice projects. While the jury seems to be mostly white, a huge number of women made it look like the jury would be able to look into the case from an objective point and the position of Rittenhouse and emotions at the time. Considering the feminist theorists believe that racism and sexism are intertwined, especially from the latter’s point of gender oppression, it can be implied that the women in the jury would have a better perspective of what oppression looks like and will work on ensuring that justice is upheld.
Discussion of the Theoretical Perspectives
A comparison of the three theories illustrates that the symbolic interactionism and race theories provide substantial explanations on the effect of race in Kyle Rittenhouse’s cases. From these two theories, it is evident how race has been a social construct that is ingrained within the white majority and law enforcement, affecting their decisions. These theories provide both a micro and macro-level interpretation of the ‘big picture. This ensures that the theorists can point out the issues leading to the chairs. The violence started from killing an innocent Black man by white police, which was just one of the numerous instances of racial profiling from American law enforcement. The protesters called for a stringent prosecution of the white police officer involved. However, the reactions of the police during the protests against the antiracist protesters only go to show that racial thinking is ingrained in these individuals. The police played a huge role in propagating the violence.
Considering the relation between the feminist theory and Riteenhouse’s case, this is only evident through more women in the jury who can discern matters related to oppression. The jury finding Rittenhouse not guilty for the accounts just got to show that the racial claims against him were not substantial. Notably, the three theories provide better perspectives on different issues during the entire criminal trial.
References
Craine, N. (2021, November 20). Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha poses question of rights workers need – The militant. Retrieved from https://themilitant.com/2021/11/20/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-in-kenosha-poses-question-of-rights-workers-need/
Croom, M. (2020). Meet me at the corner: The intersection of literacy instruction and race for urban education. Urban Education, 55(2), 267-298.
Gutierrez, G., Li, D. K., & Puskar, S. (2021, November 17). Kyle Rittenhouse conducts random draw, seating 7 women and 5 men for his jury. Retrieved from https://news.yahoo.com/jury-7-women-5-men-160123844.html
Koran, M. (2021, November 17). Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Sense of unease amid wait for verdict in Wisconsin. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/16/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-wait-for-verdict
Lumen. (2021). Theories of race and ethnicity | Introduction to sociology. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/theories-of-race-and-ethnicity/
Moorehead, M. (2021, November). Trials highlight racism – Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from https://www.workers.org/2021/11/60012/
Sullivan, B. (2021, November 19). Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted of all charges in the trial over killing 2 in Kenosha. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/11/19/1057288807/kyle-rittenhouse-acquitted-all-charges-verdict
Yancy, G. (2000). Feminism and the subtext of whiteness: Black women’s experiences as a site of identity formation and contestation of whiteness. Western Journal of Black Studies, 24(3), 156.
