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BHL Types Again! French Man Believes Rape is a Crime!
You've pretty much perp-walked yourself down a dark alley of the theoretical if you have to include the disclaimer "I, of course, consider rape and attempted rape as crimes," Bernard Henri-Levy. Oh do you? That's great.
But do keep reading his bizarre thoughts. Because after he mistakes New York tabloid front pages for "public opinion" (sure, he's foreign, it's confusing here) then he talks about "a kind of class justice in reverse." Ooh, the ugly spectre of reverse classism! It's incredible that this is France's most famous thinker—he can barely think his way through a 900-word Daily Beast blog post.
@Bernard Henri_Levy What are your thoughts on MURDER?
it's a crime actually!
Now ask him about Free Checking!
@keisertroll -Free Checking got DSK in trouble when he tried to force a direct deposit.
@jhnmchel How about skateboarding. I hear it's not a crime, but opinions differ?
Tina Brown is just the GREATEST.
Choire, goddammit, we have discussed this! Spot looking to this man for anything other than migraine-inducing inanity. Think of him as a swarthier, smaller-tittied Meghan McCain.
@IBentMyWookie by one metric, Meghan McCain has him beat: she seemed a lot smarter and likable when she was on "Colbert" than he did. Still, he is France's most famous unthinker!
I can't make it through this crap. The first sentence that takes up six lines is the first sentence that unnecessarily takes up six lines.
The Daily Beast With Two Backs
I maintain that he is a complete dipshit. What a de Jocqueville.
In what circumstances should one avoid confusing the repeated use of "I maintain that … " with "We hold these truths to be self evident?"
So many buttons buttoned on BHL's shirt in that photo. Are they at a funeral or something? Well, then, no wonder Tina Brown is smiling.
Granted, his prose is a bit hard to follow, perhaps because he's not a native speaker. But isn't the "presumption of innocence" argument valid? I don't really get the beef here.
@scrooge It is a valid legal distinction, but given BHL's public conspiracy-theorizing, him invoking this distinction only draws further attention to his presumptions/allegations of insincerity on the part of the alleged victim and the justice system. For example, his characterizing the pursuit of these criminal charges as "puritanical nonsense."
@kpants His point is that it's unfair to make celebrity suspects do the perp walk because it prejudices their subsequent trials. And that seems correct to me. (His other point, that the tabloids are sensationalist — well, no comment necessary on that).
When he talks about puritanical nonsense, it's not clear that he's referring to the pursuit of criminal charges, I think. He probably means that he thinks it puritanical of people to expect men to be monogamous. Which seems to be the common French view.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/07/you-cant-go-home-from-here-why-strauss-kahns-fate-matters/241323/