> when it casually calls for things like tossing due process and burden of proof out the window
This is so important.
Preface: I am not defending Jacob Appelbaum at all here---the evidence of wrongdoing in his case looks solid.
Encouraging internet pitchfork mobs is wrong. Morally wrong. Due process can be frustratingly slow, but the principle of innocent until proven guilty is vital.
Preemptively labelling people "oppressors" or "abusers" is wrong.
--
Story time. The scene is my high school sophomore English class, ~9 years ago. There was a huge news story about some men on Duke lacrosse team hiring a stripper and then raping her. It was the perfect storm of outrage: multiple white men from a privileged background, a single black woman, a rape accusation.
In English class, we debated the ethics of the case, rape culture, and so on.
I pointed out that with no witnesses and no rape kit, the only incriminating evidence was the accuser's word. I said that the accusation might well be true, but that we should reserve judgement until the court case ran its course.
I got a lot of flak for saying that. A few classmates said I was being misogynistic and that I was part of the problem. The teacher lectured me somberly about how much courage it takes to report abuse and how important it is to believe such reports.
--
A few months later, the men were acquitted fully and the accuser admitted she had fabricated the whole story.
To this day, if you Google any of the mens' names, the first page is full of national news stories about how they raped someone.
--
Here's a picture from a few days ago. Spoiler alert, the arrows point to the wrong apartment.
https://twitter.com/bcrypt/status/741339303356178433