Evidently, American basketball fans are unfamiliar with the concept "turnabout is fair play". In the case in question US female basketball legend Brittney Griner has been held in jail since February 17 of this year for attempting to smuggle cannabis oil into Russia. The latest news is that her detention will be extended to July 2 and what happens after that isn't clear.
12news.com
While her case would have been prosecutable in most American communities should the authorities choose to follow federal guidelines, there really is nothing out of the ordinary in the Russian action. But even more significant is the US sentence imposed on Russian national Maria Butina, discussed here.
bizpacreview.com
What happened to Griner is a perfect example of a tit for tat situation. If the US is going to arrest and try a foreign national on the most flimsy of charges, hold her in solitary confinement for months, then coerce a guilty plea from her that means more time in prison before deportation, they must expect some retaliation in kind. And that's what happened. The US didn't have any problems holding Butina hostage. The Russians aren't going to be any nicer to Griner.
In this on-line media example we see a frequent description of those with some sort of beef with some aspect of the US. That is that those individuals "hate America". That Brittney Griner is somehow of less value as a person because she has a disagreement with the US in a way never revealed. Well, don't we all? Citizens have been disagreeing with various US policies and actions since before the formation of the country and that's sure to continue into the future. Does that indicate that they "hate America"? It's terrifying to consider what the country would look like if no one ever spoke out about the things that disturb them. Maybe, if eradicating those who "hate America" is a noble goal, the country should follow the dictates of happy places like Myanmar, Indonesia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Iran, Saudi Arabia and so on.
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