Dallas school district forced to apologize for essay depicting Kyle Rittenhouse as a hero

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dallas-school-district-apologizes-assignment-describing-kenosha-shooter-hero-n1240315

The Dallas Independent School district apologized for an assignment that asked high school students to write an essay about a modern "hero" and suggested Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with killing two people during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.


Rittenhouse was suggested as "hero for the modern age" along with the possible subjects of Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, George Floyd and Joseph Rosenbaum — one of the Rittenhouse's alleged victims.

Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the Aug. 25 shooting deaths of Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber during protests over the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha.

Kristian Hernandez said that her younger brother, a student at W.T. White High School in Dallas, shared details of the assignment with his family.

[NewYorkExpress]

I realize this is bait but I'll bite: Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum are not heroes. Taking up arms for what you believe in is not inherently heroic, and is often quite the opposite. Either of them would gladly see the country burn for their preferred ideology to succeed, which is not heroic. Likewise, not every soldier who goes off to fight in a war is a hero.

And also, is George Floyd a hero? Yes, he died in an absolutely tragic and horrific manner. His death cast a bright light on problems of racism and iniquity that have existed for hundreds of years. But did he at any point actually do anything heroic? That Derek Chauvin was obviously the villain in that story doesn't necessarily make Floyd a hero.

Basically this in a nutshell.

Cops may be horrible people, but that doesn't make their victims heroes automatically.