Brittney – Maybe

That Brittney Griner, the basketball star, has now been released from Russian prison is a wonderful thing. Let’s get that out of the way. Now, let’s look at how that wonderful thing is being portrayed. And that’s not so wonderful.

First, Brittney herself. We are repeatedly told that she is a poor innocent who is being needlessly and tyrannically held captive by a repulsive regime. There are two parts to that description: (1) that she is a poor innocent; and (2) that her imprisonment is a travesty. I certainly go along with number two, but number one needs some help.

Brittney Griner broke the law. She is, in the eyes of the Russian system, a criminal. It is unfair and inaccurate to call her, “innocent.” She deserved to be punished. Where what happened to her goes off the rails is what the punishment was. It was irrational, political, and appalling (having included, “political” in that listing may have made the other two adjectives redundant). 

Does that distinction matter? Yes. It matters because unless an accurate picture of events is given to us, or at least as accurate as possible, we can’t come to legitimate conclusions about what we are being told. Our illegitimate conclusions, then, dictate our opinions, and our opinions dictate our votes. That’s why it matters.

And the other way that this story has been distorted is the way it pictures the Russians. I am not saying that Putin deserves any praise. Hardly. He deserves nothing but scorn. What he is doing in Ukraine alone justifies contempt. That’s the point. There is enough good reason to detest him. We don’t need to make up more. When you try to make your point with inaccuracy, you are undermining the credibility of your accurate points. And yet the reporting of the Griner case has made up more. Not good.

Second, there is the accepted description of the Russian criminal justice system as a kangaroo court. In many ways, maybe it is. Hell, it probably is. But the citation usually enlisted for proof of this assertion is that 99% of people charged there get convicted. That sounds awful, and, again, maybe it is. But let’s consider the rate of conviction for federal charges in our country. It is 91%, and our percentage could just as easily be cited for the unfairness of our system. It often is. If Russia’s percentage is proof of inequity, so is ours’.

Finally, let’s talk about Paul Whelan. He’s the other guy in this drama. He’s the only one of the three-way who is still locked up. We are repeatedly told that this poor fella was just sitting calmly in a Moscow hotel room when he was swept up and whisked away. Maybe he was, but think about your idea of a person with the perfect background for recruitment into U.S. Intelligence (forgive the expression, you know I mean “spy”).  Now think about Paul Whelan. 

Mr. Whelan, the American hero we must release, was born in Canada. He now holds American, British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship. Remember, would this multi-passported guy make a good international spy?

We are told that Mr. Whelan is a former Marine. This is technically true. What’s omitted is that the Marines threw him out. He was court martialed on numerous counts of larceny and was given a bad conduct discharge.  Willing to steal? International spy?

Spies also need to lie. That’s almost all they do. Would Mr. Whelan be willing to lie? Well, since he has already demonstrably lied about his background on his resume and in a sworn deposition, I’m just guessin’ that he might check that box.

Oh, yeah, and when he was arrested, he had been meeting with Russian law enforcement. No important information available there. And then, might I add, he has studied Russian.

But Mr. Whelan must also come home. We feel so badly for his family. The Russians are repellant for keeping him there. 

To use a word that I’ve often used here – “maybe”. Maybe Mr. Whelan is innocent. Maybe he should have been one of the one-percent of Russian criminal defendants who don’t lose. Maybe, but it would be a surprise to me.

It’s great that Brittney is free. But it’s not right to let that fact distort the rest of the story. The theme of this entry – “maybe” – is what has been missing from the reporting of the Britney saga. 

There are heroes here and there are villains. Maybe it’s prudent not to jump to too many conclusions about which is which.