Thank You, Joe Biden, for Pardoning Your Son: Now, Do More

I want to take this time to thank President Joe Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. Critics have called it an abuse of presidential power, morally bankrupt and simply wrong. Although it might be one or a combination of those things, it’s also reassuring to former and current Democrats alike that we still have some Democrats willing to play by the oh-so obvious rules of no rules concerning political engagement in this era.

Bad Pardons are Good

There’s a lot to unpack from the spinelessness of Dems to the overt hypocrisy of this warped Republican party. Americans listened for months as Trump described one of the most horrific days in American history as “a day of love”, when everyone knows it was anything but. He accused Dems of ruining the same economy he tanked upon exit from his last presidency. He also pardoned many of his allies who became convicted felons under his direction. And he’s promising — or threatening, depending on your point of view — to pardon all January 6th insurrectionists.

Biden wins.

There are men who’ve been convicted of petty weed crimes whose criminal records will never be cleared, but the same bloodthirsty rioters who stormed the Capitol are likely to go free without as much as a criminal record. It’s wild. But it’s also very American. It’s the place where those who look a certain way are always somehow above the very laws they use to restrict the lives of those who don’t look like them.

There is something innately wrong about President Biden pardoning his son, and that’s why it’s so exhilarating. Every news station from MSNBC to Fox News will continue to call President Biden out for this. They’ll say he’s a hypocrite and a liar, having promised publicly he wouldn’t pardon Hunter Biden. Whatever they say, the act has been performed and won’t be reversed. Biden wins.

This is an argument for Dems to match the energy they’re receiving to the extent that it is effective.

Dems have spent so much time being the straightman in this circus act of politics, where Republicans get more followers the more ridiculous they get. This is not an argument for Dems to “stoop” down to the level of MAGA Conservatives. This is an argument for Dems to match the energy they’re receiving to the extent that it is effective.

What Felonies for Everybody Means

President-to-be Donald Trump is a convicted felon, and I’m sure he’s working to make sure that isn’t the case for long, and this might be a good thing.

For decades, criminal records, minor or major, have been used to discriminate against Black men in employment. Those with criminal records are called “convicts”, and the word “felon” just leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. A criminal conviction for a Black man essentially means never having a job again.

Once you’ve paid your debt [to society], you’ve paid.

Those who support employment discrimination will argue that felons should not have committed the crime; felonies “disappear” with time if the person stays out of trouble; employers will hire a person with a felony if that person is honest.

When a person commits a crime, they’re given a sentence. That sentence reflects their debt being paid to society. Discriminating against a person forever simply because they have a criminal conviction they’ve done their time for is like paying for a drink you’ve already drank for the rest of your life. Once you’ve paid your debt, you’ve paid. There are some heinous crimes, obviously, this probably doesn’t apply to, but the point is made.

Donald Trump doesn’t want to die a convicted felon on paper.

Donald Trump doesn’t want to die a convicted felon on paper. He can’t pardon himself. (Or maybe he can. It’s Trump. They let him do anything.) If Trump can’t pardon himself or have someone else pardon him, he’ll have to get some laws pushed through or changed. I know every person convicted of a Federal offense won’t benefit from any potential new laws Trump might push, but some could. This is at least a start.

Another part to this is, President Biden has argued that Hunter Biden was prosecuted because he is the president’s son. Critics of President Biden would argue that’s what comes with being a public figure and that Hunter was guilty of the crime at the end of the day. Still, it is wrong to prosecute — persecute — a man for who his father is.

Biden’s pardoning of Hunter is poetic in a way. Hunter struggled with drug abuse and the criminal charges associated with his lifestyle. Yet he was just a man struggling to pull himself together. Inside, he was still that boy who lost his mother all those years ago.

Hunter never wanted this.

And here Hunter is, son to arguably one of the most influential politicians ever, the President of the United State of America. Hunter’s father’s shadow loomed over him like the remnants of bright dreams turned dark nightmares. And so he stayed away from politics, knowing there was no place for him there. No matter how far he ran, his father’s shadow engulfed him, eventually swallowing him into this political vacuum of criminal charges. Hunter never wanted this. And neither do thousands of Black men used as political memes to expand the prison industrial system.

The Takeaway

President-to-be Donald Trump is a convicted felon, just like the people he pardoned and Hunter Biden was as well. But there is nobody to pardon Trump, short of himself at this point. Maybe his new presidency will be positive change to the lives of the many men convicted of Federal crimes and unfairly ostracized from employment. President Biden might have been wrong for pardoning his son Hunter Biden. He did the right thing. Any family-loving Conservative (or Democrat) would have done the same, as Trump did for his son-in-law’s father.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human. Subscribe and share.