Mark Wahlberg Pardon Request

In Simpson’s words to this Court, “I was a monster.”

One day in Cody, Wyoming, when Simpson was in high school, he and some friends “went out to do damage.” They went to an abandoned war relocation structure and decided to “torch” it. They committed arson on federal property, a crime now punishable by up to twenty years in prison if no one is hurt, and punishable by up to life in prison if the arson causes a person’s death. Luckily for Simpson, no one was injured in the blaze.

Simpson not only played with fire, but also with guns. He played a game with his friends in which they shot at rocks close to one another, at times using bullets they stole from the local hardware store. The goal of the game was to come as close as possible to striking someone without actually doing so. Again, Simpson was lucky: no one was killed or seriously injured.

Simpson and his friends went shooting throughout their community. They fired their rifles at mailboxes, blowing holes in several and killing a cow. They fired their weapons at a road grader. “We just raised hell,” Simpson says. Federal authorities charged Simpson with destroying government property and Simpson pleaded guilty. He received two years of probation and was required to make restitution from his own funds – funds that he was supposed to obtain by holding down a job.

... As he [Simpson] has described it, “The older you get, the more you realize . . . your own attitude is stupefying, and arrogant, and cocky, and a miserable way to live.”

This was from a brief joined by former Sen. Alan Simpson (R), who came off as something of an old snarky coot in recent years, supporting a challenge against life without a chance of parole for non-capital teen offenders.  These are not all benign crimes and could have lead to serious injuries. It is appreciated that he joined the opposition, realizing in effect "by the grace of God that could have be me."  The sort of thing some might have though Clarence Thomas meant when he said something similar during his confirmation hearing, if perhaps meaning something else.

This was brought to mind by a good catch by TPM respecting a white movie star trying to get his own record from his teen years expunged. Since he must know that doing so would be made known and publicized, I take this was a thought out decision. Mark Wahlberg's crimes were surely "a well-publicized incident" (to quote the Boston Globe article linked), but me personally, news to me.  And, to quote the TPM piece:

Let’s take it piece by piece. For one thing, there’s the fact that Wahlberg was unharmed while being arrested, despite having committed two violent crimes. According to media reports, while strung out on cocaine, Wahlberg brutally assaulted a Vietnamese man named Thanh Lam while stealing two cases of beer from him, in the process calling Lam a series of racial epithets. Wahlberg then assaulted another man, Hoa Trinh, beating him so badly that he was left blinded in one eye. Yet like so many other white, violent criminals—even heavily armed, rampaging mass shooters like James Holmes and Jared Loughner—Wahlberg suffered no injuries while being apprehended by police. That’s as it should be. But given how many African-American suspects, like Brown and Garner, are wounded or killed during their encounters with police, the discrepancy is striking.

He got a month and a half in prison and was able to succeed in the music business a few years later.  The article notes the "white privilege" involved here and there is some of that.  I do think that non-whites also have been involved in crimes as teenagers that are very serious and have been able to put it behind them.  Also, "like many other" black and Hispanic criminals, he suffered no injuries.  The average suspect is arrested without being put in a choke-hold. The fact too many are not treated the right way notwithstanding.

Is this concern trolling?  I don't really think so. It is notable to remind people that "thugs" are not just scary black people. And, statistically, whites are treated differently. etc. etc.  But, there are various celebrities of various races with a violent past.  Lest we forget. Again, I appreciate the article. It does need repeating that people who look like this:

are involved here. But, at some point, it gets too much. So, yet again, opposition to Obama was deemed racial on a talk show today.  I lived thru the (Bill) Clinton years.  Okay?  It isn't just because he's black.

Privilege comes in various forms, suffice to say. Thanks Mark for reminding us.  And, like others, given time and from a look at the serious efforts you made to redeem yourself, the request (ill timed or not) should be granted.  Either way, it is a "teachable moment."