Thursday, May 01, 2008
Especially scary
Here in Spokane, a city employee has been run through the media torture mill for the past year, because of charges that he had been selling or passing on kiddy porn. He was finally cleared a few days ago, in the usual reluctant way that leaves the image of wrongdoing intact, and is considering suing for defamation. Hope he does, hope he wins.
This case is especially scary because it didn't start with the usual crazy and absurd false accuser: there was no Rozita Swinton, no Crystal Mangum. Instead, this man's credit card was stolen and used for illegal purposes by someone who never had any connection with him. The case never involved anything other than the credit card. The man had reported the card's theft before the card was misused, which means the authorities knew from the start that he couldn't have been responsible for its use during that period. Still, his name was trashed publicly, his employment was suspended for a year, and he will never get his life back in order.
The witch-hunt continues and expands. The chain of comings now includes victims of identity theft in the list of witches to be burned.
= = = = =
Later: This story may in fact be more of a positive sign than a negative one; more an indication of a turnaround than a continuation of the witch-hunt. The city and the media are taking great pains to give this guy a "restorative" welcome. Their motives are undoubtedly mercenary in part (trying to forestall a lawsuit) but it's still a dramatic set of apologies and gestures. ¶ 11:29 AM
This case is especially scary because it didn't start with the usual crazy and absurd false accuser: there was no Rozita Swinton, no Crystal Mangum. Instead, this man's credit card was stolen and used for illegal purposes by someone who never had any connection with him. The case never involved anything other than the credit card. The man had reported the card's theft before the card was misused, which means the authorities knew from the start that he couldn't have been responsible for its use during that period. Still, his name was trashed publicly, his employment was suspended for a year, and he will never get his life back in order.
The witch-hunt continues and expands. The chain of comings now includes victims of identity theft in the list of witches to be burned.
= = = = =
Later: This story may in fact be more of a positive sign than a negative one; more an indication of a turnaround than a continuation of the witch-hunt. The city and the media are taking great pains to give this guy a "restorative" welcome. Their motives are undoubtedly mercenary in part (trying to forestall a lawsuit) but it's still a dramatic set of apologies and gestures. ¶ 11:29 AM
