The Rittenhouse Debacle

 The human brain is the organ that literally makes us human. A product of long evolution, it has produced all of the art, music, culture, and science that we see today. From birth, we witness the miracles of its development -- awareness, language skills, motor skills, sociability. When adolescence occurs, parents and others are often frustrated at behaviors that seem completely irrational. What is increasingly evident in studies of adolescents and their brains is that they are really immature. It is apparent now that the maturation of the brain continues through adolescence and is only completed in our mid-20s. It is clear that the limbic system and the centers for rewards are mature years before the frontal cortex; this helps explain why adolescents often engage in risky behavior which often leads to morbidity and mortality. In the United States, 71% of deaths between the ages of 10 and 24 are from four causes: motor-vehicle accidents, other unintentional trauma, homicide, and suicide. 

This is not to say that getting through adolescence successfully is entirely a result of nature. The environment of an adolescent, the nurture part, is incredibly important. What is important is to understand what both sides, nature and nurture, mean to successful navigation through the teen and early adult years to rational adulthood. For a deeper understanding, I suggest Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow. For a quicker view with some fun graphics, see The evolutionary advantage of the teenage brain by the University of California. Hint: you’ll enjoy the Dr. Spock and Captain Kirk bit.

This brings me to Kyle Rittenhouse. As a 17-year-old in August 2020, he drove himself from his home in Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin (he did not have a driver’s license) and met with an 18-year-old friend who used money Rittenhouse gave him to make a straw purchase of a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 (because Rittenhouse was not himself old enough to make a legal weapons purchase). The money came from an unemployment check from the pandemic funds to support unemployed workers. Rittenhouse inserted himself into the turbulence in Kenosha allegedly to protect a used car business that had been vandalized. In the course of his actions, he shot three people, killing two. 

His trial was a Charlie Foxtrot, featuring an inept prosecutor, a defense team that was funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from right-wing and gun freedom supporters, a biased judge, and a marvelous act on the stand by Rittenhouse himself recorded by a Fox News team embedded in the courtroom to produce a documentary for Tucker Carlson. After the verdict was rendered, President Biden noted he disagreed with it but that in accordance with our laws providing for juries that it must be accepted. 

As James Hohmann noted yesterday and others have echoed, the verdict of not guilty does not equal morally innocent. Facts remain stubborn things as John Adams noted. There were demonstrations in Kenosha because a white police officer shot an armed (knife) black man 7 times, leaving him paralyzed below the waist. The demonstrations had produced property damage but no deaths. Local law enforcement aided by the Wisconsin National Guard was the responsible agent for curbing the disorder. Into this setting, Rittenhouse drove himself, took possession of the semi-automatic rifle, and proceeded to kill two people and severely wound a third. In other words, he was a vigilante. His limbic system and reward centers were fully operational. Rational cortical thinking was absent.

What are we to take from this miscarriage of justice? First, it was not the first such miscarriage and will not be the last in our judicial history. Courts have to ensure that justice is served; in this criminal case, it appears not to have been an unbiased court. Second, it is a mistake to believe that adolescents are the same as adults (see the opening paragraphs). They are not. Third, nurture is important; where was Rittenhouse’s mother? And please, don’t start with “he came from a broken family.” Frankly, neither mother nor father is a paragon of virtue here. Lastly, how did this youngster become radicalized? There is no one reason and it is beyond my sociological understanding to provide an explanation. I do think that a nation that continues to fetishize guns and violence and that is also awash in the rhetoric of hatred and white supremacy is fertile ground for immature minds, regardless of age.

This is not the end of the case here. Rittenhouse is well on his way to becoming a mascot for the far-right. It remains to be seen where this will carry him in life. And while the criminal proceedings have been decided, the possibility of civil lawsuits is high. I can see the families of the victims suing Rittenhouse and his mother in the future. I guess there are other possible suits as well. The legacy of this immature teenager will ripple out before us. It is another dark stain on our nation.