The Internet loves this guy.
Discussion
The response to this guy is dangerous. The rule of law, and the criminal justice process is they way to afford fair trials, and ensure the impartial administration of justice. What people are essentially supporting is vigilantism, and justice by way of reddit sentimentality. We are, above all else, a nation of laws, and I worry that a trend of declaring guilt or innocence based on the absurd internet popularity contests is eroding our foundational processes. Whether he's guilty or innocent, it's a matter for the courts to determine, not some conspiracy peddling, reddit randos.
it shows how broken the system is, IMO. people are upset and can identify with this vigilantism. maybe not agree with it, but understand the plight.
We’re only a nation of laws as far as the majority of the people believe the laws and courts serve the interest of citizens fairly and impartially. That trust has breaking slowly for a long time and clearly different people are treated differently under the system. It’s not good, and also not surprising.
The people driving this are chronically online internet dregs. These people spend all day on reddit, manufacturing stories and conspiracy theories about how all their problems aren't their fault, but the fault of a monolithic other commonly represented by corporations and shadowy government agencies. Nothing is ever their fault. They would all be super successful, masters of the universe if not for these ambiguous forces who are working to keep them down. And everything that happens in the world is a conspiracy, and only they are smart enough to see the real truth while everyone else is a sheep. That's who's behind this sentiment.
Could be. I’ve never been on Reddit so I’ll take your word on that. But the distrust and disgust with our governing and justice system are coming from much more than Reddit trolls. Hope it all works out.
It involves more than just the perpetually online, but it's places like reddit, and 4chan, and all these other cesspools of the internet where the conspiracy theories and blind finger pointing coalesce, and swirl. They become the epicenters of misguided ideas, and corresponding conspiracies that build into a critical mass, and from which the outward expressions of these thought processes take hold in the greater national consciousness.
It's people who don't understand how things work spinning up stories that make easily understood sense of complicated ideas, and messy realities. And as more and more people latch onto these stories, and believe they are an accurate explanation of how the world works, it becomes truth to them, even if they can't explain it. And so what you're left with is a large group of people who really have no clue how the world works believing that not only is their story an accurate explanation, but that it's actually the people who understand the complexities at work who are the sheep, who don't understand what they're talking about.
The result is a large mass of people who are desperate to will their incorrect understanding of reality into existence. It's utter madness based entirely on ignorance, and the belief of the ignorant that their made-up stories are just as good as the objective reality that's supported by facts, reason, and empiricism.