Financier Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide over the weekend rocked the entire world. Epstein was being held without bail on child sex-trafficking charges. There were rumors that Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson were part of his pedophile ring. Thus, the risk Epstein taking his own life was another risk. China’s Global Times suggested Epstein’s death reveals weakness in the American system:
There was no shortage of suspicions about Epstein’s case due to his inextricable link with political figures. But his suicide has triggered further online discussion inside the US. Several hashtags relevant to the case, including #EpsteinSuicide, #ClintonCrimeFamily, #TrumpBodyCount and even #EpsteinMurder have been trending on Twitter and have driven people to reflect on the political system of the United States of America.
US civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson once said in a Ted Talk,”We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent… Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes.”
Epstein’s case, involving massive capital and many celebrities, is a perfect example demonstrating how capital permeates the US system and affects governing parties’ policies. It has thus reminded US people of their system’s defect, ignited people’s dissatisfaction with the huge wealth gap long existing in the US and increased their concerns over the capital’s impact on the system.
Global Times effectively co-signed Ralph Baker’s Shock Exchange: How Inner-City Kids From Brooklyn Predicted the Great Recession and the Pain Ahead. The book chronicled the “weakness” in the American system and how former President Barack Obama and the federal reserve propped up their cronies after the Financial Crisis. When caught in crimes they cannot escape from, the protected class feigns illness or commits suicide like Epstein.
