Sentenced, and judged

 You'll never go broke betting on the inconsistency of American thought. It tends to get more inconsistent with every day, when it's not completely batshite crazy.

The other day, see, WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years for forgetting to leave out of her travel bag a painkiller (cannabis oil) the Russians deemed illegal. It's an absurd sentence, of course, but Russia itself is absurd. 

It's also transparently a negotiating tactic in Russia's ongoing de facto war with the United States. The Russians have a high-profile American athlete, and they're holding her hostage until they get what they want. It's the oldest terrorist ploy in the book from the oldest terrorist state in the world.

Amazingly, there are some Americans who are OK with this. In fact, they're almost  rooting for the Russians, in a half-assed sort of way.

A bunch of them, ironically, style themselves American "patriots," although their grasp of that concept seems problematical in this case. Would an American patriot take such apparent glee that an American citizen is being held hostage by a gangster nation?

(Of course, some of the self-styled "patriots" seem to be in love with the idea of a gangster nation. They voted for it twice, after all. And they invited Viktor Orban, the fascist gangster who runs Hungary, to speak at one of their recent gatherings. He got a standing ovation.)

In any event, the "patriots" reacted very differently 40-some years ago, when the Ayatollah's minions took Americans hostage in Iran. American "patriots" were ready to turn Iran into a glowing nuclear cinder then, and they blamed Jimmy Carter for not doing so. It was one of the issues that cost Carter the 1980 election.

But Griner?

She's no victim, according to some of the "patriots." She's just getting what she deserved for "breaking the law." Also she participated in the WNBA's anthem protests, which of course means she HATES AMERICA and now is finding out what REAL oppression is like. 

Let her rot over there, the sentiment seems to be in these aforementioned precincts. 

Not "Let the Russians rot for jailing an American citizen  on a bulls**t charge." Let the American citizen rot.

Sentenced by the Russians; judged by the "patriots." What a world.