Colin Kaepernick, In A Rare Tweet, Calls Out System Of ‘White Supremacy’ In Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict

Kyle Rittenhouse, the teeneager who killed two men and shot another last August in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was acquitted on Friday, Nov. 19, of first-degree intentional homicide and four other felony charges.

Rittenhouse drove from his home in Illinois to Wisconsin last August during the unrest in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting, and took to the streets wielding an AR-15 assault rifle, to “protect businesses” from the unrest.

The verdict really wasn’t all that surprising to anyone that has been paying attention to the justice system in the United States for the past several hundred years.

Former NFL quarterback-turned-civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick sent out a rare tweet with his thoughts.

Kap’s tweet points out the realities of America. This is a nation founded and built on white supremacy. The belief that the white race is superior to all other races, and therefore should should dominate them. This belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people.

Of course Rittenhouse was acquitted. His mere existence as a white person affords him rights not afforded to non-whites. Imagine if a Black teenager left his state and drove to another to “protect businesses” during a period of unrest and killed two people and wounded another.

Do we think that Black teenager would have been acquitted?

NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace also believes the situation would have been different if Rittenhouse was Black.

In his tweet Kaep used the word validate. The judicial system that we subscribe to in this country was in fact created and designed to uphold and preserve whiteness and white supremacy.

Another former NFL quarterback, Robert Griffin III, couldn’t help but point out what he sees as a double standard between the Rittenhouse trial and Julius Jones, an Oklahoma death row inmate who was recently granted clemency but will remain in jail for the rest of his life.

‘Justice For Julius’ | Steph Curry’s Call to Man On Death Row Reinvigorates Family Fighting To Overturn Conviction

What white supremacy afforded Rittenhouse was the temerity to inject himself in a situation that had nothing to do with him, in a state he didn’t live in. He was so emboldened that he believed he could play the role of law enforcement, and “protect businesses.”

What did he believe he could do that trained law enforcement officials could not do? Why did he believe he was the one to serve as “protector”?

White supremacy also allows its beneficiaries to believe that they are victims as opposed to perpetrators of violence.

A spokesman for the Rittenhouse family, spoke to CNN after the verdict.

“The family calls for calm. Calls for calm. I mean, this was not an injustice.”

“What I would say is, this is an inflection point, I think, for the country to look at the way things have been handled. Things have gone off the rails in relation to who Kyle is and why he was down here. It’s never been about politics. It’s not about race. This is about a young man who fled and felt as if his life was in danger and defended himself,” he added.

During the trial Rittenhouse broke down in tears and was widely mocked on social media. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James joined in on the internet mockery. But it’s not so funny now.

LeBron James Mocks Kyle Rittenhouse For Crying During Trial | Trolling On Social Media Is Funny, But What Does It Mean?

As of this writing, James hasn’t tweeted about the verdict.

 

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