Stop Spinning

On whether a New York City District Attorney panders to the Orthodox Jewish community.

Mr. Hynes walks a fine line. He has cultivated ties with Orthodox leaders since he was first elected in 1989. In an interview, he said he did so partly because they represent a major constituency, and partly to address jurisdictional tensions between his authority and theirs. In an editorial last year, The Jewish Week said those relationships had hampered abuse prosecutions, describing the district attorney’s approach until recently as “ranging from passive to weak-willed.” Yet no prosecutor in the country has as many sexual abuse investigations and pending cases against haredi [Hasidic/Orthodox Jewish] suspects. [emphasis added]

via Pursuit of Sex Abuse Cases Grows Among Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jews — NYTimes.com.

Maybe that’s becuase New York has WAY MORE orthodox Jews than anywhere in the country. It doesn’t matter that this DA has more cases than any other, because there are few other jurisdictions in the nation that have enough Orthodox for the comparison to be meaningful. The only reason to include this line is to add a bit of positve spin for balance.

I’m sick of this sort of abuse (and not because of vertigo). Note to all prospective journalists/authors: If you present an idea that is blatantly stupid or irrelevant, and don’t call it out as such, you’re work becomes blatantly stupid and irrelevant.