Only in America can you shoot and beat-up people with impunity.
To tell you the truth, those in power see African-Americans and Latinos as THOSE people and refuse to bring justice to these communities, like the police in Rio refuse to go into the favelas.
Now A$AP never should have been held this long without being charged. That's truly anti-American...or is it? How about all those prisoners in Guantanamo who haven't been charged, never mind brought to trial? The United States used to be a paragon of fairness, however imperfect, it was the standard the rest of the world looked up to, but no longer.
No, I'm not saying the United States is not the greatest country in the world, but it's pretty damn good in Scandinavia, and there's a great safety net and...call it socialism, call it whatever you want, but go there and see if people complain.
But there are certain taboos in other countries, like beating people up. Never mind lying about it.
In the U.S. justice system, where everybody's entitled to an advocate and a defense, some of the theories proffered in pursuit of innocence are truly head-spinning. They usually don't succeed, but they permeate the news, making citizens believe there's no justice and that the rich and powerful experience a different legal system. And that's true, the average person can't afford a defense that can obfuscate the crime and get the offender off with a lighter sentence, if not complete exculpation. Hell, isn't this the story with Jeffrey Epstein?
So, A$AP and his posse go to Sweden and beat-up a couple of people, and say that it was their fault.
Only one problem, THERE WERE CAMERAS!
You want to commit white collar crime these days, and you don't want a paper trail, which is why many execs won't email or text, they'll just talk in person or on the phone, they want no paper trail.
Whereas the hoi polloi, shooting people, beating people up, robbing people... In the U.K. they've got cameras everywhere, they got footage of those Russians in town, there to poison that spy. But what did Putin do? DENY, DENY, DENY! Speaking of criminals...
Now do you want a society where you can go around beating people up willy-nilly, getting away with it scot-free? I don't think so, no matter what community you live in.
But too often you can get away with it in the States, where the cameras are not quite as ubiquitous.
But all of A$AP's famous friends come out in support, wanting him set free, like Justin Bieber, an uneducated nitwit who tweets "But while your at it" That's what happens when you don't get an education, when you tat yourself up and find yourself washed-up with the rest of your life to live. You're a star today, you're a joke in the supermarket not long thereafter. And I blame the parents, they should say no. Hell, I dreamed of being on TV when I was a kid, not that there was an opportunity, but now I see what a bad path that is, I'm lucky my parents insisted that I get an education.
And there's an argument as to whether A$AP Rocky's arrest was racially motivated, but...just because someone's an African-American, does that mean they didn't do it?
As for the Swedes incarcerating him... They've got a different system, they hold you and they investigate, especially if you're a flight risk. And of course A$AP is, why in hell would he go back to Sweden?
And I don't agree with this system, charge someone immediately and hold them or let them go. But it's not like they wrote the rules just to hold A$AP, and when you go to another country you've got to respect their laws, just like when you go to someone else's house for dinner!
But unlike in the U.S., A$AP is going to get a prompt trial, supposedly lasting three days, starting next week, as opposed to charged defendants in the U.S. waiting months or years for a trial in the U.S., oftentimes incarcerated all the while.
I think even if found guilty, A$AP should be immediately released. He's already paid for his crime by being in jail for weeks. As for a fine, doesn't bother me one way or the other, same deal with whether he can come back to Sweden or not.
But this illustrates pugilistic behavior will not be tolerated around the world, no matter how famous you are, and that the U.S. doesn't have complete power over the rest of the world, and everything does not go the way our President and our celebrities want it to.
Meanwhile, Bad Bunny cancels European dates to come home and protest with the people against the Governor of Puerto Rico, and then the Governor resigns. Music has power, let's use it in the right ways.
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