Ben Lassen: Stop glorifying idea that gun violence is heroic

We as a society have this noble idea of vigilante justice – an idea that, as long as we are on the morally superior side, we are justified in enacting justice in the heat of the moment. We fantasize about being the hero and making the world “right”. As though justice was an ethereal concept, waiting for our personal intervention to come to light. This isn’t in itself bad – it inspires us to push for a better world to live in. The problem we face is – how do we define justice, and to what extent are we entitled to seek it?

Kenosha was not justice. It’s a great example of what happens when you chase the idea of being a hero and end up in a situation you weren’t prepared for.

When a teenager is encouraged and celebrated for bringing a rifle into a riot, we have lost touch with our own sensibilities. When the right to property outweighs the right to life, we lost perspective on what really matters. Regardless of where you fall on the interaction itself, consider this – would you, as a parent, allow your child into a volatile region as an armed response to stop vandalism? Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother did. She encouraged it. She validated his entitlement to justice, a state away from his own community. His whole life had been a pattern of back slaps and ‘attaboy’ because he had this moral compass.

But in the heat of the moment, he succumbed to fear. I have a hard time believing that anyone else would have done differently. When you are armed and being attacked, 9 times out of 10 you are going to take the shot. But when you are responsible for the situation escalating, knowing the risks involved and knowing the possibilities and implications – you are responsible for the consequences. Bernie Goetz is often heralded as a hero in NYC for defending a subway – he didn’t prepare for the situation, he intended for the situation to happen. On the final shot, almost like in an action movie, Goetz dropped the infamous one-liner “you don’t look so bad; here’s another”.

We need to stop glorifying the idea that gun violence is heroic. There are circumstances that it can be, but clearly if people are not mature enough to distinguish between when its appropriate, we should not encourage this behavior. Heroes are born in the moment. They do not play out the fantasy in their head, day after day, and they do not actively seek these fantasies. Speak softly and carry a big stick. Do not carry a big stick and attack the loudest person in the room, and then act incredulous when the rest of the room restrains you for attacking someone unarmed with a club.

Ben Lassen

Belmont