Saturday, November 20, 2021

And another day of this ‘ain’t happening in a vacuum,’ not breaking the law, disparities of what’s considered ‘self-defense,’ nothing more frightening than an angry White man, US military ‘not ready’ for climate change, and 56% of US non-parents don’t want to have children comes to a close:

“At a certain point the logic of this sort of ‘self-defense’ becomes indistinguishable from a custom that simply allows certain people to get away with murder.” — Adam Sewer

Deaths

US: 793,539 (+2441)

World: 5,163,390 (+8132)

Cases

US: 48,558,229 (+36,633)

World: 257,426,494 (+469,183)

it ain't happening in a vacuum . . . — Look at all the pictures. Really look at them. The country is not “polarized.” Republicans have been radicalized.

Kyle Rittenhouse didn't break the law. That's terrifying. His acquittal may make legal sense, but it’s exceedingly dangerous. Rittenhouse’s trial showcased not only the failure of law enforcement, but of the law itself—and seems likely to encourage similar incidents in the future…It can be simultaneously true that Rittenhouse’s acquittal was legally justified and that its consequences will be terrible. The legal question, addressed at trial, was not the same as the political debate happening on TV and online. But Rittenhouse’s fans were primed to greet the verdict not only as a declaration that Rittenhouse wasn’t guilty of murder, but that he was morally right — and worthy of emulation…Laws that protect carrying and using guns are making it less clear when shooting someone is illegal. As one 2020 academic study put it, more people are “pointing guns” at each other without “clear rules of conduct.” And gun rights fans, egged on by legal uncertainly and each other, are getting more aggressive. “Citizens are no longer thinking that they may just defend themselves,” Kimberly Kessler Ferzan, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, argued recently in the Texas Law Review. “Instead, they intend to take the fight to the ‘criminals.’”…But the biggest failure was that the events of the trial, and the public perception of it, will not deter the kind of conduct that led to it. It seems sure to cause more right-wing vigilantism, more armed confrontations, and more political violence in the streets.

Two Days Before Rittenhouse Verdict, a Native Woman Was Imprisoned for Killing Her Alleged Rapist. The cases are different, but the results illustrate larger disparities about what we consider self-defense. Yet George’s sentence is a stark contrast to Rittenhouse’s not guilty verdict, delivered by a jury on Friday. “Here we have Rittenhouse gas up his car, cross state lines, claiming to defend himself, when Maddesyn George was in her own reservation, hiding out from this white man who crossed reservation lines to try to come after her,” Graham says. The two cases played out in separate jurisdictions, with very different sets of facts. But their outcomes—Rittenhouse goes free, while George is going to prison—illustrate larger disparities in whose claim to self-defense is seen as legitimate, according to Caroline Light, director of undergraduate studies in the Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University. An Urban Institute study, for instance, found that homicides with a white perpetrator and a Black victim are 281 percent more likely to be ruled justified than cases with a white perpetrator and white victim. Meanwhile, according to a survey of 608 women imprisoned for murder or manslaughter convictions, 30 percent said they were convicted after trying to protect themselves or loved ones from physical or sexual violence.

But as I've watched three separate trials about White male violence unfold across the US these past few weeks -- the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, the Ahmaud Arbery death trial and the civil case against organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville -- I've come to a sobering conclusion: There is nothing more frightening in America today than an angry White man. It's not the "radical Islamic terrorist" that I fear the most. Nor is it the brown immigrant or the fiery Black Lives Matter protester, or whatever the latest bogeyman is that some politician tells me I should dread. It's encountering an armed White man in public who has been inspired by the White men on trial in these three cases.

Michigan issues new mask advisory for all people above the age of 2 as COVID-19 cases surge. The advisory, effective immediately, says anyone above the age of 2 should wear a mask at indoor gatherings, regardless of their vaccination status. Public establishments should be implementing mask policies, and people who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised should avoid crowds, according to the advisory put forth by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Unvaccinated players will not be allowed to compete at the 2022 Australian Open. The tournament will be played in front of capacity crowds.

Justices could rule on Texas abortion ban as soon as Monday. The justices are planning to issue at least one opinion Monday, the first of its new term, the court said on its website Friday.

Senior Pentagon official warns the US military is 'not ready' for climate change. "We are not where we should be, and now is beyond the time when we need to get in front of that challenge," Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told CNN.

Flooding in Washington state leaves residents wondering what's next. Hit by one catastrophe after another, the farming area bordering Canada tries to pick up the pieces after a deadly heat wave, drought and wildfires.

Apple tells workers they have right to discuss wages, working conditions. "We encourage any employee with concerns to raise them in the way they feel most comfortable, internally or externally," the post states.

Americans often have to wait many weeks to see a therapist. A new California law aims to fix that — requiring health insurers to shorten wait times for mental health care to no more than 10 business days.

Growing share of childless adults in U.S. don’t expect to ever have children. Among U.S. non-parents ages 18-49 who say it’s unlikely they’ll have children, 56% say they just don’t want to. 

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.