Then came Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, the true story of a Georgia security guard who discovered the Centennial Olympic Park bomb in 1996.

Jewell alerted the police, insisted they follow protocol when they were initially dismissive, and evacuated people from the area before the explosion, which killed two and injured more than 100. Jewell's vigilance and conscientiousness saved many lives. He was hailed as a hero. Then he was framed as a suspect by the FBI and the media and hounded mercilessly. Why? Because he fit "the profile" of a mad bomber: a "frustrated white male" who lived at home with his mother.

Both Leftists and the Alt Right tried to meme Phoenix's Joker into a symbol of white male rage and alienation. They did this long before the movie came out, based largely on hearsay, and many on the Right kept flogging this meme even after the movie belied it. For Phoenix's Joker is not a charismatic criminal mastermind.