"Urooj Rahman, 33, and Colinford Mattis, 34, had pleaded guilty last October to possessing a destructive device and expressed regret ... Under revised agreements, the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit arson and possess an explosive device, with prosecutors recommending sentences of 18 to 24 months." - Reuters Legal, June 2, 2022.
The game is about getting a reduced sentence. However, they will still lose their licenses to practice law. They will appear before US District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn.
Many watchers of this saga of the "Molotov Cocktail" Lawyers, which dates back to the protests generated by the death of George Floyd, felt empathy for the two activists. In New York City they threw the Molotov Cocktail at an empty police car. It's assumed their outrage got the better of them.
In Forbes, Paul Weiss partner and man of color Ted Wells Jr. makes the observation that outrage can lead to change. That reflection had been on the second anniversary of Floyd's death.
But outrage is tricky business, isn't it.
In the counterculture of the late 1960s and 1970s it also provoked violence. Most of that had been against property.
I vividly recall feeling conflicted as I walked the streets of university town Ann Arbor, Michigan, during that time. I was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan.
Yes, I was also an activist and, yes, I had lost a part-time job because of striking for the rights of black students. But I couldn't get the correlation between power to the people and the smashed windows of the Ann Arbor Bank. However, I did understand the promotional tactic of Theatre in the Streets. Boarded-up windows provide great staging during a revolution. So, of course, so many of us were overwhelmed with inner turmoil. And we were dropping like flies into some form of psychotherapy.
Gradually, in those three years of therapy, I began to question the consequences of outrage.
That's why I feel deep sadness for where apparent outrage took Rahman and Mattis. Let's hope their supporters can help them find a way back to what we consider "normalcy."
For me, it required years to "outgrow" the political ideologies of the counterculture. But that I did. And when blockchain was positioned and packaged as a new path to power to the people I didn't buy in.
Power is also a tricky entity.
Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com. She helps businesses tell their unique stories. Complimentary consultations.