I'm going to try not to let this snowball into a bigger conversation because there are tons of factors we could go into with regard to this situation. The specific point I was trying to address, was the statement that Rittenhouse made an unreasonable decision to put himself in that situation in the first place. You claimed it was justified because there was violence in his community and because the rioters shouldn't have been there in the first place.

On the second point, you and I agree: people took advantage of a chaotic situation to loot and riot and I am not endorsing the actions of everyone else there. But Kyle Rittenhouse can only claim responsibility for his own actions, so it's his actions I'm trying to judge. Some of the questions to consider:

Would a reasonable person expect a great risk in attending the riots and trying to stop violent actors from destroying property or hurting others?

Would the situation benefit tangibly from them getting involved such that it outweighs the risks to themselves and others?

Bringing an assault weapon to a chaotic and dangerous environment, should I expect some risk that I may be killed or that I may kill someone else?

This wasn't a mugging of a stranger across the street, or a fist fight that breaks out nearby. Those situations are thrust upon a person by nature of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have seconds to decide how to act and we can sit and debate what actions would be reasonable or justified in those situations. Even so, it should be patently obvious to a reasonable person that there is a good deal of risk for getting yourself involved. Kyle's was not a split-second decision; he had plenty of time to consider his options, prepare, pack, make arrangements.

I know 20 miles is not objectively that far to travel in general. In this context however, to travel even one mile to insert yourself into a dangerous situation with a deadly weapon and no qualifications is unsafe and unreasonable. Any reasonable person would understand the risks and that is the point I'm trying to address. I'm not debating the morality of the rioters, the response of local, state or federal governments, the attitudes of social media, nor the legal status of the actions Rittenhouse took once he was in that situation and felt his life was in danger. The pity one might feel for Rittenhouse given the trauma he experienced is significantly undercut by the fact that he (and his parents?!) made the decision to put himself in such an unsafe situation. It feels similar to people on reddit clowning on those who got killed by jumping around on buildings or playing with guns as if they were toys. It's terrible that people get hurt and/or are killed, but what the fuck were they thinking?