Self-defense is the right to use reasonable force for the purpose of defending one’s own life or the lives of others. Most states allow deadly force in self-defense where the person defending himself reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or grievous bodily harm. As a general matter of law, self-defense is a universally accepted principle in American jurisprudence. Or at least it was until recently.
Several Democratic mayors and prosecutors are sacrificing the right of self-defense in favor of “social justice.” Soros-backed prosecutors are looking the other way when it comes to violent behavior but zealously going after anyone who tries to defend himself from assault. Some notable examples have been in the news.
Seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse killed one man and wounded another as they chased and assaulted him during a violent protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Videos filmed at the scene proved it was a case of self-defense. Rittenhouse wrote Leon Wolf in The Blaze, “someone who was in legitimate and reasonable fear for their life and trying to survive in a chaotic situation.” Nevertheless, Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a life sentence in Wisconsin. He was ultimately vindicated.
In my new book, The War on Whites, I describe what happened in St. Louis when a white couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, attempted to defend their lives and their home against a Black Lives Matter mob that threatened to kill them. The McCloskeys pointed weapons at the mob, but no shots were fired. Police did not show up to protect the McCloskeys from threats of violence. In spite of a video taken at the scene, the McCloskeys were charged with unlawful use of a weapon, a felony carrying a possible four-year prison sentence. No charges were brought against members of the mob, either for trespassing, destruction of private property, or threatening physical harm.
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When Jordan Neely, a large black man with a history of violence, terrorized a New York City subway car full of frightened passengers, he was taken down in a chokehold by Daniel Penny, a former Marine who happened to be white. Neely died as a result of the encounter. Penny was adamant that what he did was justifiable homicide by self-defense. Instead of Penny receiving a medal for heroism, he was arrested and indicted on a charge of manslaughter. This is an example of how the legal system supports black criminality.
The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, has a record of releasing violent felons and charging citizens like Daniel Penny for lawful acts of self-defense. One of the worst cases involved a bodega owner who killed an armed robber when the robber assaulted him. Bragg charged the owner with second-degree murder before dropping the case. In another incident, a parking valet shot an armed car thief when the thief pulled a gun. Bragg charged the valet with attempted murder, but the charges were later dropped.
When white people are assaulted by blacks, the legal system bends over backward to coddle the black perpetrators. If there is a confrontation between a white person and a black person, said author Ben Shapiro, the Left decrees that the white person must be at fault. Referring to the case of Jordan Neely, Shapiro said, “Neely apparently had a right to threaten people on the subway.” Penny did not have the right to self-defense.
In San Bernardino, California, a 21-year-old black man assaulted a white police officer as she was trying to prevent a domestic violence crime. He wrestled the female officer to the ground, punched her in the face, and seized her firearm. He attempted to shoot her in the face but failed only because the gun jammed. The incident was caught on a neighbor’s cellphone.
In what should have been an open-and-shut case for the prosecution, the defense lawyer argued that his client was acting in self-defense. “The issue,” said the attorney, “was, was the initial detention legal? If it’s not, then he’s not guilty. He could punch her 100 times, and it wouldn’t matter.” The jury—incredibly—found the defendant not guilty of attempted murder and other charges. Had the defendant been white and the officer black, there is a reasonable expectation that the verdict would have been different. The self-defense argument was allowed for this black defendant even though a video proved he had attempted to kill a police officer.
Social justice is anything but justice when the right to self-defense is predicated on skin color. In our woke society, social justice is interfering with traditional notions of right and wrong. A white person can be denied the right of self-defense. A black felon can get away with it. Welcome to our brave new world.
Ed Brodow (www.ed brodow politics.com) is a conservative political commentator and author of THE WAR ON WHITES: How Hating White People Became the New National Sport.
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