Interested Persons

I haven't written about the Jussie Smollett case because I don't think I have too much to add to what's already out there.  I recall when I first heard his story a few weeks ago, it sounded implausible.  Actually, it was worse, since there were several parts which, taken individually, were implausible, so the story was more like implausibility built upon implausibility.

But there wasn't much point in saying anything.  Might as well let the investigation go on.  Either the story would unravel, or the case simply wouldn't be solved. (I guess there was a chance it would turn out to be true, and the perpetrators would be caught, but that seemed unlikely enough to ignore).

Of course, quite a few weren't willing to sit back and let the police do their work.  There were numerous condemnations of this alleged hate crime, most notably from politicians, celebrities and not a few media sources.  In general, they saw it as a chance to attack Donald Trump and the atmosphere they believed he was creating.

We're all aware of confirmation bias.  When we hear something that fits our worldview, we're quick to accept it, and when something goes against our beliefs, we tend to be skeptical.  But doesn't this go a bit beyond that?  It's one thing to believe there are a lot of hate crimes out there.  It's another to believe such hateful things about Trump supporters that you're willing to buy almost any story about them, no matter how ugly or bizarre.  The people who heard this story and didn't question it had, in effect, taken leave of their senses.

It would be good if people could learn a lesson from this story.  But it seems unlikely.