I believe in America.

Edit:

For clarity, I’m referring to this:

The family’s legal team says it has since filed a lawsuit against Au and Toronto police.

Good.

A normal person would write

cop avoids jail after beating teen to death

I believe Toronto is in Canada.

Cop, not on duty, beat up teen, kill him and avoids jail

It’s the first, iconic line from “The Godfather”.

A man tells his story to Don Corleone, about how he can to America, made his fortune, and did his best to be a “good American”, to trust the police. To trust the system of justice.

He tells how his teenager daughter was savagely beaten by some men who tried to rape her. He went to the police, the men stood trial, but the judge suspended the sentence.

“Suspended sentence? They went free that very day! I stood in the courtroom, like a fool.”

The whole scene is brilliant. The whole exploration of the failures of Western justice systems, the alternatives…

The resolution really is, he DOESN’T believe in America anymore.

I understand Toronto isn’t “America”, but I think the parallels in the events, and the story from the film are uncanny. A teenager was brutalized, the sentence was suspended, and the fury brewing in the stomachs of everyone has no legal outlet. The film, a work of fantasy, the father could appeal to Don Corleone. Who do we have?

Maybe I underestimated the cultural impact of The Godfather.

Ah, gotcha, didn’t catch the reference

I forget how old I am sometimes. I think it was generally missed, which is on me.