Quiz for the Day

What do the following have in common?  Trotsky, Jeb Bush, 3D printer, Ali Baba, World War II, friction, complexity, Thailand?

Hint: All these words are a part of the same column/article.

Extra Credit:  Write a paragraph or an  essay that contains all the above.

By two_kittehs

David Brooks Plumbs New Depths Of Victim Shaming

According to the esteemed New York Times columnist and expert on humility, one not only needs to lead a  perfect life but also needs an impeccable pedigree to expect any kind of fair treatment at the hands of police or other authorities. In the case of  Freddie Gray, the most recent victim of police brutality in the news, Brooks puts both Mr. Gray and his mother on trial in his latest column.

Despite all these efforts, there are too many young men leading lives like the one Gray led. He was apparently a kind-hearted, respectful, popular man, but he was not on the path to upward mobility. He won a settlement for lead paint poisoning. According to The Washington Post, his mother was a heroin addict who, in a deposition, said she couldn’t read. In one court filing, it was reported that Gray was four grade levels behind in reading. He was arrested more than a dozen times.

 

How is this even relevant? Mr. Gray may or may not have been an angel and had an ideal childhood but how does that excuse what happened to him. I wonder if  Mr. Humility come down so hard on Bush II’s youthful alcohol related shenanigans? Did he blame the former First Lady and the President for their parenting skills or the lack thereof?