American Justice

As someone who's a square peg in a round hole world, I find this very disturbing and scary. And a minimalist precis, as it were, of the insanity of our proto-fascist society.

James was a classic square peg: A 58-year old stil living at home, no history of whatchamacall a normal relationship. A drunk (hasn't hurt Our Leader!) and may well have acted inappropriately.

And based on what a two year old has allegedly said, he's dead, killed by the child's father -- a dozen-odd stabs to the chest. After climbing into the guy's bedromm.

And what kind of nutjob gets so inflamed over something so unreliable?

James was of course waiting for death, if I can be so callously existential about it. But the father?

Well, his baby has lost her father during the most important years of her life, based on...? Well, what can a two year articulate about something like this... without prompting? How relaiable was what she said?

Enough to get one man killed and a number of lives ruined.

And of course the subtext of the story is How well do we know anyone we think we know?

One link. More here and here (both Times; sub only, charge someday).

The Times actually did a little follow-up: James was in a downward spiral. And the child's mother finally filed a complaint with police --two days after James was killed?? Either the Times screwed up the chronology -- or can we say Establishing a defense?

And Edington maybe didn't have a record but he had a nasty temper and, surprise, surprise, seems to have been something of a right wingnut, waiting for his chance to be a hero? Not such a surprise, I guess.... Maybe volunteering to serve his president in Iraq wasn't an option, all he wanted was to a vigilantes, a saver of lives; guess he failed at that destroying lives instead....

And speaking of microcosm:

A country ruled not by laws, but by those with the most weapons and the shortest tempers, is frankly not a country in which I would care to live.