American Conservative: Blame Riots & Rising Crime For Ralph Yarl Shooting

We've heard many arguments about FEAR over the course of this week and a recent note we're going to share right now lays it out better than any place . . .

Quick digression . . . This argument makes a lot more sense than silly Internets attorneys who inaccurately claim that giggling a door handle is provocation for gunfire . . . Sorry but only your loving wife is going to sit through that statement without suffering eye-roll strain. 

Nevertheless, our goal is always to make readers smarter by openly discussing ideas both good and bad. 

Like it or not . . . Considering the CONTEXT of the past few years in Kansas City isn't completely out of line or shouldn't be a subject that's verboten.

To start this passage offers a glimpse at the court case on deck . . . 

"Missouri has strong “stand your ground” laws, meaning prosecutors must prove that Lester did not reasonably believe that he was acting in self-defense in order to secure a conviction—which is to say they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not “scared to death.”

"How that could be done is hard to say. Again: Andrew Lester is 84 years old and lives alone in Kansas City. He was woken in the night to find an unknown person reaching for his front door. He says he feared for his life. Most people would."

And here's more explanation and the summation . . .

"No doubt Lester remembers the riots that rocked Kansas City as recently as 2020, mere miles from his home. Or the national firestorm that started in Ferguson, a few hours to the east, almost a decade ago and still has not subsided.

"No doubt he has noticed the sharp uptick in violent crime across the country these last few years, including a hockey-stick spike in attacks against the elderly. No doubt he is aware that his own strength—his ability to defend himself with less than lethal force—is waning.

"It seems pretty clear that Ralph Yarl did nothing wrong. By all accounts, he is a good kid who got a little lost while doing a favor for his brothers and his mother. Bad luck and the complete collapse of social trust have put him in the hospital.

"Jailing Andrew Lester for that will merely compound tragedy with injustice."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

The Castle Crumbles - The American Conservative

Andrew Lester was "scared to death." That's what he told police of the moment he shot a teenager who turned up at his front door in the middle of the night. Why would we not believe him? Lester is an 84-year-old veteran and former mechanic who lives alone in Kansas City, one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

This seems to be the progressive counterpoint to fear argument just to be fair . . .

America's Tragedy Is Its Culture of Fear-That Happens to Be Armed With Millions of Guns

I've long avoided writing about anything related to guns-being both largely unfamiliar with firearms and not holding a passionate view on either " gun control" or " gun rights." Judging by national polling on the subject, I suppose you'd call me "middle of the road" on guns, believing citizens do indeed have the constitutional right to bear arms, but that the government can (and should) impose certain limitations on that right.

You decide . . .