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That's interesting. I kind of feel the same way, in that it is absolutely virtuous for a father to protect his son, and ensure his family has a future. But this also makes the future of his political party more difficult, along with worsening the state of partisan politics in the world, as it gives the other side both a bludgeon against his party and an excuse to do corrupt things like this themselves.
I'm curious what you mean by this. Pardoning Hunter ensures his family will have a future?
Well, I really don't know too much about the Biden family's situation, so I could be wrong. But my general assumption would be that it'd destroy his family if Hunter were in prison. It'd be detrimental to Hunter and his kids to have a father behind bars, creating emotional trauma and financial and logistical hardships that could last generations. As opposed to if he is pardoned, he could still be a father and go on to still achieve things.
Hunter is known to have fathered at least five children. The first three of these he fathered with his first wife, the youngest of whom was born in 2001. The fourth he fathered illegitimately in 2018 with a former stripper, denying paternity until a paternity test proved otherwise, followed by a court ruling. The fifth child he fathered in 2020 with his current wife.
I have a hard time imagining that Hunter is terribly present in the life of the girl whose father he denied being and whose mother had to sue him for paternity (as noted elsewhere in the thread, said daughter was pointedly not invited to Biden family events), so if he'd gone to prison I can't imagine said daughter would've noticed. I agree that his youngest daughter with his current wife probably would have felt his absence. But as upsetting as it is for a young child to have a father behind bars - is it so much more upsetting than having a father who's addicted to crack cocaine and unexpectedly disappears for weeks at a time to go on crack binges and have sex with prostitutes? Sort of sounds like much of a muchness to me, to be honest. There's even the possibility that a short spell in an environment in which crack cocaine is markedly harder to come by than outside might have straightened him out by forcing him to go cold turkey.
Finally there's the point about Hunter providing for his children financially, to which my only response is a high trill of gay laughter. Whether Hunter had gone to prison or not, I think we all know that, either way, his children would have been financially provided for by their grandfather, not their father. Hunter has been a wastrel for his entire adult life, and I don't think even he would dispute that whatever gainful employment he's had (e.g. his seat on the Burisma board) came about purely as a result of his family connections.
But even in the counterfactual world where Hunter had his shit together and was capable of providing for his minor children on his own merit and was a positive role model for all of them - either his crimes are serious enough to warrant jail time, or they aren't. This seems like "one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic" - why is the welfare of Hunter's children being elevated to being a point of material concern in whether or not he should serve jail time, and not the welfare of the children of all the other people who've been convicted under the same laws he's deemed to have violated?
I think for all his children, but especially his youngest, it could take a big emotional toll to have a father in prison. I just don't really know how they feel about him, but I could see that it could cause anyone to have additional layers of self loathing and feelings of inadequacy to be told that they come from someone that is deemed as not worthy to participate in society.
Yeah, that's probably true. Though I don't know much specifics at all. It may be a drop in a bucket, though, but it is generally costly to a family to have a father in prison.
Well, I'm definitely not saying it's fair, or the right or just thing to do, or that Hunter shouldn't serve jail time. I'm just saying what I would do as a father if I had the power to. But also that Biden may also wish to think about how such a move may have repercussions for his party or the political system.
He has already been deemed not worthy to participate in society -- that's what the pardon is for!
If the Bidens want to protect their young'uns from emotional harm, Hunter should have made better choices. He should have thought about the impact of his actions on his family. Hell, he impregnated a stripper and then rejected paternity until it was proven; maybe he should have thought of his youngest when his then-youngest's mother was asking him to pay for his daughter's upkeep.
I'm sorry, but I'm entirely unwilling to base my concept of justice on not hurting the feelings of the children of criminals. It's not the job of the state to make sure no children ever feel sad. It's the job of the state to enforce the law.
But like I said, I don't think it's "justice" in any way to pardon him. I just think it's what a father would want to do, and maybe should do, because fathers should always protect their children in any way possible.
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Hunter has three children from his first marriage, the youngest of whom was born in 2001. He has two young children, one from his current marriage and the illegitimate child he fathered with a former sex worker.This comment got posted prematurely, the full comment is here.Yeah, I'm somewhat aware of that, though I didn't know all details. I still think that for all parties involved, having Hunter in prison would have far more detrimental effects, emotional, psychological, legacy-wise, and otherwise, than not.
This was intended to be a lengthier comment but my phone posted it before I could finish it. I replied to you with a full comment.
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