The Arc of the Moral Universe

 

Two court cases captured the attention of Americans on all sides of the political spectrum this month, the trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and of Travis and Greg McMichael and William Bryan. Two different verdicts that I think illustrate that in some cases, the American system of justice still works.

Many of those whose political inclinations lean left were outraged by the verdict in the Rittenhouse case. They have accused the Judge, the jury, the lawyers, and everyone but the Bailiff in this case of being biased and racist, despite the fact that the victims in this case were white. The reality is, that while no one can say to what extent certain individuals are racist, racism was not the determining factor in this case.

Our judicial system is designed to give even the most loathsome individuals the same protection as those we love. This is what happened in the Rittenhouse case. Those on the left find Rittenouse to be a villain as much as those on the right find him to be a hero, but justice does not care either way. Justice is blind. We don’t like the idea that a kid can walk the streets with an assault rifle whenever he wants (the fact that he was underage is a separate issue. If he were 18 we would feel the same way). We don’t like the idea that if a person feels threatened in the street, they can shoot the person they feel threatened by. We especially don’t like the understanding that if that kid were black, he would likely be gunned down himself or arrested by the cops before he ever got a chance to defend himself. But none of these things can be factors in court if someone is to have a fair trial, and that’s what Kyle Rittenhouse got. He got a presumption of innocence, and the prosecutor failed to prove that his actions were not self-defense beyond the high standard of reasonable doubt. You don’t have to like it, but you should appreciate it. Some will find that suggestion offensive because the law is not applied fairly to all people. I’ll get to that.

Look, in contrast, at the McMichaels/Bryan case. These men subjected Ahmaud Arbery to what was essentially a 21^st century lynching. They hunted this poor man down like a dog. Greg McMichael’s defense was essentially “he looked like a dirty, sketchy, black kid.” These men were found guilty of multiple counts of murder, not because the judge, or the jury, or the lawyers were anti-white racists. 11 out of the 12 jurors were white. They were found guilty because the same system that applied to Kyle Rittenhouse was applied to them, and under that standard, the prosecution showed that these men murdered Ahmaud Arbery. The system worked.

Again, a lot of the outrage over Kyle Rittenhouse is the idea that he got off because he was white. There’s no question that white people enjoy privilege in our criminal justice system. But look at the two cases. The man whose victims were white was acquitted, and those whose victim was black were convicted. Doesn’t quite fit the narrative.

The outrage is justified. We’ve heard a lot of talk about Critical Race Theory over the last few months, and ironically, the right has been looking for it in the wrong place. It has been fully on display in our courts. There’s not an aware human being in this country that doesn’t know that if a black kid had crossed state lines and attended a BLM protest with an AR-15, his fate would have been very different. We all have a sense that even if he made it to court, a conviction would have been almost certain. It’s also clear that it took way too long to bring the McMichaels’ to justice. But these are problems with the legislature, and a legal system that is rooted in racism, not with the way justice was applied in these two cases.

The law that allowed the McMichaels to feel justified in hunting down Ahmaud Arbery, the Citizens Arrest law, previously in effect for over 150 years, has been repealed. This is what we should focus on. Here is a law that illustrates critical race theory. No black man in Georgia could ever in history have gotten away with approaching a white man with a gun with the intent of making an arrest. No black man should ever have to accept a non-law enforcement white man approaching him with a gun with the assumption that a legal arrest is about to take place. It was a law rooted in systemic racism and as a result of this case, it was repealed. That is the kind of justice we should be focused on. One may have cause to hope that laws against open carry of assault rifles in Wisconsin and in particular laws against underage carry will be strengthened in the wake of the Rittenhouse trial. It’s an iffy proposition. The NRA is strong, but we can hope. However, as disappointed as I am that Kyle Rittenhouse walks free today, and even worse, as some kind of right wing icon, I remain steadfast in my belief that the justice system worked in both of these cases, and that, we as a society must work to fix the system’s racial inequities, not throw it away when we don’t get the results we want.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why Simone Biles Represents Everything That’s Wrong With America (It's not what you think)

 

On Tuesday, Simone Biles, after a poor performance on the vault, suddenly and shockingly withdrew from the Olympic All-Around Team Gymnastics competition, citing mental health issues. 

Biles’ decision immediately turned into a political football, with those on the right predictably calling her a quitter who doesn’t respect our country and someone who embodies the Millennial and younger generation’s “everyone should get a trophy” egalitarian (dare I say “socialist?”) attitude.

Those on the left responded, if anything, even more strongly, insisting that Biles, the most decorated and successful gymnast of all time, is the undisputed GOAT and owes nothing to a bunch of armchair athletes who criticize others to cover up their own inadequacy. Those questioning Biles’ decision were just as predictably called racists and misogynists once again abusing their privilege.

Even Kerri Strug (who famously pushed through the pain of a broken ankle to land her final vault as part of a US victory in the 1996 Olympic Games) was dragged back into the limelight for the controversy, with those taking issue with Biles’ decision pointing to her as an example of someone with the true heart of a champion, an inspiration to young women and girls everywhere, while the pro-Biles camp reframed Strug as a victim of a draconian Eastern European coach willing to destroy as many young girls as necessary to get what he wanted, while Biles is the real Olympic hero for standing up to the tyranny of patriarchal sport.

The point is this. The Olympics, at one time, were supposed to represent hope. The hope that if we all, Russian or American, Arab or Israeli, man or woman, Black or white, young or old, could put aside our differences in the spirit of non-violent, friendly competition for two weeks, we could have lasting peace throughout the world.

While that idea was a little pollyanna-ish, there’s something to it. Even if it didn’t work on an international level, or at least, not for long, it worked internally. In the past, when it came to the Olympics, all of America was on the same side, at least as far as we knew. We all collectively cheered when Kerri Strug landed that vault. We all rejoiced when Team USA beat Team USSR at the “Miracle on Ice.” During the Olympics, regardless of our differences, we were all Americans.

Now, it’s possible that this image was an illusion. It’s possible that during each Olympics, while we all had a public face of unifying support, some faction of Americans were seething at some injustice or other behind the scenes, decades safely removed from the revealing spotlight of social media. But even the ILLUSION was worth something. The perception that it was possible for all Americans to come together for some common cause meant something.

We no longer have that illusion because it is no longer true. We can’t even all get on the same side against a devastating killer virus, let alone for an Olympic athlete.

In Biles’ absence, Sunisa Lee stepped up for the Americans, helping the USA secure a silver medal in the Team competition and winning the Individual All-Around. In another time, another era, this would have been the story. The only story. Americans have each others’ backs. If one of us falls, the others will be right there to pick them up and press on. 

We are no longer worthy of that narrative.

Why is this the case? What has happened over the last 20 years to turn us into a country where we just can’t all get along? There seems little point in trying to find out, as that analysis would immediately become just as polarized as our reality. Liberals will point to FOX News propaganda pushing America to the right, Conservatives will accuse Academia of pulling it to the left. The real question is can anything be done about it?

Short of an intergalactic alien invasion or a mutated virus so deadly it kills off the side that is polarized against defending itself against it, it’s hard to imagine what that would be.

In the meantime, I’ll still be watching the Olympics and cheering for Team USA. Who’s with me?