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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   29948 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 7, 2023

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Either The Post Millennial is providing a skewed version of events, or a defense attorney just defeated Andy Ngo's civil case against two of his attackers through blatant juror intimidation. I tend to assume the media takes things out of context, especially openly partisan media, but it's hard for me to believe that a lawyer wearing an "I am Antifa" t-shirt every day in court, rather than formal attire, is anything other than a breach of protocol. Maybe the "I will remember all your faces" line was taken out of context, and she was just talking about her photographic memory. Maybe the Post Millennial was exaggerating when they said that the arguments were all ad hominem attacks. Or maybe this really is as bad as it seems.

Regardless, I'm surprised that the Motte isn't talking about the case.

Is there any coverage that at least pretends to be neutral? It sounds like the authors have very permissive ideas about standard of proof.

If we can’t access the primary sources, it’s a bit early to start up the spin cycle.

That's kinda part of the problem. OregonLive's coverage is probably the more conventional Detached Professional Reportage in tone, but uh... you do notice convenient choices of words and focus, if you start looking. Like, just on simple questions of fact:

Hacker, a Portland-based activist who told jurors he often attended protests to observe police, film and photograph, described an incident in 2019 at a 24 Hour Fitness center in Portland. Hacker spotted Ngo and poured water on him while standing near a stairwell above Ngo. He confronted Ngo over what he said was distasteful and irresponsible media coverage of a recent protest that left an acquaintance seriously injured by a known white supremacist. Ngo pulled out his cell phone to record the interaction with Hacker, against gym policy, and Hacker smacked the phone out of Ngo’s hand.

Gym staff eventually intervened and revoked Hacker’s membership.

This isn't quite as overt as the simple lie (and I will call it a lie) from Ngo's book that ymeskhout highlights here, but's damning with pretty faint praise. This does not accurately describe I have absolutely no trust that the OregonLive reporting presented all reasonable evidence of Ngo's claim that Hacker or Richter were involved in the assault, nor any antics in the court itself.

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