Dear Progressive Reader,
Three court cases in the past weeks have captured national attention. The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on murder charges in Wisconsin was seen as a potential green light for self-appointed vigilantes. Supporters of Rittenhouse have been toasting the result, using a 1930s-era brand of rye whiskey that shares his name - this despite of objections from the manufacturer. “It is our strongly held belief that in serious matters such as this, where lives were lost and people deeply affected, there is no cause for celebration, but instead deep reflection on how we can make the world a more peaceful and respectful place for all,” the company wrote on social media. At the same, guilty verdicts in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery gave a very different view of the role of vigilantes in a just society. “This isn’t the Wild West,” said prosecutor Linda Dunikoski in her closing statement. “You can’t start it and claim self-defense.”
Similarly, the high penalties awarded in the civil suit against organizers of the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, send a message to rightwing extremists. While one of the defendants, white nationalist Richard Spencer, called the trial a “weapon against free speech,” it was actually about organizing to commit violence. A 1942 U.S. Court decision, which has been revisited numerous times, ruled that “fighting words” are not protected by the First Amendment; rather, such words “by their very utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality." This sort of language was certainly a key element in the August 2017 chants and slogans in the streets of Charlottesville. As I noted in my January 2018 review of Everything you Love Will Burn, by journalist Vegas Tenold (which includes extensive material on Matthew Heimbach, one of the Charlottesville defendants), “Tenold’s book is on-the-ground reporting about a new American reality. It is full of violence and hatred, and ultimately quite frightening to read.” But, as attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Karen Dunn said in a statement after the verdict, “[The November 23] verdict sends a loud and clear message that facts matter, the law matters, and that the laws of ... this country will not tolerate the use of violence to deprive racial and religious minorities of the basic right we all share to live as free and equal citizens.”
Elsewhere in news this week, Stephen Zunes reflects on recent revelations of U.S.-caused civilian deaths in a 2019 bombing in Syria. Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies examine the role being played by the Biden Administration in stoking dangerous tensions in Ukraine. And David Rosen profiles the new head of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, who may actually be able to address the resurgence of “Robber Barons” in the form of Big Tech.
The “Build Back Better Act” continues to await passage by the Senate, but as Karen Dolan says in an op-ed this week, “The data is clear. The Build Back Better Act would strike a significant blow against inflation — especially if its most popular provisions are included.” Meanwhile, the recently passed infrastructure bill will bring benefits to many parts of the country soon. Mike Ervin celebrates the inclusion of funds to make public transit more accessible (just thirty-one years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act!), but Donald Cohen cautions in an op-ed that funds for those and other projects should not be carelessly given out to private contractors with no public oversight. “A provision in the bill incentivizes state and local governments to hand control over some of the new projects to corporations and private investors,” he points out. “And that will create opportunities for bad things to happen. . . . The private sector is great at producing things like loaves of bread and laptop computers. But when it comes to public goods like infrastructure — roads, water systems and bridges — a business’s profit motive cuts against the public interest.” So, as they say at the carnival, keep your eye on the ball.
Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
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