Lukewarm Takes: The Kenosha shooting and the Denver shooting

 So we have Kyle Rittenhouse protecting a gas station. He's 17 years old, he should not be working as an armed security guard because he is too young. A bunch of morons decide to screw with him and he shoots three of them. If Kyle felt that it was too dangerous to travel to Kenosha without a firearm, then he should have stayed home. He had no duty to protect that gas station. If the owner of that gas station knowingly allowed him to work security for free, then that owner violated some perfectly good labor laws about allowing a minor to work for free. My guess is that Kyle was protecting this gas station without the gas station's consent. You can argue that 17 year olds should be allowed to go wherever they want with a rifle, but my stance is that many retailers do not allow firearms on the premises, and since Kyle was not employed by the gas station to protect it, he just should not have been at that gas station. I hope he gets the fairest trial that Wisconsin can muster, but he should face some consequences. Even if it's just a slap on the wrist, I hope that slap stings to the point that it deters him from "guarding" a place without being paid.

The moral of this story is that nobody should guard a business for free. If you want to pro bono protect a church, synagogue, mosque, or school, go right ahead. Vaya con Allah. But don't work for a business for free.

In security work, there are risks. You might injured, infected, or shot by some asshole. Ideally, nothing happens during your watch and you stand around wondering why you bothered showing up. Boredom isn't a risk, it's a certainty. You should embrace the concept of boredom in security work. Just about any other job is more fun than this. But a boring day is a good day. Ideally, would-be trouble makers see you on the job and just walk on by.

While police officers are almost always armed, security guards may be armed or unarmed, depending on the assignment. Firearms are almost always mandatory or forbidden in security work; a guard's employer either provides a weapon or explicitly bans the guard from having any weapon at all. Now there are people who are pacifists, and there are people who insist on having a firearm at all times. Just as a pacifist should not serve as an infantryman, a person who does not feel safe without a gun should not accept an unarmed security assignment. Matthew Dolloff did bring a firearm to an unarmed assignment. He should have either refused the assignment or left his gun at home.

In summation, if you feel that protecting other people's stuff is your calling, feel free to seek employment as a security guard. If an employer thinks that you have what it takes, don't let them down by taking unnecessary risks. Follow the directions provided by your supervisor, and you can keep your name out of the news.