Thank you for laying this out clearly of what people can do, this is the only way to get out of helplessness (so glad I stumbled across your newsletter on the intersection of spirituality and politics, right where I am at this year, so thank you for creating this newsletter!)
Great piece Jay. I would quibble with the hair splitting between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd shots though. If you are in a dangerous encounter you shouldn't have your cellphone out, and drawing the weapon rather than, you know, moving out of the way is not an appropriate response IMO.
Thanks. I agree in principle, but in practice courts are very deferential to police officers and their perceptions of risk. Cases like George Floyd are the exception; ones like Eric Garner are more typical. When Ross had the phone out, it was one situation - when the car was accelerating, that was another and I don't think many courts or juries will second-guess his immediate, split-second decision. I'm not defending that or agreeing with it - but that is the way I think it would go.
I don't think you can say that Trump was elected only or even primarily on the issue of the economy as you state here. There were a lot, A LOT, of people for whom this was an extremely motivating position. Just because the Build the Wall chant died down, doesn't mean it was forgotten.
I did a pretty exhaustive post-mortem on this right after the election. The immigration issue was a base issue. Yes, many people were highly motivated about it - just as many on the left were motivated about abortion, for example. But they were always going to vote for Trump. Arguably, the issue drove more MAGA folks to the polls than would otherwise have gone, but there's no data suggesting that (unlike in 2016, when Trump overperformed). For sure, for around 15-20% of the US population, this is issue #1. But not for the swing voters who decided the 2024 election.
Thank you for laying this out clearly of what people can do, this is the only way to get out of helplessness (so glad I stumbled across your newsletter on the intersection of spirituality and politics, right where I am at this year, so thank you for creating this newsletter!)
Thank you!
Thank you for this smart, sober, clear analysis and plan Jay. It helps at a time when so little is right in our world.
Thanks!
Great piece Jay. I would quibble with the hair splitting between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd shots though. If you are in a dangerous encounter you shouldn't have your cellphone out, and drawing the weapon rather than, you know, moving out of the way is not an appropriate response IMO.
Thanks. I agree in principle, but in practice courts are very deferential to police officers and their perceptions of risk. Cases like George Floyd are the exception; ones like Eric Garner are more typical. When Ross had the phone out, it was one situation - when the car was accelerating, that was another and I don't think many courts or juries will second-guess his immediate, split-second decision. I'm not defending that or agreeing with it - but that is the way I think it would go.
That's fair. Larger question of just what kind of training these people are getting.
I don't think you can say that Trump was elected only or even primarily on the issue of the economy as you state here. There were a lot, A LOT, of people for whom this was an extremely motivating position. Just because the Build the Wall chant died down, doesn't mean it was forgotten.
I did a pretty exhaustive post-mortem on this right after the election. The immigration issue was a base issue. Yes, many people were highly motivated about it - just as many on the left were motivated about abortion, for example. But they were always going to vote for Trump. Arguably, the issue drove more MAGA folks to the polls than would otherwise have gone, but there's no data suggesting that (unlike in 2016, when Trump overperformed). For sure, for around 15-20% of the US population, this is issue #1. But not for the swing voters who decided the 2024 election.