For once, I think Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is right

I mostly ignore the verbiage spouted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).  She all too often displays arrogance, a sense of entitlement, and sheer ignorance on every possible occasion.  However, they say that even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut:  and I think Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has just found one.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasted the justice system amid reports actress Felicity Huffman may get a lighter prison sentence for her part in the college admissions bribery scam.

Huffman, 56, agreed earlier this month that she will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and fraud for paying a consultant $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to boost her daughter’s SAT score.

Ocasio-Cortez reacted to a tweet that said though the sentencing guideline is four to 10 months of jail time, prosecutors “will make a recommendation for the lower end of that range and will allow Huffman to argue for a 0-6 month range.”

The freshman congresswoman said the U.S. justice system “criminalizes poverty + disproportionately targets race, yet routinely pardons large-scale crimes of wealth and privilege.”

“Moments like these tell us it’s less a justice system, and more a class enforcement system,” she tweeted.

There's more at the link.

While working as a prison chaplain, I all too often came across inmates serving multi-year sentences for crimes that had seen richer, more influential offenders sentenced to time served, or a large fine, or probation, or a much lighter prison sentence than usual.  It's a well-known thing behind bars.  If you've got the money to make donations to the right politician, or pay a high-priced lawyer who knows where the bodies are buried and/or which strings to pull (and how much it'll cost you for him to pull them on your behalf), you can get away with almost anything - or, at least, face a substantially reduced penalty for your crimes.

Frankly, it sickens me . . . but it's the nature of the beast, I fear.  Every country has a similar system.  The "insiders" get away with things that will see the "outsiders" spend years behind bars.  It can be due to money, or influence, or whatever.  Even in the most scandalously corrupt environments (such as our major cities - think Chicago, or Philadelphia, or New Orleans, or Detroit, or whatever), the pattern continues to this day.  Certain individuals are caught red-handed, and have to carry the can;  but most of the corrupt administration officials in those cities carry on as usual, and seldom if ever face charges.  In fact, the politicians in those cities are all too often allied with local criminal gangs, trading votes for immunity.  (See, for example, "Gangs and Politicians in Chicago:  An Unholy Alliance".)

Now, if Rep. Ocasio-Cortez would stop spouting her usual inane stupidity and actually do something constructive to reform our justice system, to get rid of this sort of thing, I might develop more respect for her.

Peter