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submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Kyle Rittenhouse abruptly departed the stage during an appearance at the University of Memphis on Wednesday, after he was confronted about comments made by Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk.

Rittenhouse was invited by the college's Turning Point USA chapter to speak at the campus. However, the event was met with backlash from a number of students who objected to Rittenhouse's presence.

The 21-year-old gained notoriety in August 2020 when, at the age of 17, he shot and killed two men—Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, as well as injuring 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz—at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

He said the three shootings, carried out with a semi-automatic AR-15-style firearm, were in self-defense. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest where the shootings took place was held after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was left paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot by a white police officer.

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[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 241 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

"Charlie Kirk has said a lot of racist things," said a student addressing Rittenhouse from the audience.

"What racist things has Charlie Kirk said?" Rittenhouse challenged. "We're gonna have a little bit of a dialogue of what racist things that Charlie Kirk said."

The student responded of Kirk: "He says that we shouldn't celebrate Juneteenth, we shouldn't celebrate Martin Luther King day—we should be working those days—he called Ketanji Brown Jackson an affirmative action hire, he said all this nonsense about George Floyd, and he said he'd be scared if a Black pilot was on a plane. Does that not seem racist?"

"I don't know anything about that," Rittenhouse said from the stage, prompting jeers among the audience.

"Does that seem racist is a yes or no question, Kyle," yelled one attendee.

"Well, after all the things I just told you, would you consider that hate speech," the student asked Rittenhouse, who had a dog with him onstage.

"I'm not gonna comment on that," Rittenhouse said, sparking more noise from the crowd.

Seconds later, Rittenhouse abruptly exited the stage to cheers from the crowd. The attendees were then promptly ordered to depart the venue.

[-] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 151 points 9 months ago

They fly him around the country, but the media outfit he's working for didn't bother to invest in media training for their homicidal poster boy?

So much for standing your ground.

[-] Eldritch@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

Or seat fillers.

[-] whodatdair 80 points 9 months ago

Fuck yeah, make that piece of shit feel bad. Pure uncut Colombian schadenfreude.

[-] notsofunnycomment@mander.xyz 14 points 9 months ago

What is Colombian schadenfreude?

[-] Tom_Hanx_Hail_Satan@lemmy.ca 34 points 9 months ago

"Uncut Colombian" is a drug reference for cocaine. He's just trying to say it's the "best of the best".

[-] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

I'm saying I snort that shit.

[-] Guntrigger@feddit.ch 14 points 9 months ago

Probably still schadenfreude, since we use the German word in English.

[-] IvanOverdrive@lemm.ee 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

And schadenfreude is the leftover discharge from anal sex. Named after former US senator and moral crusader Rick Schadenfreude.

[-] maynarkh@feddit.nl 53 points 9 months ago

“I don’t know anything about that,”

This seems to be the canned response to all "uncomfortable" topics.

It seems that right-wing "debates" are not about arguing a point or another, but bringing up the "right" talking points, and backing out the wrong ones.

[-] EatATaco@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Please don't normalizing hating on people for not knowing something. If you think he actually knows kirk said these things, then please provide the proof. But if you are simply attacking him for admitting he doesn't know something, then you're part of the problem.

[-] thesohoriots@lemmy.world 44 points 9 months ago

There’s a very simple way to answer this sort of question that was posed — by condemning the blatant racism of the statements themselves while acknowledging he didn’t know if Kirk had said them — and he decided not to do that.

[-] EatATaco@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I think you have a point. However, you're referring to later in the exchange. The poster imt responding to is attacking him for claiming he didn't know whether Kirk had said those things. But if multiple people were shouting at him at that point, I can see why he reverted back to "no comment."

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[-] crusa187@lemmy.ml 6 points 9 months ago

Asking whether those things are hate speech is a yes/no question. Pretending to not know Kirk is a racist sack of shit was obvious deflection. Good on the students for calling out this bs.

[-] tootoughtoremember@lemmy.world 32 points 9 months ago

"We're gonna have a little bit of a dialogue of what racist things that Charlie Kirk said."

"I don't know anything about that,"

Not much of a dialogue lol

[-] frezik@midwest.social 18 points 9 months ago

Someone taught him how to have the aesthetics of a rational argument, but forgot the part about the substance.

[-] Amputret@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 months ago

Benny bitch-boy’s made a whole career out of doing that.

[-] sirboozebum@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

lol.

What a bitch.

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

They haven't yet taught him how to deflect the truth. Teach him that what he believes is bullshit, but profitable. Teach him how to understand and ignore the truth. Teach him how to just be louder than opposition. Have him memorize talking points and teach him to always retreat to them (especially when not appropriate). Give him 15 years of practice doing that, then he'll be great at owning college libs, preferably on camera.

[-] aidan@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I mean that seems fair that he wouldn't comment on something he doesn't know about

[-] FurtiveFugitive@lemm.ee 12 points 9 months ago

"I haven't heard those quotes before. Presented without context, they sound pretty bad but I will reserve judgement until I've had a chance to do more research."

That wasn't that hard of a question to duck.

[-] aidan@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

That's easy to say in retrospect but a lot of people can't think of something to say when asked something unexpected on the spot. Even if they know the answer.

[-] hardaysknight@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

I’m sure the people he killed would disagree

[-] aidan@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago
[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

It's a good point. On one context he was quite willing to take human life but he definitely doesn't want to get misquoted so he takes the time and energy to get it right.

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[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

You know at work when I can't give a firm answer to a question I will just say so and promise to find out. Turns out when you are not a murderer people cut you slack

this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
936 points (100.0% liked)

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