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If you care I'll offer the leftist perspective on this. Of course this story is bigger than usual due to Brinton's identity. But Brinton isn't to blame for their outsized persona. I think Brinton's personal life adequately sums up how they came to be the person they are today.
Backstory:
Brinton grew up with homophobic parents who sent him to a conversion camp for two years after he came out. These camps are notorious for being both ineffective (clearly lol) and inhumane. Brinton's experience was so bad that they contemplated suicide while at the camp. Once out of the camp, Brinton was motivated to prevent others from having their same experience and started a successful political campaign to end conversion camps nationwide. After, they earned graduate degrees at MIT and starting working for several liberal think-tanks. The Biden administration then offered them a position which Brinton accepted. Despite having high-value degrees & work experience, Brinton received criticism for being a diversity hire. Then the suitcase incident happened.
Here's how Brinton's life would have gone if we lived in a Leftist Utopia™️:
Brinton grew up with supportive parents. After graduating high school, Brinton earned graduate degrees in nuclear science from MIT. They then worked with liberal think-tanks until they were offered a mid-tier government job in the area of their degree & work experience. Then the suitcase incident happened
Looking at the two stories, it's clear that Brinton's real life story is heavily influenced by their identity. Their entire childhood and pre-college experience would have been very different if they were straight or if society accepted them as-is. I'm seeing a lot of people talk about how Brinton is at fault for the extra attention due to their appearance & persona. But that's not Brinton's fault (unless you believe that Brinton is just making it up). The attention that's been given to Brinton is mostly negative - people questioning their credentials, calling them a diversity grad, a freak, etc.
If any other mid tier government employee took the wrong bag from the airport and claimed it was an honest mistake, it would only make the news AFTER a guilty verdict was reached (if guilty). Instead, this has become a major story because of Brinton's identity.
Yes, that's exactly what I believe. This kind of thing reminds me of the kid in my class who used to make stuff up for attention constantly. "My eyes change colour when I'm mad" being a notable standout. As far as I can tell, it's mostly the same thing minus being able to immediately and obviously prove it as bullshit on the spot. But bullshit it remains, as far as I'm concerned. Brinton is just a dude seeking attention.
What's your basis for your assumption that Brinton is lying about his rough childhood?
Criminals are usually not the most trustworthy sources, and, face, it, the whole thing was no accident.
Such accidents happen daily on every airport of the world, and are easily resolved when normal, non criminal people are involved.
https://www.quora.com/What-happens-if-someone-else-takes-your-luggage-from-the-airport
I agree that what Brinton did cannot reasonably be characterised as an honest mistake. But it seems like a bit of a jump to think "this person committed a crime, therefore we must assume that everything they have ever said about their personal life was a lie and nothing they say can be trusted." Being guilty of one crime does not imply that you are guilty of all crimes, or that you are a pathological liar.
His behavior was exactly one of pathological liar.
"yes, this was not my suitcase, but the clothes inside were mine"
WTF? Ordinary junkie stealing shit to get the next fix would find better excuse when caught. This guy is supposed to be some high IQ irreplaceable genius?
I agree, which is why I don't think Brinton is a pathological liar. I would naively predict a person who lies compulsively to have more practice at coming up with convincing-sounding lies on the spur of the moment. Brinton's behaviour seems more consistent with someone who did something stupid and then panicked when caught red-handed, than with a smooth cunning con artist effortlessly talking their way out of a tight spot.
If Brinton had been caught red-handed, but immediately came up with an untrue-but-believable explanation on the fly, that would cause me to update in favour of their being someone who routinely tells lies and gets away with it. The fact that they got caught red-handed and their "explanation" was so unconvincing (as you said yourself) suggests to me that they do not have a great deal of practice in telling lies i.e. they are not a pathological liar.
"Smooth talking con artist" who is good at his con job is not pathological, pathological lying is compulsive, absurd lying for no conceivable benefit.
We all heard about people who keep inventing fanciful, over the top tales about their past, who cannot stop talking how they are war heroes or Indian princesses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathological_lying
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