In August 2020, riots broke out in the Wisconsin town of Kenosha over the injury of Jacob Blake, a young black man who was shot seven times in the back by police officers.
Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois, arrived at the scene armed with a rifle.
Rittenhouse was part of a large group of young people who responded to calls from American right-wingers to come and help protect local businesses from riots and violence.
It ended in two deaths and one wounded.
Rittenhaus was arrested and at trial argued for self-defense.
A few days ago the jury came to a decision in his favor from any guilt.
The trial and verdict became a heated debate over racism.
Once the story was framed as such - the facts became a nuisance, there were even those who talked about Rittenhouse shooting to death blacks.
That's not true, the dead were white.
He did not shoot anyone because of skin color, this is not a hate crime as we know from other incidents.
President Biden was asked what he thought of the ruling.
He said he believes in the American justice system.
But when Vice President Harris was asked what she thought, she replied that "the ruling proves there is much more to do in the area of criminal justice."
In a fight between a former prosecutor and a current black vice president, the politician won.
She was unable to stand behind the acquittal of one who was perceived by many as a racist who believed in the superiority of the white race.
America is divided: Some see Britannhaus as a bastard, some see him as an American patriot.
But the truth is that at the end of the day this is a young man who, like many other young people in the US, has too easy access to a weapon. At the age of ten and buys you a submachine gun for your birthday collection.
The debate over the Second Amendment is really the big story.
The same clause that does not allow a restriction on the carrying of weapons, in whose name far more mass shootings occur in the U.S. than in any other reformed state. By 2020, more than 400 shootings were recorded across the U.S. At a supermarket in Colorado and eight at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis.
This is the culture into which Rittenhaus grew up, this is his world of values.
In how many repaired places in the world will you find a 17-year-old boy walking down the street with a visible and loaded weapon?
If Rittenhouse did not have access to weapons, it is doubtful he would have come to Wisconsin at all.
The sense of power that the rifle gave him, the thought that he could protect businesses, that the power was in his hands and that he was doing a heroic act - are what sent him there.
You can be racist, brainwashed and also hate the other.
As long as you do not have a weapon in hand, it is much less dangerous.
