Chair, Washington County Republican Party
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CANCEL CULTURE & MOB MENTALITY
With the recent vehicle accidents and how they are being reported and commented on, I wanted to address what is happening in our society and how disturbing the public response & personal attacks are if you don’t conform to the mob mentality.
The moment an accident happens, lives are changed, sometimes forever. If the reporting caption is “suspected” or “possible” or “arrested on suspicion”, people are suddenly judge, jury and executioner in one fail swoop. No evidence, no trial & no due process. Guilty as charged based only a charge. The comments come at a rapid fire and some are very brutal. Just because you are “charged” with a crime, you must be guilty and worthy a public criticism and online flogging. Your reputation is ruined. You lose your freedom, friends, family, job & home. Society as a whole will publicly destroy you within 24 hours with no thoughts of innocent until proven guilty. We collectively agree that person must be guilty and they must prove themselves not guilty. Our justice system says anyone charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty but they ensure that the burden is on the accused.
Recently in the new was a West Allis women. She was charged with a dui causing the deaths of 2 Marquette students last year. She lost everything. Family, friends, job, home and her reputation. She sat in jail for over 10 months until her recent trial. The evidence was clear from the start. There was proof that the other driver caused the deaths of his two passengers. But the DA marched on regardless in their plight to hold this young lady responsible for the homicides. She was just found not guilty by a jury of her peers. But her life was destroyed anyways. That same DA has now charged the driver of these victims with the crime.
Recently in our area, a 16 year old was arrested after losing control of the vehicle she was driving. She was injured as well as her friends. One friend died. The comments by our mob mentality keyboard warriors are horrifying. Some say lock her up for life. No facts, no trial, just judgment. Then last week a 16 year old pulled onto Hwy V and was struck by a vehicle. All involved were injured. They mentioned charges haven’t been filed yet. Comments came pouring in about inexperienced drivers, blowing a stop sign, careless and reckless driving. Two days later on the same Hwy but up one road, a 21 year old pulled onto V and was struck by a vehicle. But in his case since he still allegedly smelled like some alcohol from the night before, he was arrested on suspicion of dui. Comments again came pouring in. Accusations of drinking that morning, blowing the stop sign, reckless disregard, put him away for life. I was curious about the road and those two accidents, so I went out there later in the afternoon. I pulled into Haven’t Dr. turned my vehicle twoards V and I was given a view on 1 to 2 car lengths to see oncoming traffic. The grass was more than 3 foot and it obstructed the view. I then went to Mill Pond Rd. Looking right i could see a bit further down but looking left I couldn’t see the road even as I inched out. Visibility was maybe 2 car lengths to my left which is northbound traffic. Pulling onto a road where cars travel 55-70 mph when you can’t see cars coming because the landowner or county ignores the obstructed sight distance is like playing Russian roulette. This obstruction is actually a code violation. Amazingly two days after the last accident, all of the grass was cut down. But the damage is already done. The charges are all in place. The community as a whole has convicted this young man. I know there still some people who believe in innocent until proven guilty but that doesn’t seem to be something you can express freely anymore. When I tried to just use facts in my opinion, I was sent private texts messages threatening me, harassing me and degrading me. Tolerance is socially unacceptable in today’s cancel culture. It’s agree with me or I will berate you to force your silence.
People should try to remember that a charge does not make you guilty. But a charge will absolutely destroy your life even if you are found not guilty or if the charges get dropped. Your life has already been destroyed by the very system that claims to protect your rights. Next time you want to pass judgment based solely on an allegation, I urge you to use your words carefully and think about what if someone you loved or cared about was accused of a crime you know they didn’t do.