The more I think about Rittenhouse, the more I think about the history of white vigilantism regarding Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights era. We cannot underestimate the impact of race and how demographic and societal change is leading millions of Americans into believing that "their country" is slipping away from them. Throughout Reconstruction, southern vigilantes took the law into their own hands murdering black leaders, businessmen, schools, and whites who were setting up Freedman Bureaus.
Bureau agents, who acted essentially as social workers and were frequently the only federal representatives in Southern communities, were subjected to ridicule and violence from whites (including terrorist organizations such as the
Ku Klux Klan), who viewed the agents as interfering in local affairs by trying to assist blacks. While some agents were corrupt or incompetent, others were hardworking and brave people who made significant contributions.
The Freedmens Bureau was established in 1865 by Congress to help millions of former Black slaves and displaced Southe...
www.history.com
The common defense for this type of vigilantism and terrorism was that northern "carpetbaggers" were "corrupting their communities" and "taking their way of life away." Not that dissimilar from Rittenhouse's defense.
In 1955, Emmett Till was lynched and burned for supposedly whistling at a white woman.
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a w...
www.history.com
In 1963, a churching in Birmingham was bombed, killing four black girls. The church was used for Civil Rights gatherings. Again, the excuse of "their way of life was being threatened" was used.
A 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church by the KKK claims the lives of four African-American girls.
www.fbi.gov
In 1964, Civil Rights workers, 2 white and 1 black, were killed near the Philadelphia, Mississippi Fairgrounds. Ronald Reagan in 1980 launched his campaign here, citing "State's rights" and vowed to "
RESTORE to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them."
You can make what you want out of that.
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
Without the election of a black Democrat as president, we probably don't get Trump. Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again" was effective because millions don't like the demographic change, don't like seeing women so empowered, and don't like the multicultural democracy that we are turning into. One aspect that is under discussed is the impact white evangelicalism has on all of this. White Evangelicalism, broadly speaking, has merged with Republican politics. It has adopted an "under siege" mentality. It is teaching its adherents that "As America goes so does Christianity." Since they're being taught that America must remain a patriarchal society where white male Christians remain on top, then all actions become justified to combat a nation that is becoming less masculine, empowering women, empowering POC, and less Christian. That is why MAGA is so effective. It's a dog whistle to those you yearn for a more patriarchal, whiter, and Christian society. Seen through this lens, white vigilantism is seen as "self-defense", not murder.
That is what contributed to much of the violence we've seen over the last few years. It's definitely what influenced the BLM protests and the Rittenhouse actions in Wisconsin.
I thought this podcast episode from NPR was one of the best I've ever listened to:
A recent poll found that more than any other group, white evangelical protestants believe American culture and values are under threat. Why?
www.wbur.org
@Red I don't know how many other posters will appreciate that podcast. But I thought you especially might.
www.forbes.com
