Blogs

Anti-Trump riots and the world gone crazy … or not

Anti-Trump riots and the world gone crazy … or not

Justin Katz

When truly pressed to find some optimism in all the garbage of current events, I've sometimes fallen back to pointing out that there really isn't anything new. We've seen these pissant thugs before; they're part of the ebb and flow of history. It's not pleasant when they're surging, and it's especially irksome when the mainstream media and (more importantly) people with whom we disagree, philosophically, but whom we respect, can't muster a strong denunciation of those who would beat us senseless, if given the chance.

But thems the games. It falls to us to decide whether we're for principle or for temporary victory. We have to decide on the threshold at which prudence means breaking the other guy's nose so that the civilized conversation can continue. And decide that we haven't gotten there, yet.

A plea for mercy for Brock Allen Turner
Blogs

A plea for mercy for Brock Allen Turner

Tina McCormick

In recent weeks, the public has become nearly hysterical over the perceived lenient sentencing of Brock Allen Turner, the Stanford student convicted of sexually assaulting a blacked out party-goer behind the dumpster of a fraternity house. Turner was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison with probation. He will have to register as a sex offender upon release.

Facebook is replete with strong opinions a plenty from people who think the sentence too lenient, but who seem to have picked up only fragments of the story. But is the public outrage based on fact or on raw emotion, internet memes, or incomplete retellings of the events that led to Turner's conviction?

Read More