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Black People Are Exhausted and Unsurprised
Kyle Rittenhouse’s verdict upholds a system that continues to do what it has always done — protect White Supremacy.
As the breaking news notifications started to pop up on my iPhone of Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal, I turned off my notifications and continued to work. What else was I supposed to do in a system that continues to excuse the actions of white people? How else do you react to a system that upholds White Supremacy? I felt numb at the fact that the verdict did not surprise me. I saw it coming the moment reports came out that the judge was believing the performance that Rittenhouse and his team were putting on. Everything about the case was expected.
After all, America is a country that believes people should have guns before they have autonomy over their bodies. A country that believes guns are a universal right but healthcare isn’t. A nation where mass shootings happen almost daily and people go about living their lives as normal. And yet we continue to see the performative nature of people caring on social media and politicians peddling this idea that we must trust our institutions because they are correct. The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse is another reminder of how America continues to fail its people.
