FWIW, I've also wandered abandoned and under-construction buildings, and have taken close-up looks at construction equipment. Trespassing, yes, but with no ill will, and no harm or damage done beyond exposing the owner to potential liability if a brick fell on my head.
And yet as a teenager I was occasionally known to PROWL. Hell, I read books and practiced on how to PROWL better!
I can tell you that they are different things.
I'm not accusing you of anything, but his mere presence doesn't mean he was up to no good. There is no real basis to make the jump from "he was present" to "he was present to do harm."
And again, in regards to this case, it really doesn't matter. Whether he was prowling or strolling, the response and end result were equally unjustified.
LawBeefaroni wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:47 am
Well, he's made his choice and it certainty sheds light on his motives and intentions that night in Kenosha.
Nah, his motives and intentions that night will never be known to anybody but him and (maybe) his therapist. He may have just been an impressionable, lonely teenager that night, hoping to gain approval and show he was as cool as everyone else - just like we all tended to do (in different ways) at that age. I certainly did some dangerous, harmful, and stupid things as a teenager while hoping for approval and acceptance with my peers that I've spent decades regretting. Or he may have been there hoping to get to kill some of those pesky Libs he heard about on Twitter. We'll never know, as short of a manifesto, the outward appearance would have been the same.
What this sheds light on is his character now, based on how he's choosing to respond to a tragedy he was responsible for.
That night could have been him in a panic. This is a deliberate decision, either from his own nature (he was a shit all along), or due to the love and adoration of the extremists hoping to influence him (which would tie into the 'teen looking for approval' idea.) Again, the outward appearance would be the same, and we'll never be able to tell which is the truth.
But while I said that I don't like judging what could be a teenager doing something stupid and getting in over his head, I will absolutely judge the deliberate, considered actions he takes now.
What doesn't kill me makes me stranger.