Demea wrote:
lolgaxe wrote:
Or just being a college athlete.
Watching SJWs struggle to
untangle the intersectionality of Brock Turner, sentencing reform, and open carry laws is kind of hilarious.
It's the problem of a "one size fits all" approach to both the outrage and empathy sides of the equation. The reality is that sometimes firearm ownership is a good thing, and sometimes it's not (like say someone defending their home from an intruder versus someone brandishing it around in front of someone's house as part of a protest). Sometimes a stiff sentence for a crime is appropriate, sometimes it's not (circumstances make a huge difference in the treatment of two otherwise identical charges). And sometimes, treating offenders with empathy for the effect of the punishment on their lives is appropriate, and sometimes it's not (such as in the effect of the sex offender registry in some really ridiculous cases, like the guy mentioned in one of the associated articles in the link who did something dumb when he was 12 and is now on the registry for life).
While I know this will just stir up the ant hill (hah, but why not, right?), in the case of Turner, while I think he should have gotten a much longer sentence for his actions, I'm actually kinda on the side of his family with regard to the concept of trying to teach people about the dangers of irresponsible drinking. I read the letter the victim wrote, and it's emotional, but there's one bit that did bother me. She talks about how if she hadn't been there that night, it would have been someone else victimized by Turner. And that may be true. But the flip side is kinda true as well. Given that she chose to drink to a state of near unconsciousness, it's quite probable that had Turner not been there that night, it would have been someone else who victimized her.
And no, before anyone goes there, I'm not blaming the victim, nor excusing her assailant. I'm merely pointing out the unfortunate social reality that it's far easier for each potential victim to take steps to avoid becoming a victim then to attempt to prevent any potential assailant from choosing to assault them. The former merely requires that *you* make good choices. The latter depends on everyone else in the world choosing not to do something you don't want them to. And frankly, if we lived in that world, we wouldn't have any crime at all. That's not going to happen anytime soon, so trying to "educate" potential assailants isn't a terribly effective method to use.
Better to educate potential victims IMO. It's not the perfect solution. And it's maybe not the politically correct solution. But it's the one that would make a much greater impact on the rate of such assaults.