I cannot share Lueders’s glee over the draconian punishment given recently to some of the people Trump called to Washington for January 6th. These were deluded people who killed no one, shot no one, committed no arson, destroyed no large amount of property, and did very little physical harm of any sort. They were guilty and deserved puni…
I cannot share Lueders’s glee over the draconian punishment given recently to some of the people Trump called to Washington for January 6th. These were deluded people who killed no one, shot no one, committed no arson, destroyed no large amount of property, and did very little physical harm of any sort. They were guilty and deserved punishment, but it should have been condign punishment for their actual deeds, not vindictive punishment for their politics. It can be hard for people to agree with Trump’s apologists on anything, but in this case they have a point about the severity of the punishment here in contrast to the generally mild or nonexistent punishment of far more violent rioters in the George Floyd riots. Those of us who oppose Trump and support the rule of law should want the laws to be enforced fairly and consistently – even for people we don’t like. And as a practical matter, the way the January 6th cases have been handled has given Trumpists an easy chance to stir up more distrust by saying that the rioters are martyrs being punished less for their deeds than their beliefs.
I cannot share Lueders’s glee over the draconian punishment given recently to some of the people Trump called to Washington for January 6th. These were deluded people who killed no one, shot no one, committed no arson, destroyed no large amount of property, and did very little physical harm of any sort. They were guilty and deserved punishment, but it should have been condign punishment for their actual deeds, not vindictive punishment for their politics. It can be hard for people to agree with Trump’s apologists on anything, but in this case they have a point about the severity of the punishment here in contrast to the generally mild or nonexistent punishment of far more violent rioters in the George Floyd riots. Those of us who oppose Trump and support the rule of law should want the laws to be enforced fairly and consistently – even for people we don’t like. And as a practical matter, the way the January 6th cases have been handled has given Trumpists an easy chance to stir up more distrust by saying that the rioters are martyrs being punished less for their deeds than their beliefs.