One aspect of the Daniel Penny case that I haven't touched on is the discussion about whether or not Penny is a hero.
I am dismissive of anybody who thinks that Penny is a racist murderer who got off because of a racist jury. If you believe that, you're a moron.
My take on this is that Penny is a hero due to circumstance, and I yearn for a day in which Penny's actions wouldn't be seen as heroic.
I don't know how aware of Alvin Bragg Penny was at the time. I've been aware enough of Bragg to have steered clear of NYC since he got elected. But, well before the incident on the subway, Bragg had made it clear that he hates self-defense and white people. It's hard to manage to be a DA with so many high profile fuckups.
So, I have to believe that Penny had some idea that he was putting his own future in some peril by stepping in an subduing the threat. Since Penny clearly had no intent to kill, he might have only been expecting assault and battery charges; but, that's still prison time for doing the right thing.
DAs like Alvin Bragg elevate people like Penny to hero status due to the added threat that those DAs pose.
I look forward to the day when we can look at people like Daniel Penny, and just see a man doing what a man is supposed to do when a maniac is threatening death upon people.