CGP

Regarding Alex Pretti: My timeline is filled with left-wingers trying to use this agitator's death for their political ends. Half of the right is framing this guy as a terrorist-to-be, "he brought too much ammo," "he didn't have his ID," "he shouldn't have been armed," and whatever else that contradicts their arguments during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and other 2nd Amendment issues. The other half of the right are calling this a bi-partisan issue of government overreach. "The American government should not be able to execute citizens like this!" As if this guy didn't put himself, the people around him, and federal agents into a dangerous position. Only a few people have any actual connection to reality. Pretti had a right to carry his firearm and whatever else he had (no, I really don't care that his ID wasn't on him). But exercising this right also comes with additional responsibilities. Introducing a firearm into a potential conflict immediately augments its gravity. Pretti was fully in the right to carry, but under no circumstances should he have been physically resisting an officer of the law. The chances of him getting shot in such an altercation are extremely high, as the officers now have to react to the existence of that firearm during a struggle. The idea that we should expect law enforcement officers, even if they were the best men among us, to wrestle with armed men and to completely disregard their own safety is simply a fantasy. And to be clear, I am not saying that one forfeits their right to life simply because they are armed and encounter the police. Kyle Rittenhouse is a great example of this. When confronted, he raised his hands and informed officers he was armed. He complied with their orders. No one got hurt. It doesn't even really matter what the law is, or what your rights are, in a moment like that. If two armed parties engage in a struggle, the chance of lethal force being applied is substantial. A cop will fear for his life just as much as anyone else, and is an enforcer of the state's monopoly on violence. If you choose to test his mettle, you are playing a very dangerous game. If you want whatever legal principle you are standing for to be honored - take it to the courtroom. That's your best chance. If you try to find justice with a policeman, and you die, it really doesn't even matter if you're in the right. You're dead, and no, there is no justice that can make you whole again. This is why you need to de-escalate confrontations with the police, and be extremely measured in your actions. So, it feels the response from the right should be obvious: an armed man physically resisted the police and it got messy. It's terrible, but we can't reasonably expect otherwise from a bunch of men being actively harassed by interferers and then finding out one of the people wrestling with you has a weapon. The cops do not have frame-by-frame technology in that moment. Things happen fast (possible misfire of Pretti's sig), and decisive action is necessary. Pretti didn't have to die. Do not interfere with law enforcement, and especially do not do so while being armed. As always, it's also important to contrast the media outrage of Pretti's death with the complete silence that occurs from the corporate press when Americans are killed by illegal immigrants. The deportations must continue.