No one "deserves" mockery or ridicule—though bullies and thugs always say their victims deserve what they get

AtThis Needs to Be Said » Balloon Juice, I gave one of my stock replies to someone who claimed Freddie deBoer got“the ridicule he deserves”:

I’ll stick with Malcolm X’s advice: “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.” If deBoer hasn’t put a hand on you, he doesn’t deserve ridicule. Though I realize there are