This is one of those nights where I don’t have a lot to say or even the psychological energy to scrape together a coherent and singular post. I don’t know that this is a real reflection as much as it is a ramble about semantics. I do want to say a few words about the portrayal of Chris Dorner in the media. Before I say how I feel about the portrayal, let me speak about the man:
I don’t know Dorner or hardly anything about him. I don’t condone his methods or actions. I don’t think he was innocent or a victim.
Here is what I do think. I think we have a consistent double standard in this country. The enemy that takes advantage of ambush and guerilla tactics is a coward. The ally that does the same is a hero. If we drop bombs from unmanned drones we are taking a tactical advantage. If we ambush a nest of terrorists we are again using tactical advantage. If a cop shoots a perp in the back before the perp can harm someone, they get to be called heroes. Dorner ambushed people and is called a coward.
Again, it isn’t about the man but about the double standard. We need to move away from this idea of exceptionalism before it gets us in all kind of social danger.