this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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Humanities & Cultures
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It's a thief getting their illicit empire taken apart. No sympathy warranted.
It's one thing to steal from the big megacorps. They deserve it because they steal, lie and cheat everyone.
It's a different thing entirely to cheat and steal from independent journalists like James Sommerton did.
I'm not sure that I agree that we should dehumanize people just because the do something wrong or commit a crime. I think all sorts of people deserve sympathy, even those that have done wrong. I'm not saying at all that Somerton shouldn't have to face the consequences of his actions or that what is happening to him is worse than what he did to others, but I don't think that justice and empathy are mutually exclusive.
It's not dehumanizing to say he's a thief.
The entire situation he is in is entirely of his own doing and his own control. he has exclusive agency in all of this.