ColumnistOn Jan. 29, Jussie Smollett, a gay African American actor, reported to Chicago police that he had been the victim of a vicious hate crime. As my colleague Nana Efua Mumford has noted, the disturbing details were almost cinematic, like an episode of “Empire,” Smollett’s television show. Regardless of how the Smollett episode ultimately turns out, it provides a useful reminder: The more a crime report sounds like a movie, the more suspicious you should be. James’s dictum applies equally well to other sorts of crimes, particularly when the details seem to serve a larger political narrative. Real crime, like real life, is complicated and confusing.

Source: Washington Post February 21, 2019 00:10 UTC