Indeed. Consider the inverse situation: Imagine if Catholics who tithe were investigated, prosecuted, and convicted by the same standards. You’d have to imagine

Indeed. Consider the inverse situation: Imagine if Catholics who tithe were investigated, prosecuted, and convicted by the same standards. You’d have to imagine it because while many of us know about the child sexual assault scandals in the Catholic Church, those that tithe certainly should and usually do know. They’re generally understood to be paying money for the good parts of the Church and not the obviously illegal criminal conspiracies protected and promulgated by the Church. So while it’s probably illegal, it’s probably not directly wrong and certainly isn’t being treated as a serious criminal conspiracy normally would be. Meanwhile for making a website for an illicit market that explicitly sought to reduce violence between people who would otherwise buy or sell their drugs in a situation classically prone to violence — big U received not one but two life sentences. America has some extremely strange investigation, prosecution, sentencing, and incarceration priorities. One can reasonably call them absurd and unjust, but many Americans will simply tell you that he deserves what he gets. They don’t remark if the rest of us deserve it as well. We are all poorer for this kind of a railroading.