printThinking logically about crime is far likelier to lead to solutions than irrational, mythical thinking. This morning, CNN’s Poppy Harlow—below an amusing thought I once entertained about her—inveighed against the “gun violence” that “took” the life of poor Deputy Darren Goforth, today.
“Gun Violence”? No! Goon violence. A very dark man—safe to say black, from the images—has been taken into custody for the execution-style murder of the deputy, at “a suburban Houston gas station.”
Police have described the suspect as a male with a dark complexion, about 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts. Authorities did not say what race they believe him to be. …
It was not an inanimate object that murdered this innocent individual, but a malevolent man with murder in his heart and a weapon in his hand. Grasping that distinction is more truthful and hence more productive than blaming an inanimate object.
Poppy bonus:
If only a woman with the wicked wit of a Margot Asquith—countess of Oxford, author and socialite (1864- 1945)—were around to put slobbering Poppy Harlow in her proper place.
When asked by American actress Jean Harlow how she pronounces her first name, Mrs. Asquith quickly retorted: “The ‘t’ is silent, as in Harlow.”