1. My sister-in-law was brutally murdered by a repeat violent offender with a long history of mental illness who was in front of a progressive judge less than two weeks prior for being a suspect in the murder of his aunt via arson. He was set free to walk the streets while pending trial. He was set free to rape, torture, and murder my si…
1. My sister-in-law was brutally murdered by a repeat violent offender with a long history of mental illness who was in front of a progressive judge less than two weeks prior for being a suspect in the murder of his aunt via arson. He was set free to walk the streets while pending trial. He was set free to rape, torture, and murder my sister. So when Lara said that violent and psychopathic criminals are NEVER just being set free, that it just doesn’t happen, that really really really pissed me off.
2. Incredible that Lara accused the other side of straw man arguments, when first she mischaracterized the opposition’s concerns about cutting police as a suggestion that her side was supporting zero police and total anarchy. Then she went on to contrast that by saying that she is also opposed to “lock everyone up” and “one giant government institution that will incarcerate and institutionalize everyone that we find scary.” Literally no one is saying any of that at all. So it’s weird that she said she wanted more nuance while simultaneously misrepresenting the other side’s arguments in a very un-nuanced way.
3. I actually admire and appreciate the empathy of Lara when she grieves over her 30 year old client. As a Christian, my faith informs my belief that no one is disposable and every life has value. It is a grief that his life turned out the way that it did. And I support the impulse to do more to intervene earlier in young people’s lives. But sometimes in these conversations, it starts feeling like there is more empathy for those who have committed a crime than the person they harmed. I am not setting up the “false binary” that Lara objects to. You can have empathy for a criminal for the situation of their life, but it needs to be in parallel with and NEVER at the expense of the criminal’s victims. Victims of crime deserve empathy first.
4. Lara’s statement that just a couple of interventions in his life would have prevented his outcome is a bold assumption. Some folks are given chance after chance and still make the wrong choices. Unless someone is truly mentally ill, we are all responsible for our choices. This isn’t an argument against all prevention, especially where evidence shows it works. But it’s a separate argument from what should be done with folks who have already committed crimes. Further, my intuitions and observations tell me that the real solution aren’t ones that the government can readily provide (i.e. intact families, virtue, faith, etc).
5. I feel like the premise of the debate maybe could have been better because I found myself agreeing with everyone on the panel (even Lara a couple of times). Yeah, we need criminal reform AND we need to enforce law and order. We need more, well paid, highly respected, better trained, but also held accountable, cops.
6. Final point! I was really struck by Kmele’s comment about anyone who is libertarian and skeptical of government and public schools should be equally suspicious of cops and prisons. It really made me think. Because I am just such a libertarian-leaning skeptic. But then I thought, I am also pretty supportive of the military. Which isn’t to say that I don’t believe there is nothing that needs reform in the military…I do! But we absolutely need a strong and well-supported military, and I think law enforcement is closer to that than it is to administering public schools or regulating businesses.
1. My sister-in-law was brutally murdered by a repeat violent offender with a long history of mental illness who was in front of a progressive judge less than two weeks prior for being a suspect in the murder of his aunt via arson. He was set free to walk the streets while pending trial. He was set free to rape, torture, and murder my sister. So when Lara said that violent and psychopathic criminals are NEVER just being set free, that it just doesn’t happen, that really really really pissed me off.
2. Incredible that Lara accused the other side of straw man arguments, when first she mischaracterized the opposition’s concerns about cutting police as a suggestion that her side was supporting zero police and total anarchy. Then she went on to contrast that by saying that she is also opposed to “lock everyone up” and “one giant government institution that will incarcerate and institutionalize everyone that we find scary.” Literally no one is saying any of that at all. So it’s weird that she said she wanted more nuance while simultaneously misrepresenting the other side’s arguments in a very un-nuanced way.
3. I actually admire and appreciate the empathy of Lara when she grieves over her 30 year old client. As a Christian, my faith informs my belief that no one is disposable and every life has value. It is a grief that his life turned out the way that it did. And I support the impulse to do more to intervene earlier in young people’s lives. But sometimes in these conversations, it starts feeling like there is more empathy for those who have committed a crime than the person they harmed. I am not setting up the “false binary” that Lara objects to. You can have empathy for a criminal for the situation of their life, but it needs to be in parallel with and NEVER at the expense of the criminal’s victims. Victims of crime deserve empathy first.
4. Lara’s statement that just a couple of interventions in his life would have prevented his outcome is a bold assumption. Some folks are given chance after chance and still make the wrong choices. Unless someone is truly mentally ill, we are all responsible for our choices. This isn’t an argument against all prevention, especially where evidence shows it works. But it’s a separate argument from what should be done with folks who have already committed crimes. Further, my intuitions and observations tell me that the real solution aren’t ones that the government can readily provide (i.e. intact families, virtue, faith, etc).
5. I feel like the premise of the debate maybe could have been better because I found myself agreeing with everyone on the panel (even Lara a couple of times). Yeah, we need criminal reform AND we need to enforce law and order. We need more, well paid, highly respected, better trained, but also held accountable, cops.
6. Final point! I was really struck by Kmele’s comment about anyone who is libertarian and skeptical of government and public schools should be equally suspicious of cops and prisons. It really made me think. Because I am just such a libertarian-leaning skeptic. But then I thought, I am also pretty supportive of the military. Which isn’t to say that I don’t believe there is nothing that needs reform in the military…I do! But we absolutely need a strong and well-supported military, and I think law enforcement is closer to that than it is to administering public schools or regulating businesses.
Well said. All of it...
Excellent review of the “debate”. Thank you for sharing your family’s pain and loss. It certainly gives you credibility.