The law considers whether Mr. Rittenhouse believed himself to be in imminent threat of harm, but it does not factor in the choices he made in the hours and days beforehand that put him in the middle of a volatile situation, with guns drawn and tempers flaring.
— Nomia Iqbal & Anthony Zurcher, BBC News
I can’t offer a well-informed opinion on it, but just from the video alone — I don’t know what the Left is looking at.
And they don’t either
Like the Right, they carry baggage into every issue — so the next outrage is just another vehicle to further their agenda. The abysmal ability of America to argue on the merits never ceases to amaze me. What I think of these people running around with rifles is precisely to the point of this entire site: That I can strip away anything extraneous to see a situation for exactly what it is:
On the evidence & moments that matter most . . .
In the fantasyland of America, you can abide by the rules in one breath and abandon them the next (then go on believing you’ve been a bastion of virtue the entire time).
Never mind this . . .
We’re well beyond “disagreement” in America — this is madness (countless millions miserably failing to follow even the most fundamental methods of how understanding works). I fail to understand how you think we can solve anything in a country that can’t even get the self-evident straight:
As I said in my documentary:
At the heart of why we fail to live up to our potential as a society is because we excel at polluting even the purest form of fact. How can we possibly solve serious problems when we refuse to adhere to some semblance of the fundamentals of making sense?
— Richard W. Memmer: Epilogue
I recently had a heated exchange with someone who was perfectly reasonable one minute then turned into an imbecile the next. Below is the email I sent out to a tennis group of about 100 people. If I wanted to make him look bad, I would have used his name. I didn’t — for the same reason I blur out names on this site:
My aim isn’t to make you look bad — it’s for you to stop looking bad. Ridicule just rolls right off me anymore. I’m not dealing with individuals — I’m dealing with a collective machine that’s been programmed to put me down.
My job is to jam up the gears — and get these gears going again:
When I tried out the drills awhile back, it was an embarrassing performance. I can play but you’d never know from that day. Many years ago, I took some lessons and messed up my forehand in the process. I’ve never been right since (analysis paralysis I’ve heard it called). I left tennis for a long time for that reason and others, but finally returned to it a few years ago. Thanks to the help of a few coaches, the problem has gotten better. But not good enough to just show up and start playing in a reasonably relaxed state.
Once I get into a rhythm, I can at least function — but like with doubles, the drills don’t suit my situation. Thank you for the opportunity though! That’s a great group with great vibes on the music to boot. It wasn’t for me, but I appreciate it. On top of that, I met someone who stood out in his instruction. I didn’t care what his credentials were, I could see for myself that he had valuable information to offer. I asked if he’d be willing to help me out and he was. He didn’t even want anything for it, but I was going to pay him anyway. We met up Monday night and he did a great job.
Things went south when I asked a question about a project I’m working on. This person’s profession could have possibly connected me to someone who could help, and since he mentioned his job again — the timing seemed right. Like now, I tried telling him without sharing any specifics — as the second people even perceive what it’s about, that “conversation” is over before it begins. I’ll bet Titan was talked about at tennis courts all over the country when it imploded. That story boils down to demonstrably provable matters on material properties — and so does mine. The internet was flooded with sensible commentary on the former — and this email exemplifies how people make it impossible to have a rational conversation on the latter.
To say something about that and much more — I wrote & produced the most exhaustively detailed documentary ever done on the subject.
My command of this material would be akin to Roger Federer standing there offering advice that day at the drills. Imagine blowing off such invaluable insight because you like Nadal better. Even if you ignored the advice, wouldn’t you have the courtesy to at least listen without butting in with your beliefs about who’s best? No one with any decency would do that. But when it comes to topics even perceived as threatening your interests, decency goes right out the window (along with your brain). What was respected about the ability gap between amateurs and pros in one context — instantly vanishes in another (where “your ignorance is just as good as my knowledge” — to borrow from Isaac Asimov).
In this fantasyland: My doc that distills a story that demanded a massive amount of effort, thought, research, and writing — is no match for someone who did nothing but latch onto lies with utmost ease.
My 7-part series is 160 minutes — but all I need is 5 for a clip that comes with surgical specificity.
But even that’s too much to ask on this matter of world-altering consequence that shaped the society you see today. It just astounds me that someone who doesn’t know jack about this issue — suddenly wants to know my sources. By all means, I welcome that. But for now, how about listening to a little of what I know before spouting off about what you think you know?
