OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 5, 2021
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ASU protest against Kyle Rittenhouse a fools parade BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
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o matter which side of the debate you’re on about Kyle Rittenhouse, recently acquitted of homicide by a Wisconsin jury, there’s one thing we all can agree on when it comes to the 18-year-old former Arizona State University student: That young man could really use an education. Given that point, I could only shake my head at the woke left screamfest staged at ASU on Dec. 1st. If media reports are accurate, a few score progressives showed up bearing signs like “No Killers On My Campus!” to protest Rittenhouse attending ASU, a school he had only attended digitally for starters, and from which he had dropped out earlier in the week. Hey, never mind the facts. We can shout into bullhorns! Use Magic Markers! And get
on the news! Naturally, the presence of the idiots on the left gave the idiots on the right a chance to come out as well, bearing bullhorns and their own signs, like “9MM Beats 911,” “Freedom In All Calibers!” and the most frightening sign of all – “Kari Lake For Governor!” The young conservatives clearly see Rittenhouse as a hero for his actions on the night of August 25, 2020. Rittenhouse, then 17, showed up in Kenosha armed with an AR-style semiautomatic ri�le amid the protests and looting that followed the shooting of Jacob Blake by a white police of�icer. Rittenhouse, who appeared to be looking for trouble, found it. When the shooting stopped, two men with long criminal histories lay dead and a third had been shot in the arm. Rittenhouse, who claimed he went to Kenosha to safeguard businesses from looters, pleaded self-defense. The jury agreed and thus Rittenhouse went free, to thunderous acclaim from conservatives, who never
seem to be happier than when liberals are weeping and gnashing their teeth. When Rittenhouse testi�ied that he was taking online classes at ASU, you knew it was only a matter of time before the “ASU’s Legacy Is White Supremacy” signs made a reappearance. I �irst wrote about that ridiculous accusation in this space six weeks ago, after an incident in which two white male conservative students were confronted by woke left female students in what the university may or may not have designated a “multicultural space.” Let me be exceedingly clear here. ASU, by all accounts an excellent university that has long since shed its “party school” days, is a lot of things, but bastion of white supremacy is not one of them. With students from 136 countries, 230 tribal nations, and 13,000 international students – and a student body that is currently 46 percent white – it’s tough to argue that ASU looks or acts like a modern day meeting of the Ku Klux Klan. As it should, the univer-
sity openly welcomes anyone and everyone, regardless of color, creed, religion, gender, sexuality or political beliefs. And it also welcomed Kyle Rittenhouse to take online classes – again, as it should have. I don’t know what the rest of Rittenhouse’s life looks like now that he’s been cleared. Surely more interviews like his lovefest with Tucker Carlson two weeks ago. Maybe a book deal. Maybe he follows his self-proclaimed interest in nursing, or disappoints us all and ends up a Congressman. Regardless – and especially if you believe Rittenhouse to be a narrow-minded bigot and a sterling example of gun nuttery – let’s hope he ends up learning more about the world and the different kinds of people who inhabit it. Rittenhouse could use having his mind opened at a place like ASU. There he would meet very smart people completely unlike him – and completely unlike the idiots who showed up last week to scream at each other through bullhorns. ■
was looking forward to continuing his studies on campus. Right on cue, the usual suspects responded in outrage, issuing a list of demands that included the exclusion of “racist murderer” Kyle Rittenhouse from attending classes in Tempe. To underscore their intent, the activists scheduled a rally and protest for Dec. 1 at the leisurely hour of 3:30 p.m. so as not to interrupt sleep schedules nor breakfast and lunch. If you believe the above assessment is uncharitable, as it omits the possibility that those students might be in class earlier, it is evident that few, if any, of these young leftists excel in reading comprehension. Certainly, they are in urgent need of a remedial refresher in basic civics. Consider this excerpt from their “List of Demands”: “Even with a not-guilty verdict from a �lawed “justice” system, Kyle Rittenhouse is still guilty to his victims and the families of those victims. Join us to demand from
ASU that these demands be met to protect students from a violent, blood-thirsty murderer.” Not only are these “leaders of tomorrow” unschooled in the precepts of our system of justice, they have no reservations about impugning the character of someone found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Then again, they could cite a “highly placed source” for their unfair and untrue description of Kyle Rittenhouse. After all, it was none other than Joe Biden—before he took up occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.—who included images and video of Rittenhouse in a tweet excoriating Donald Trump for failing to “disavow white supremacists.” Attaching the label of white supremacy to a then-17 year old gave “journalists” the signal to join in. Despite the fact that the attackers Rittenhouse shot in self-defense were all Caucasian, the “white supremacist” description remained throughout the campaign and subsequent trial. Further court action is possible. However,
the anticipated cases will be initiated by Rittenhouse and his attorneys against Biden and ol’ Joe’s media lackeys for libel, slander and defamation. Could similar legal action be taken against ASU and some of its students? Perhaps. Maybe that’s why university President Michael Crow has remained silent thus far. Instead, a university spokesperson recently intoned that Rittenhouse is “not currently enrolled in any classes at ASU” and that Kyle “has not gone through the ASU admissions process.” Crow has co-authored a book this year entitled “Public Values Leadership: Striving to Achieve Democratic Ideals.” If Rittenhouse’s withdrawal from ASU is indicative of what Crow envisions as the “New American University,” maybe the his most recent literary offering should be amended to more accurately re�lect reality. “Striving to Achieve Democrat Ideals” seems more accurate in the case of Arizona State. ■
ASU leftists unfairy savage Kyle Rittenhouse BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist
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Perry Mason,” it ain’t. Nor “Absence of Malice.” And certainly not “Twelve Angry Men.” No, what radical leftists at Arizona State University would have you believe is that there are thousands of students, faculty and employees on the main campus in Tempe who stand united in “righteous anger” against an 18-year-old. That teen is Kyle Rittenhouse, recently acquitted on two counts of murder and other charges by a jury in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Defense attorneys assembled a strong case for self-defense, and the jury agreed after deliberating for more than 25 hours over the course of four days. In the aftermath of the verdict, Rittenhouse sat down for an in-depth interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News. Among the revelations was the news that Rittenhouse had enrolled at ASU as an online student and
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