Why our policy can not handle Jussie Smollett

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California Senator Kamala Harris called it a "modern lynching attempt". Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey. (He used those same words.) "It's a disgusting and outrageous attack, and horribly, it's the last of too many hate crimes against LGBTQ people and people of color," tweeted the Senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand.

And so on. Why? Because it seemed so easy for politicians hoping to make a comment about the poisoning of our culture by Trump and his ilk: Smollett is a gay, a black and a virulent critic of Trump. Of course, Trump's supporters reacted violently!

Except, no, no. The Chicago police had confirmed that she was investigating a possible hate crime against Smollett when he reported it, but two law enforcement officials familiar with the case said to CNN police now believed that Smollett had paid two men – brothers – to stage the attack. . Smollett has denied this accusation but has not yet spoken directly to the police about the circumstances surrounding the January 29th incident.

This news gave rise to a massive conservative counterattack – the Democrats and the media who, they said, were too willing to launch Smollett as a victim of an attack, even though corroborating evidence was scarce.

"Hey Hollywood and the media types, I noticed that many of you have deleted your #JusticeForJussie tweets … what is there, you do not want any more justice returned to him ??? #frauds" tweeted Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the president – and proud Twitter troll.

And 'round and & # 39; round we go. Whatever the final details of what happened with or for Smollett that January night, his affirmations are a useful goal to see our current politics – and what is deeply broken about them.

We live in a political world – and in a wider society, because, let's be honest, everything is political now – which is more important than instantaneous reactions. As soon as something happens, politicians scramble to comment. Journalists ask for their statements and analysts – yours often included – start writing about what happened, what politicians said about what happened and what it all means.

The media therefore has a role to play in this regard. This is not the fault of all politicians.

However, because politics has become so much grounded in the last decade, politicians are always looking for stories that confirm what their base already believes. If they can be the first voice and / or the strongest voice in the sentence, they believe it helps them – especially when they show up for the presidency.

Thus, the Democratic 2020 candidates quickly accepted Smollett's version of the events. And now, Republicans – especially those aligned with the Trump White House – are just as quick to grasp the idea that it was an elaborate hoax. Both sides simply show a confirmation bias. Because we are rewarding this kind of thing in our politics now.

That's why, more than ten years after the Duke Lacrosse affair and in the shadow of Covington's Catholic history, we are where we are on Jussie Smollett.

Point: Modern politics is not designed for an evidence-based approach to events. It is designed to entice all those who have the first and the hardest (and the most memorable quote), even if the facts end up undermining it.

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