11-14-2021, 08:58 AM
So, I should be writing up a research proposal right now, but I got to thinking about something thanks to the Rittenhouse trial and the McMichaels/Bryan trial. I'm using these trials as a launching pad for this for a reason, but know that my personal opinions on the guilty or innocence of these defendants is truly irrelevant.
Our legal system is based on the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" and that someone needs to be proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt in order for them to be imprisoned. I think that everyone here is familiar with this ideal and would agree to that. We also all know that the court of public opinion does not work this way.
The way this often works in trials is that things are made a little more difficult for the prosecution because the defendant, the accused, has rights related to their presumed innocence. This is, quite frankly, a very liberal/progressive ideal. So why do so many people seem to throw that out the window when it comes to someone on the wrong side of the law in their eyes? I know there is likely a psychological answer for it and it will be justified by some because they need to calm their cognitive dissonance with that rationalization, but it was just a thought I was having.
This also goes into the direction of some of the protests I have been seeing regarding race and the Rittenhouse case. At first I was baffled, because it is a white guy that shot other white guys. It seems, though, that the protests are because of how he was treated by the criminal justice system. They argue that a black person in those same circumstances would not have been afforded the same rights and protections. Honestly, I can't argue against that. They should be afforded the same rights and protections. I just don't like the idea of directing the ire towards Rittenhouse for that situation. There are people in those protests using that message to say Rittenhouse should be found guilty, and that I don't understand. Why should we drag others down to a place where they are being treated unjustly by the system?
Anyway, just some pre-coffee, Sunday morning thoughts that are resulting from a lack of focus.
Our legal system is based on the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" and that someone needs to be proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt in order for them to be imprisoned. I think that everyone here is familiar with this ideal and would agree to that. We also all know that the court of public opinion does not work this way.
The way this often works in trials is that things are made a little more difficult for the prosecution because the defendant, the accused, has rights related to their presumed innocence. This is, quite frankly, a very liberal/progressive ideal. So why do so many people seem to throw that out the window when it comes to someone on the wrong side of the law in their eyes? I know there is likely a psychological answer for it and it will be justified by some because they need to calm their cognitive dissonance with that rationalization, but it was just a thought I was having.
This also goes into the direction of some of the protests I have been seeing regarding race and the Rittenhouse case. At first I was baffled, because it is a white guy that shot other white guys. It seems, though, that the protests are because of how he was treated by the criminal justice system. They argue that a black person in those same circumstances would not have been afforded the same rights and protections. Honestly, I can't argue against that. They should be afforded the same rights and protections. I just don't like the idea of directing the ire towards Rittenhouse for that situation. There are people in those protests using that message to say Rittenhouse should be found guilty, and that I don't understand. Why should we drag others down to a place where they are being treated unjustly by the system?
Anyway, just some pre-coffee, Sunday morning thoughts that are resulting from a lack of focus.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
