Humpday open thread: Justice is served

Let me take you back to those halcyon days of 2017.

Donald Trump had been squatting in the White House for a few months. He had begun his presidency with a speech of which even George W. Bush was forced to say "That was some weird shit." His white nationalist base was feeling its oats. 

This base decided to hold a Bund rally to protest the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, VA. As is often the case when fascists congregate, things spiraled out of control, and someone died.

Fast forward four years. The relatives of the victims of that right-wing hate sued individuals and organizations associated with that hate rally. And a jury delivered its verdict.

The likes of Richard Spencer are on the hook for $25m in damages. The damages are as devastating as when the Southern Poverty Law Center bankrupted Klan organizations across the South.

Now, no, these people don't have the millions of dollars which the jury awarded to their victims. But that's not the point. Any assets they have will be forfeited to the victims. Any future assets they acquire will likewise go to their victims. Their lives are over. To quote the poet: "I'm a loser, baby / So why don't you kill me?"

I know it can seem like criminal justice is an iffy thing. That those who deserve it don't spend their days rotting in prison. But there are other avenues by which one achieves justice. This is one of them. The organizers of the "Unite the Right" rally have had their lives upended. They've had their lives destroyed. Spencer has whined that he's lost everything, including his marriage. We may want to see him in a SuperMax, but for me having everything for which he worked torn away from him is sufficient recompense. Any money he and his co-defendants earn will be earmarked for their victims. As I like to say, that's not nothing.

This is the fate which awaits Kyle Rittenhouse. We may never know what thought processes led to his decision to murder two people. But the Charlottesville verdict points to his coming fate. And even if his victims' families decide not to sue, his life is over, as I detailed here. But the one thing Americans love to do is to sue each other. Young Master Kyle's post-exoneration tour where he declares himself an acolyte of BLM is indication that he knows he may be screwed.

Justice does not progress in an easy path. Its path is full of rocks and brambles. But it does progress. We saw that yesterday. And we'll keep seeing it, if we keep up the work.

This is your open thread.