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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 20, 2025

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I don't believe this is retaliatory escalation. I think the J6ers were ultimately offered up by Trump (he had the chance to pardon them, but refused), Biden had the chance to prosecute BLM rioters for 4 years, and refused to do it.

Biden did not pardon the Minnesota BLM firebombers.

Refusing to prosecute for political reasons is, de facto, a pardon.

And if Trump now goes after the BLMers with renewed vigor (the evidence for the most egregious crimes is still there, of course; kind of hard to erase being caught trying to kill a child* when it's international news), I will accept this is an instance of (3). Until that occurs this is (2).

Naturally, if Biden had prosecuted BLM (and Trump not pardoning the J6ers on his first day in office) we would already be at (1), and if he had pardoned the J6ers like Trump just did (or at least, not pursue them with the flimsiest of pretenses...) we would have arrived at (2) 4 years ago.

* By Blue standards for tribe-aligned militiamen under 18

Biden had the chance to prosecute BLM rioters

Democrats did, but did Biden? How many of the BLM rioters were committing federal crimes? It would have been legal but irregular (in a way which sane Dems care about) for the Feds to push DC charges against the DC rioters when the local DC authorities didn't want to.

kind of hard to erase being caught trying to kill a child* when it's international news

Not at all! International news will actually help you erase the murder of children - look at how Hind Rajab's death was reported as the death of a "Palestinian woman" in the international press/media despite her being five years old.