Back when it had become obvious even before the Hoover police department made it official that Alabama resident Carlee Russell, 24, had faked her “kidnapping,” there seemed to be near-universal agreement among people from all backgrounds that she should have the book thrown at her over the stunt she pulled.

And not long after Russell confessed, prosecutors announced that’s exactly what they were going to try to do though they were limited by state law, with criminal charges being filed against Russell over “false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident.”

State legislators in Alabama also responded accordingly, with one – state Sen. April Weaver (R) – announcing she would seek to make faking an abduction a felony instead of a misdemeanor during the February 2024 legislative session:

“This fictitious kidnapping caused fear and shock not only throughout the legislative district I represent but also throughout our state and nation,” Sen. Weaver said in a statement. “Individuals who concoct and carry out sham kidnappings and lead our law enforcement officers on wild goose chases must be given severe penalties for their deceptive actions.”

[…]

Sen. Weaver said that her bill will include strong prison sentences and mandatory restitution requirements for the full cost of resources expended by law enforcement agencies during a hoax abduction.

In response to that news, woke former ESPN commentator Jemele Hill became fauxfended, and proceeded to make Carlee Russell and other black women out to be the real victims in all of this.

“Alabama gonna Alabama every damn time,” Hill wrote, following up with a tweet about how “A law [is] already on the books. That’s why she got hit with 3 charges and will be paying restitution. They want to go even further and make an example out of her because she’s a Black woman.”

For the record, it’s unclear if Russell will have to pay restitution, though authorities also seek to make that happen.

When someone asked later if Hill was objecting to Russell facing punishment, she said no but reiterated her point about Alabama supposedly being a racist state because some Republican lawmakers want stiffer penalties going forward for crimes like the one Russell committed:

“She’s already been charged and will likely have to pay restitution. Zero problem with that. What I’m saying is, this lawmaker is being overzealous because the Black woman was at the center of this hoax. I promise you had she been a white woman, nobody would be introducing a law to strengthen the laws about lying to the cops.”

After that, she brought up the 1994 Susan Smith case out of South Carolina as an example of a situation where a new law should have been introduced but wasn’t because Smith was white. This was an exceptionally dumb argument to make considering Smith is serving life in prison for murdering her two young sons after leaving them to drown in a car, but then again this is Jemele Hill we’re talking about so go figure.

Hill also wondered where “the new law” was for white women who fake kidnappings in states like California, apparently unaware of the 2016 Sherri Papini case where the 39-year-old mother was sentenced to 18 months in prison for faking her kidnapping. She was also ordered to pay restitution “for losses incurred by the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

But back to Hill’s allegation that Sen. Weaver wants to “make an example” out of Russell because she’s black, does Hill think similarly about Democrat state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who reportedly is also looking into legislation to stiffen penalties?

Incredibly, yes:

“I don’t know why some people don’t understand that marginalized people often carry the water for white supremacy. More than half of white women voted for Donald Trump despite the fact he told them he was taking away their reproductive rights. There are Black police officers who revel in the same anti-Black actions as others. This ain’t hard.”

I don’t know why some people don’t understand that marginalized people often carry the water for white supremacy. More than half of white women voted for Donald Trump despite the fact he told them he was taking away their reproductive rights. There are Black police officers who…

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) August 2, 2023

If all of this sounds obnoxiously stupid, it’s because it is. The left’s obsession with wokeness has made it so that most if not all debates and discussions devolve into ridiculousness like this.

As I’ve said before, this is what a militant focus on identity politics does to people. It turns them into bitter human beings who are incapable of viewing anything outside the prism of race or sex or whatever. You lose sight of who people are and the ability to make judgments based on actions because your sole focus is on their physical characteristics and cultural background over the sum total of the person.

Outside of countering the woke B.S. whenever it makes itself known, one just has to pray that people who think this way will one day see the light because it’s an awfully miserable, lonely place to be.

Related: Montana Democrat Provides Exhibit A on How Climate Change Fanaticism Is Bad for the Soul