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PaperclipPerfector  16hr ago (text post)   436 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 23, 2026

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Can someone give me a steelman of the popular pro-Lindsay Clancey argument? I’m not really talking about the defense, whose argument is a complex justification for why she medically and legally qualifies for the insanity defense. I’m more asking about the people online arguing that she is a victim and her being prosecuted/this situation is an example of sexism. My wife told me about the case and is very anti Clancey. ChatGPT also gave what I felt is an unsatisfactory steelman. I don’t have a theory of mind for her supporters, and wish to rectify that.

I don’t know who that is and, after reading the replies, I am thankful for that fact.

I originally learned about this story from my wife. For her, it infuriates her for two reasons:

  1. We are taking care of an infant, so she’s emotionally protective of small kids. She’s also logistically spending more time on the phone.
  2. She has multiple BPD female relatives who often try and pull the card “I’m sick, so I get to treat you badly.” This case seems to be an almost perfect scissor statement for her. She’s quite anti-Clancey, so this is of anthropological interest for me.

I generally think of myself as fairly crusty and well-armored against base emotional currents, but due to some personal events lately, sampling the discourse on this hit me really hard the other night. I'm very, very glad my wife is a sane woman of good sense.

While I wish it wasn't as big of a deal as it is, it is filling that "scandalous legal case" niche that happens periodically in America (what was the last one, Heard vs Depp?) with the biggest probably being OJ.

A lot of the country is thinking about it, in a time where most media isn't scratching that broad itch if you want to know what your common man is doing, it's this.

I can recall making a comment about a megapint of wine over DM with a friend back in the US. I had watched a few bestof clips of the Depp/Heard trial and found that segment funny (Depp is asked about alcohol and is questioned something like "You poured yourself a megapint of wine?" Depp actually seems amused at the term and just asks back: "Megapint?" It's really the kind of interaction made for the internet age. For a while you could find online for sale the Mason jars fixed to winestem glasses of the type seen in the Heard-secretly-filmed videos. They were of course sold as "Megapints." )

My friend had no idea what I was talking about.

The megapint thing was hilarious, but to be pedantic, it would surely take a long time to drink a million pints of wine.

Longer for some than others.

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