Ever heard of her? Blue text = a clickable link. To highlight pictures please click themThis week, looking for a topic to write about in this post, I clicked into 'The Take', Aljazeer's podcast. I found there this photo which we've all seen a million times. It's the mugshot that many say will take Trump to the White House next election. Underneath the picture was the title: 'A Lawyer With No Love For Trump Is Defending His Supporters' That piqued my interest so I clicked in and listened to the 28 August interview of Heather Shaner by Malika Bilal. Who is Heather Shaner? Read this post and you will meet her. Who is Heather"She has bright coloured hair and chunky jewellery. And outside court she has strong personal opinions." So be warned! Expect something different. (Picture:The Washington PostJuly 31 2021 Marvin Joseph). A story that needed tellingBack in n 2021, when The Washington Post learnt about this defense attorney who didn't look like one, they had their researcher, Caroline Anders, write a story about her. Anders wrote: 'Shaner is charged with the defense of a handful of people (about 30) who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. Though she’s not assigning her clients homework, she is encouraging them to read about history and write what they’ve learned. She wants to help them learn about the past to better understand their place in it.' Wow. She gives them books to read. That's not usual. So she attracts comments. 'Critics of her methods don’t think a civics lesson can change an insurrectionist — or they think she’s putting her clients through a reeducation program. She’s been called a traitor, Nazi, communist and worse. 'Lawyers, pundits and critics from both sides of the aisle have attacked Shaner’s educational approach, though she said she’s heard from many more on the right than the left. On the right, she’s been accused of forcing her clients into a reeducation program. On the left, she’s been lambasted for arguing a “traitor” has grown.' MoreAnd what does she give them that causes such a fuss? The constitution, because they've never read it–just absorbed hearsay versions. And she offers books like: Schindlers List; Bury my heart at wounded knee: An Indian History of the American West; Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Shaner thinks that encountering this sort of alternative experience may lead her clients to a new sort of life. And some of them say that it has. They write reports on what they've done and these are added to the documents presented to the court in their defense. “They change themselves, and that’s a voluntary process,” Shaner said. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t force anybody. People change, but you can only give them the opportunity to change and the tools. You can’t obligate anybody to change their ideas.”. It doesn't stop thereHere's another piece from the Anders story. Heather Shaner 'meets with clients at her house and has given them clothes from her closet. She says she babysits their children, if they need it. She sends them money. She lets them sleep on her couch when they don’t have anywhere to go. 'She’s one-of-a-kind, friends and colleagues say, and a fixture of the D.C. courts.' And Anders writes this of Heather's husband, Phil Palmer: “She does it because that’s who she is, through and through,” Palmer said. “Every fiber in her body is made out of justice.” Yes! Astonished and impressedWhen I first spotted the Heather Shaner story I was absolutely intrigued. Telling clients to read history, see old films, go to classes, join libraries. Apparently she's been doing it for years and not just for the January 6 rioters. When I found out that she welcomed them into her home and shared it with them, when that was needed, I was not only intrigued but admiring. I wonder if you admire her too. □ John McInnes Friday 1 September 2023 ##########
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