“The parallels between me and Kyle Rittenhouse are impossible not to draw,” wrote Nicholas Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School student who became embroiled in a national story based on the false claim that he was the aggressor in a widely-published exchange with a Native American activist, Nathan Phillips.
“Kyle was 17-years-old when he became a household name after that terrible tragedy in Kenosha,” Sandmann explained in an op-ed for Daily Mail. “I was 16-years-old when I was catapulted into the national conversation by video of an encounter with a Native American activist on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.”
Sandmann noted that Rittenhouse “was almost immediately labelled a ‘white supremacist’ and a ‘domestic terrorist,’” and “To many, my red MAGA hat clearly meant that I was a racist.”
“Kyle wasn’t given his day in court by his critics,” Sandmann wrote. “And neither was I.”
Sandmann argued, “The attacks on Kyle came from the national news media, just as they came for me,” and “They came quickly, without hesitation, because Kyle was an easy target that they could paint in the way they wanted to.”
“This is the problem with liberal media outlets in the United States. They want to get the story first, get the most views, make the most money, and advance the agenda from liberal patrons,” Sandmann stated. “These outlets cover themselves when they are wrong with small footnotes at the ends of long articles, clarifying that new information has come out and that they have updated their coverage.”
After arguing that “News shouldn’t be a scoreboard that constantly changes,” Sandmann said that “every single label on Kyle as a ‘terrorist,’ ‘white supremacist,’ and ‘school shooter’ in the streets of Kenosha, will only ever be withdrawn after the damage has been done.”
Sandmann then spoke out against specific figures.
“In our hyperpolarized society, the first impression of Kyle has been set in stone, probably for the rest of his life,” Sandmann wrote. “So to President Joe Biden, Lebron James, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and every other commentator: please be quiet.”
Sandmann discussed LeBron’s statements on Rittenhouse’s emotional testimony, before arguing that “It is oblivious to the trauma associated with this event and how it severely affects Kyle.”
“Taking a life, for any reason, sticks with someone forever and yet the liberal elites would rather turn it into a joke for likes,” Sandmann said. “Not only does Kyle have to deal with that, but it is compounded with the overwhelming stress and trauma of the character assassination taking place against him.”
Sandmann then continued to discuss the subject of defamation cases, describing them as “some of the hardest cases to win.”
“I personally am still involved in six media lawsuits as January approaches marking three years since the confrontation took place at the March for Life,” Sandmann stated. “So, if Kyle is prepared to take on another burden in his early life, with the acceptance that it might result in nothing, I answer, give it a shot and hold the media accountable.”
“One of the saddening parts of this media onslaught is that it has taken young people like Kyle and myself to expose how corrupt the media really is,” Sandmann concluded. “From my own experience, I know that this cannot be easy for Kyle. While I have waited to comment on the facts of Kyle’s case until the trial ends. I cannot hold back on the media’s public execution of him before the trial has concluded.”
“At this time I would like to use my platform to let Kyle know that I am here for you and if you ever would like to reach out to me, I am about the only person our age to have an idea of how the media is treating you,” Sandmann wrote. “The way the media has treated you is terrible, and you don’t have to face it alone.”
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Source: Dailywire
