Dear Editor: No Sex, Lots of Lies, and Plenty of Video Tape...

No sex, lots of lies and plenty of video tape...

“The judge. The jury. The defendant. It’s white supremacy in action. This system isn’t built to hold white supremacists accountable. It’s why Black and brown folks are brutalized and put in cages while white supremacist murderers walk free. I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m heartbroken,” said Cori Bush, Congresswoman for the state of Missouri, after the Rittenhouse not guilty verdict was delivered.

I have learned to never take any news report or talking points from any talking head at face value. Nationwide, special interest groups and politicians will twist any event to fit their wants. Sadly, it is my experience that far too many of my friends follow the narrative and never know the facts. The Kyle Rittenhouse case is a perfect example of this. What led up to Kyle’s reasoning to be there? What was the cause for the rioting? Was it a riot or a protest? What events took place that led to the shootings? Where were the police?

First what led to the rioting? Jacob Blake, a black American, was shot by police on Aug 23, 2020 after an altercation. Did he deserve it? I don’t know, I wasn’t there. If you go to Wikipedia, they have a great write up on the shooting. He was certainly causing a problem. I urge you to read what is on Wikipedia. In the interest of space, I won’t go into it. Many on the side of creating a disturbance, including many politicians, even say that Blake was killed. Which is not true. Blake survived the shooting but is paralyzed from the waist down.

In steps Black Lives Matters. They come to Kenosha and start to protest the shooting without knowledge of the shooting. Protesting is one thing, even protected by our Bill of Rights. From what I have seen, Black Lives Matters does not protest. They burn and loot. Where were the police when these people (many of them white) were burning and looting these businesses that were essential to black lives? Nowhere to be found. Told to stand down by city officials.

In comes Kyle Rittenhouse. It was said by politicians and special interest talking heads that Kyle had no reason to be there. He lived out of state with no connections to Kenosha. Not true. Yes, he did not live in Wisconsin. But he has family there. I am not going to say I understand Kyle’s thoughts. But it must be tough for a 17 year old to sit and watch as police allow a group of people to destroy a city that he has family in. When he showed up, he was teamed up with others to protect businesses from looting and burning. He did some good while there. Stopped a garbage dumpster that was set on fire. Administered minor first aid to a few and was guarding a car lot that belonged to brothers Sahil and Anmoi Khindri. Not exactly names that a white supremist would protect. The trouble started when he got separated from his group. He was spotted and chased by 3 guys that were telling him they were going to take his gun and kill him. When he stumbled and went down, Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz set upon him. Joseph was trying to take his rifle while Anthony beat him with a skateboard. He shot them. Gaige only got shot after he pointed a pistol at Kyle’s head. Gaige survived and testified to the facts at the trial. Admitting that he did not get shot until he raised his pistol and threatened to shoot Kyle.

There are so many lies by so many of people in a position of influence. Even our current president used the lies of white supremacy and purposeful murder in a campaign ad aimed at Kyle.

Our country is being torn apart by politicians, media, talking heads and special interest groups that do not care about truth or justice. I beg all of you to stop. To investigate and not listen to those who only care about their ‘special interest’. Even our main newspaper and tv media have twisted or conveniently left out segments of quotes to play to their narratives.

To this end, I am so appreciative of Liz Pullman and how she runs the Whitehall Ledger. She truly stands center front and tries to keep the paper neutral.

Jim Buterbaugh

Whitehall, Montana