Premature Conclusion

The Contrarian's take on the recent left-wing cross burning:

• Chicago has become America’s capital of the premature conclusion. Something outrageous happens. A shocking image appears on social media. Politicians rush to microphones. Activists rush to the cameras. Reporters rush to deadlines. Before the police have completed an investigation, before prosecutors have reviewed evidence, and before the public has any reliable understanding of what actually occurred, everybody somehow already knows exactly who is responsible and exactly what it means. Then, all too often, the facts arrive and destroy the narrative.

  We saw it with Jussie Smollett. Chicago was told racist Trump supporters had attacked a television actor on a freezing winter night. Politicians issued statements. National media outlets amplified the story. Celebrities expressed outrage. The city was portrayed as a hotbed of Trump-inspired hatred. Then, after enormous expenditures of police time and public resources, the story collapsed under the weight of its own falsehoods. Such a spectacular embarrassment should have taught our leaders to be more cautious in condemning an entire group of people. Apparently not.

  Last week, a burning cross appeared in Grant Park. If someone were trying to design a symbol guaranteed to inflame racial tensions, generate national headlines, and provoke emotional reactions, it would be difficult to improve upon a burning cross. The image is inseparably associated with the Ku Klux Klan, racial intimidation, and some of the darkest episodes in American history. In a city with Chicago’s racial history, putting a burning cross in a public park is both literally and figuratively inflammatory.

  Predictably, the political class immediately leapt into action. Governor JB Pritzker declared that the incident reflected what happens when the seeds of racism and fascism grow unchecked. Others quickly followed. The implication was obvious. The public was encouraged to conclude this was another example of right-wing extremism, MAGA hatred, and the dangers supposedly posed by Donald Trump and his supporters.

  Then reality showed up.

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We'll sit here and wait for Porkulous's apology.