The Worst Thing I Read Today
Larry Nassar’s Victims Deserved a Judge Like Rosemarie Aquilina (https://goo.gl/j6us8m)
Let's try to follow along with the point of this column.
1. Judge Aquilina bemoaned in open court that she could not sentence Larry Nassar to be continuously raped by many different rapists, because the Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
2. Some other people online were disquieted by the judge expressing such a sentiment.
3. The columnist agrees with those people--this sort of thing should not ever happen in an American court of law.
4. The columnist empathizes with the judge for saying what she said about wishing to sentence Nassar to many rapes, and expresses his belief that it's just what Nassar deserved to hear.
The column seems to be a prevent defense, of sorts, against the possibility that someone might feel sympathy for Nassar in the wake of the judge expressing her desire that the law of the land were such that she could order many other people to rape him--as though any objection to her very obviously indefensible vengeance-wish must contain within it some amount of compassion for Nassar, which it clearly need not. The column, at the same time that it grants how such a thing should never be said by a judge in a courtroom, praises the judge for her passion and humanity for having said it.
None of the 156 women who came forward to stare Nassar in the face and tell their story expressed a wish that he be raped in return, so far as I have read--though one would hardly blame them if they did. They suffered nearly unspeakable, brutal attacks on their humanity, and still found the courage and strength of character to confront this man, to tell the world their stories, to show how they are still human. The judge, on the other hand, seems to have been left brutalized by the trial--how else to explain sitting in court and telling the world that you wish you could order Nassar to be repeatedly raped? That is an expression of how bearing witness to all this violence has temporarily robbed her of her humanity, not a praiseworthy passionate display of humanity. The judge fucked up! It was sad and nauseating and indefensible, no matter how easy it is to connect the angry dots.
This was a bad, unnecessary column, and is the Worst Thing I Read Today.
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The Best Thing I Read Today
What Larry Nassar's Victims Wanted Us To Know
https://goo.gl/MLMnR2
Deadspin has had reliably great coverage of the Nassar thing. Just awful.
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Other Stuff I Read Today
Where Nassar's Judge Went Wrong
https://goo.gl/7J96Ha
"Does Nassar deserve to be raped 150 times? Quite possibly: To be honest, when crimes approach the magnitude of his, I stop trusting my ability to keep tabs on just deserts, except to say that what he deserves is—whether it’s a lifetime in a dark hole, or years-long gang rape—beyond my ability to fathom. But to admit that he deserves inconceivable punishment is not to defend the judge’s remarks. Some crimes are bad enough that no remedy exists for them in civilized society. I am reminded of C.S. Lewis’s famous line that some men are indeed fit only to be slaves, but none is fit to be a master."
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Most Americans Want Legal Status for ‘Dreamers.’ These Are Not Among Them.
https://nyti.ms/2GhbgSO
"For Joe Kleve, 21, a senior at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, the argument that the young immigrants had been brought by their parents held no weight.
What if someone’s parents were caught sneaking their whole family into a movie without paying, he asked. “Are they going to just kick the parents out?”"
CAN'T ARGUE WITH THAT LOGIC, EH BRO?! THE LAW'S THE LAW!
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Trump audio transcript: ‘I’m looking forward to’ speaking with Mueller
https://goo.gl/Ewjt2p
"The fact is — you people won't say this, but I'll say it: I was a much better candidate than her. You always say she was a bad candidate. You never say I was a good candidate. I was one of the greatest candidates. Nobody else would have beaten the Clinton machine, as crooked as it was. But I was a great candidate. Someday you're going to say that. Goodbye, everybody." -- Donald Trump
Yes, Donald. One day everyone will talk about what a great candidate you were. Truly, history will judge you as one of the greatest candidates. You fucking dolt.
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Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit
https://nyti.ms/2GhaSUD
Holy shit! He almost sealed the deal in June! We were so close!
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And lots more, because reading is so much fun, obviously. Let's read more tomorrow!