Are American losing the ability to notice analogies? This fear and loathing of analogies isn’t just growing among the low-brow: recall how the SAT dropped its analogy questions due to a petulant demand by the U. of California chancellor.
To me, the late Daunte Wright and the late Ashli Babbitt can be compared fairly directly. Both were lawbreakers (resisting arrest vs. breaking and entering) who got shot dead by cops who made dubious-looking but perhaps justifiable decisions. Wright happened to be unarmed with a gun at the moment, but there were two warrants out for his arrest for separate gun crimes he had committed, while there was no reason to think Babbitt was armed.
But The Establishment is throwing a fit over Wright while thinking that Babbitt had it coming. It’s as simple to them as black vs. white. Also, Babbitt was for Trump while Wright probably was not. So what more do you need to know?
From the Washington Post news section:
By Keith L. Alexander, Justin Jouvenal and Spencer S. Hsu
April 14, 2021 at 5:31 p.m. PDTA U.S. Capitol Police officer has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing for fatally shooting Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt as she attempted to breach a set of doors deep in the Capitol during the January siege, federal prosecutors in D.C. announced Wednesday.
Authorities determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove Babbitt’s civil rights were violated, and that it was reasonable for the officer to believe he was firing in self-defense or in defense of members of Congress and aides who were fleeing the House chamber. Prosecutors did not identify the officer. …
Mark E. Schamel, the Capitol Police officer’s attorney, credited his client with showing great restraint.
“His bravery on January 6 was nothing short of heroic,” Schamel said in a statement. “He stopped the rioters from gaining entry into the Speaker’s Lobby and saved the lives of countless members of Congress and the rioters. His heroism should be no surprise to those who know him.”
More likely, he panicked, as cops (not to mention the rest of us) often do when the adrenaline surges. After all, nobody else shot anybody on January 6, so the unidentified cop’s behavior was anomalous.
Presumably, The Establishment’s view is that more killings should have been committed.
The officer opened fire as Babbitt, who was wearing a Trump flag like a cape,
Which would have justified using a flame-thrower on her.
attempted to crawl through one of the broken panes of the Speaker’s Lobby doors, video shows. Babbitt, who was hit in the shoulder, tumbled backward onto the floor.
The attorney for the officer, a lieutenant, said in a statement that the officer clearly identified himself and ordered rioters not to pass a barricade at the doors of the Speaker’s Lobby before firing. …
A group that included officers, rioters and a Hill staffer rushed to her aid, video shows. Two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation have said that Babbitt was unarmed.
This is the only time the word “unarmed” is mentioned in a long article.
She later died.
… D.C. police are required by law to identify officers involved in serious uses of force within five business days of an incident. They are also required to release video from body cameras of the officers directly involved. The law only applies to D.C. police. Capitol Police are not equipped with body cameras.
The law firm representing the officer said it was keeping his name confidential because he has faced death threats.
In the law enforcement killing of a young violist in my neighborhood in which I advised the grieving mother to sue (she was awarded $3 million by a judge), the DEA agent’s name didn’t seem to be released until about a year later. That kind of slowness is not unreasonable when tempers might be high. There are a lot of angry crazies out there.
In contrast, the police shooter in Brooklyn Center, MN had her name released and was charged with manslaughter while riots are still going on.
Babbitt spent more than a decade in the military, first in the Air Force and then in the Air National Guard, but she had discipline problems and didn’t advance far. Her ex-husband, Timothy McEntee, has said she served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
What a loser. She served her country in two combat theaters … but she didn’t advance far.
After leaving the military in 2016, Babbitt started a pool business with family members that struggled financially, and her Twitter account shows she became more interested in online misinformation and conservative causes.
In one video posted to social media, Babbitt rants loudly about the effects of immigrants on the U.S. economy.
If that’s not misinformation, I don’t know what is. Hasn’t she read David Card’s study of Miami immigrants in 1980–84?
