What Is Even the Point of This?

I haven't been able to get this case out of my head lately, so I'm putting my thoughts into writing in the hopes that that solves my problem.

The facts are these - guy accidentally leaves two of his kids in a hot car, goes to work, and eight hours later they're dead. A fucking tragedy. I feel for the guy, for his wife and for his three surviving kids - their family's fucking torn apart and this guys gonna have to live with the guilt of that for the rest of his life.

Then the DA's office for the Bronx gets involved and decides their gonna make it all better the only way they can - by charging him with manslaughter and negligent homicide. What is even the point of this? What good will this serve? How will this advance justice?

The point(s) of the criminal justice system are (per Wikipedia):

1. Deterrence  - "we don't want people to do this, we need to make an example of him"
2. Retribution / Moral Support for Victim - "guys got to pay for what he did"
3. Rehabilitation / Reform - "he learned his lesson and won't do it again"

The guy fucked up and killed two of his kids. What could the criminal justice system do on any of these fronts that's more potent than what's already happened?

Who is reading this story and going "Well, I was planning on being a negligent parent and a risking the lives of my kids, but now that I see I could face criminal penalties for killing my babies, I'll shape up and fly right?"

What provides more moral support for the family of the victim by tearing that family apart even more than its already been torn apart.

And reform, do these guys really think that he negligently killed some of his kids but they if don't send him to prison he might negligently kill the rest of them?

The best, most generous possible fucking argument for the decision to go after this is that its just an awareness raising measure; but all of this - all of this! - the press coverage, the trial, and any potential punishment, is going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. You're seriously telling me that this is better way to raise awareness than dropping that cash on ad campaign? That you're willing to throw a guy in prison for years as fucking publicity stunt?

Why I Fear for American Democracy

"As a nation of free people we shall live forever or die by suicide." - A. Lincoln

The American political system is breaking down. The Constitution of 1789 is showing its age, and the duct tape that kept the system from flying apart is being gleefully ripped up by a Republican party in the teeth of a trilemma; that is, they can choose any 2 of:

1) Hold onto political power

2) Moderate or compromise on policy

3) Compete in free, fair, and democratic elections - i.e. maintain the norms and spirit of democracy.

To abandon 1) is to be the California GOP - electorally irrelevant, but large enough to crowd out any new 2nd party, leaving power in the hands of Democrats. To abandon 2) is, well, the normal thing that a party would do if it believed in winning free and fair elections.

But their deeds show their hearts;  it is point 3) that they have abandoned.

In their efforts to restrict the franchise, to obstruct access to the polls,  to control the courts, to gerrymander legislatures, to rely on the Electoral College to win the Presidency and on an absurdly over-represented collection of states to control the Senate, they have leaned into every single un- and anti-democratic part of the American political system to worm their way into power despite their extremism and unpopularity. They would not do these things if they aimed to win fairly.

I do not know how long our political system can survive if one party gives up on it. The last time that happened in America, we had the Civil War and only after horrific bloodshed democracy was triumphant, for a time. After the war, there were free and fair elections in the South for the time. But the Southern Democrats were ever hostile to democracy, and after the end of Reconstruction they established authoritarian one-party states throughout the South.

So my fears are not unfounded - it can happen here because it did happen here. But just as the Democrats of yesteryear never truly accepted Reconstruction, the Republicans of today do not accept that anyone other than their coalition of would-be theocrats, white supremacists, and plutocrats can legitimately hold political power. While democracy (only resurrected in the South after the Civil Rights movement) allowed them to hold power they participated in it and defended it - but now that they are loosing popularity they seek to rig the game rather than appeal to voters.

Perhaps we will survive all of this, and democracy will prevail, hopefully without bloodshed.

Or maybe the forces of reaction will win, and we'll see America turn into Hungary or a Jim Crow  regime everywhere. I think it will seem very normal, especially to the winners; the God-botherers will get to stick their noses in everyone's business, the racists will be free at last to throw slurs, punches, and bullets with total impunity, and the plutocrats will be able to hoard a thousand lifetimes worth of wealth without anyone asking them to contribute a dime to the general welfare or the common defense.