Name? Harvey Weinstein
Westphalian identity? Ogre (and US American)
Age? 68, i.e. old enough to make his prison sentence a proper punishment
Why is he in the news? He got corona. That is not all that newsworthy in itself, it seems to be going around lately. But given that he is in prison, it raises some interesting issues.
Why do we care? Our reaction to corona is causing terrible damage worldwide. One curious – albeit far from the most important- example of this is what it does to prisons. With the current panic and lack of sensible discourse, prisons all around the world are facing uprisings, violence and destruction. The latest example is 23 people being killed and 83 injured in a prison in Bogotá (Colombia). We wonder what the reactions will be to Weinstein being infected.
Why should you care? Well, two reasons: a just society requires (1) for Weinstein not to get parole because of his illness, and (2) a prison being free from violence. When people break the law, a just society locks them up. It doesn’t torture or kill.
Who else cares? Well, most people, but only very mildly. After all, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, right?
Any further comments? The nice thing about a virus like corona is that it doesn’t distinguish between the right and powerful on the one hand, and the poor and the vulnerable on the other. Unfortunately, that also means that the rich and the powerful will do everything possible to protect themselves, and are very comfortable throwing the poor under the bus if necessary. Which is exactly what’s happening in the world right now.
