Read on Twitter
Big difference between “a person who committed a serious crime as a child should be done away with forever” and “a person who committed a serious and recent crime as a child and still shows dangerously poor judgment perhaps should not be elected to position of power right now.” https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1296578800130633729
I would like our society to be MUCH less punitive and much more forgiving. I would like to see that especially when it comes to children. But when you look at all the circumstances here, it’s pretty clear this guy has some big issues and maintains a serious empathy deficit.
The question is not “should we forgive him.” That’s not our place. It’s not even “should we banish him forever.” We haven’t! He’s walking free and as far as I know without a criminal record. As it should be. The question is “should we entrust him with political power right now?”
He’s 19. He ran for governor at 17 — either he thinks politics are a joke or he’s an entitled narcissist who doesn’t comprehend his own limitations and the value of any experience at all. If he were a conservative I think we’d see this.
He recently told a family member of one of the girls he maliciously harassed — one he extorted and then circulated a revenge porn image of her, and one tried to kill herself after he told her she should — to get over it. He’s minimized his actions as only happening online.
He also said he hopes Republicans die of Covid, and singled out a specific Republican for that dark wish. Then he said it was a joke -- like how we laugh at people who die after texting and driving. Uh — we do? I definitely don’t. Just so little empathy and SUCH poor judgment.
We should have learned by now that someone sharing your policy goals doesn’t make them decent. And decent people have to draw lines when it comes to character — even when we are politically aligned with someone.
That doesn’t even mean he should never run for office. But I think it probably means he shouldn’t run for office until he does some work on himself and grows as a human being.
These two things can coexist: we can understand that we are far too punitive, especially when it comes to kids, and we can also choose not to elevate a morally under-developed 19-year-old with a troubling history who continues to show remarkably poor judgment.
This isn’t a zero-sum game but I also keep thinking about the fact that the girl whose nude photos he circulated really can’t ever run for office, because child pornography of her is now circulating through her community. Running would likely mean greater humiliation.
All of that said this is not meant as an attack on @ryangrim. These are difficult questions and we should be having these discussions.
I know how shitty it is to be piled on and have your motives, not just your words, questioned. So don’t do that!