What happened to that gentleman who made so much sense on the court? Everything had a basis in reason and now nothing did. That the entire country pulls the same stunt every single day is what my efforts are out to address. With just a little help from the right person, I’d have a high probably of success on my idea that’s in everybody’s best interest. But I have almost zero chance of finding anyone with the integrity and insight to see it. Give me a grade-schooler at breakfast and I’ll have this cleared up by lunch: As they haven’t yet “learned” to look away from the obvious to deny the undeniable. Anyone wanting to know the truth would not behave in ways that ensure they never will.
I lit into this guy for embodying the asinine behavior I’ve faced for 20 years on this topic, and I’d do it again even harsher. Think of me what you will, but the world around us doesn’t look anything like my way of thinking. Our crap-is-king culture sure looks a lot like this though: “Hey, quack. Don’t ever contact me again. I’m blocking your number. Good luck on your journey into idiocy!”
I’ve seen far worse, as I’m practically spit on for following principles those same people promote on a daily basis. America just casually moved on from this fiasco for the ages. I didn’t — as I knew then what few know now: The immeasurable value in the willingness to be wrong, understanding why, and looking to learn from it. And that not doing so — increasingly compounds the consequences of no accountability. Look around!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m thankful that whatever road all of America went down, I never did. I learned early on in life that what you want gets in the way of what you see.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Memmer
Adulthood is about spending the time to think before talking . . . Adulthood is about controlling our emotions, learning to take a deep breath and modulating our moments of anger or frustration.
I don’t know how people find the path of least resistance so satisfying — as I love the demands of difficulty and discernment. To not step up my game in the midst of opportunity or challenge:
Would be tantamount to treason upon my very existence.
This nation has no such notion
V for Victory — How Fitting
A world where you can win an argument without even knowing what the issue is about. How you behave in denying the undeniable daily would be unthinkable for me to do ever. Mark Twain’s opening quote to The Big Short beautifully captures the clusterf#$% of a country that America has become:
All thanks to you and your goddamn politics — gutting the truth when it serves you then turning on a time to courageously attack others for doing the same thing.
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.
Imagine America as an engine and you come along with a cross-section of it to explain why it’s not working. Since your audience shares your concerns, you’d think they’d be interested in understanding the internals of the problem. But they spend all their time talking about parts made by people they don’t like — never considering the defects in their own parts.
And even though you’ve got a rock-solid idea for how to fix the engine (or at least make it run on reason): They’d rather spend the rest of their lives complaining about problems than take responsibility for their part in creating them.
[W]e must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it
— M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
In a nation that incessantly blames and complains (seemingly for sport) — no one’s taking responsibility for anything. The ever-rising ocean of partisan pettiness is gluttony under the guise of concern. V for Victory captures my 15-part series on factions acting as force fields of fallacy for the Left & Right: Shielding you from the whole truth while you’re pursuing part of it believing you’re after all of it.
Either engage like an adult or block me and politely move along. Is that really too much to ask?
I made it pretty clear in my bio for anyone paying attention:
I’ve always hated Twitter and when I’m done doing what I gotta do — I’m never goin’ back. Until then, I’m sending out a certain set of messages looking for intelligent life (fiercely independent thinkers who want to solve problems — not endlessly talk about them).
Think of my signals as a poor man’s SETI:
I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth
There’s a way we can harness folly from the past for the benefit of the future. A.K.A. learning! It’s as out-of-the-box as it gets but rooted in timeless truths America made outdated. I’ve already done all the work: I just need a little help in having it land in the right hands.
I have a very specific target audience to get this in gear, so it wouldn’t take much. One email could set off a chain of events that could open the door to the kind of conversation this nation’s never had.
Conventional methods have repeatedly failed and won’t put a pinprick in the atmosphere of absurdity suffocating the country.
Going by the galaxies filled with rock stars of reasoning across the social media universe — I should have no shortage of people eager to examine my idea and discuss how we could improve on it and proceed.
You tell me where those people are and I’ll gladly send out my signals to them.
If you’re not interested in hearing me out and having meaningful conversation — we have nothing to talk about and I wish you well. I’d just ask that you block me and politely move along. Is that really too much to ask? But if you’re game for good old-fashioned conversation — please contact me through the site, Anchor.Press.gg@gmail.com, or DM (Direct Message) on Twitter:
As I no longer respond to Tweets or superficial fragments of any kind.
Pick One
One Voice Became Two 