1. Did you mean to use "flout the law," (meaning, to openly disregard), or "flaunt the law," (meaning, to display ostentatiously)? People often use the former, when they really mean the latter.
2. Amanda is 100% right. You hold authoritarians accountable by...holding them accountable. Al Capone went to prison on tax eva…
1. Did you mean to use "flout the law," (meaning, to openly disregard), or "flaunt the law," (meaning, to display ostentatiously)? People often use the former, when they really mean the latter.
2. Amanda is 100% right. You hold authoritarians accountable by...holding them accountable. Al Capone went to prison on tax evasion. Ted Bundy was captured after running a stop sign. Just because the prosecutor is a Democrat and Trump is a Republican former president, doesn't make it political. He isn't being charged b/c he's a Republican; he's being charged b/c they think he's guilty.
If some rogue prosecutor wants to drum up some charges against Obama or Hillary, I hope we have enough confidence in the legal system that a jury will acquit them in the event there is no evidence of a crime, or in the alternative, convict them if there is.
Real authoritarianism, real illiberalism, would be a system where there are never trials, where the community is forbidden from holding people accountable. Sure, the system makes mistakes. But that's little reason for eschewing it.
The difference with Trump is that while some politicians are discreet about their crimes (not covert– they don't try and cover things up, but rather, they do what they can to stay within the bounds of the law), Trump is shameless. He openly flouts (YSWIDT) it, and then dares people to come after him.
Part of the problem is that, for far too long, our society has allowed men like Trump, Epstein, Weinstein, R. Kelly, and others, to have a free pass. So the public has become conditioned to believe that the rich and famous can largely get away with anything.
If you want to stop it, then you start prosecuting it. Just like broken windows policing. Arrest the turnstile jumpers, and haul them off to jail. Paint over the graffiti as soon as you see it. Make Trump answer for falsifying his documents.
A couple of points:
1. Did you mean to use "flout the law," (meaning, to openly disregard), or "flaunt the law," (meaning, to display ostentatiously)? People often use the former, when they really mean the latter.
2. Amanda is 100% right. You hold authoritarians accountable by...holding them accountable. Al Capone went to prison on tax evasion. Ted Bundy was captured after running a stop sign. Just because the prosecutor is a Democrat and Trump is a Republican former president, doesn't make it political. He isn't being charged b/c he's a Republican; he's being charged b/c they think he's guilty.
If some rogue prosecutor wants to drum up some charges against Obama or Hillary, I hope we have enough confidence in the legal system that a jury will acquit them in the event there is no evidence of a crime, or in the alternative, convict them if there is.
Real authoritarianism, real illiberalism, would be a system where there are never trials, where the community is forbidden from holding people accountable. Sure, the system makes mistakes. But that's little reason for eschewing it.
The difference with Trump is that while some politicians are discreet about their crimes (not covert– they don't try and cover things up, but rather, they do what they can to stay within the bounds of the law), Trump is shameless. He openly flouts (YSWIDT) it, and then dares people to come after him.
Part of the problem is that, for far too long, our society has allowed men like Trump, Epstein, Weinstein, R. Kelly, and others, to have a free pass. So the public has become conditioned to believe that the rich and famous can largely get away with anything.
If you want to stop it, then you start prosecuting it. Just like broken windows policing. Arrest the turnstile jumpers, and haul them off to jail. Paint over the graffiti as soon as you see it. Make Trump answer for falsifying his documents.