[ttwinder]

>they were no more dangerous

If they were arrested then statistically speaking they are far more likely than the average person to be criminals.

I feel like one of the ultimate sources of tension in western society today is that one side puts far too much faith into the good in people, a perspective that can only come from ivory tower privilege. This comment is a perfect example.

Sure, those who disagree will claim that the real problem is the opposite, but my point is that the side of the protestors lacks nuance in their worldview; often people are bad and you can't just blindly blame society for every criminal.

[bdcravens]

I wasn't comparing them to society as a whole. I was comparing them to others who made bail. The only difference was money. This isn't about nuance and good faith: any of those they wanted to release was entitled to get out at any moment.

[stordoff]

> If they were arrested then statistically speaking they are far more likely than the average person to be criminals.

That was never the comparison - the bit you didn't quote was "than those who had bailed out for the same crimes". According to your argument, they are _also_ more likely than the average person to be criminals, yet we bail them out.

[close04]

> they are far more likely than the average person to be criminals

Or just have the wrong skin complexion. Getting arrested doesn't increase one's chances of being a criminal, that's not how reality or statistics work. It just increases their chance of being in jail by about 100% but they still have very much the same chances of being a criminal as they did right before being arrested.