Black and White, DAMMIT. BLACK AND WHITE!
Oct. 7th, 2008 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsJonah Goldberg today on Bill Ayers: "It seems to me the liberal left needs to decide, was Ayers a horrible figure to be ashamed of, or a hero? If you don't like this choice, why?"
Because it's a black-and-white choice, Jonah. Ayers seems to have been, and still be, a jerk. He was a wanted criminal, and he got off on a technicality. In America, this is known as being "not guilty," a state of law; in spirit, Ayers acknowledged being "guilty as Hell." Nonetheless, in America, Ayers is free to continue to be whatever the Hell he wants to be, so long as he continues to live within the letter of the law. If he thrives, it's because other people perceive his continued contributions to be of value to them.
How about you and I stop giving him publicity and stop helping him sell more copies of his self-serving book?
It seems to me that the whole notion of shades-of-grey, of living in a society people you may not necessarily agree with 100% of the time, of nuance and acceptance (rather than "tolerance") and all the things that made America great, have been forgotten.
Because it's a black-and-white choice, Jonah. Ayers seems to have been, and still be, a jerk. He was a wanted criminal, and he got off on a technicality. In America, this is known as being "not guilty," a state of law; in spirit, Ayers acknowledged being "guilty as Hell." Nonetheless, in America, Ayers is free to continue to be whatever the Hell he wants to be, so long as he continues to live within the letter of the law. If he thrives, it's because other people perceive his continued contributions to be of value to them.
How about you and I stop giving him publicity and stop helping him sell more copies of his self-serving book?
It seems to me that the whole notion of shades-of-grey, of living in a society people you may not necessarily agree with 100% of the time, of nuance and acceptance (rather than "tolerance") and all the things that made America great, have been forgotten.
