Michael Brown got shot by police in Missouri last summer and the whole town blew up in rage. Last night, the whole thing exploded again. People took to the streets and destroyed the lives and futures of many of their neighbors. This was done to express rage at the police and the outcome of the grand jury deliberations. I get that. The question, however, is why do the rioters think that it is okay to do this? Didn't their parents teach them that two wrongs do not make a right? Don't they know the different between good and evil? Don't they understand that what they are doing is illegal, hurtful and wrong?
These are not the simple questions that they seem to be. After all, the issue here is not why one or two people are misbehaving. The issue is how a huge chunk of a community could go so far off the tracks in this way. In my opinion, this behavior is the result of our society teaching people that they are victims. People of color are taught that they are victims of racism. Women are victims of sexism. The poor are the victims of the rich. Those who "win" in society have only gotten there at the expense of those who have lost. Indeed, America has been built on the bodies of victims who were used up and then discarded by the masters who control everything.
Teaching victimization does not stop there, however. Not only have these people been victims of past behavior, but they are going to continue to be victims no matter what they do. And because of this victimization, the victims themselves are owed some manner of recompense for all the troubles that have been caused for them. If someone is poor, it is not because of his or her own actions, but rather because he or she has been victimized by others. If an African American does not succeed where a white person does, it must be the result of racism. If a woman does not get a job that a man does, it is because of sexism. It is never because the "winner" was more qualified or did a better job or made a bigger effort. It was because the loser was really a victim.
Now translate this belief in victimization to the crowd in Ferguson. They "know" that Michael Brown was shot because he was being victimized by the white policeman. They don't care what the actual facts show; Brown was a victim and he must be avenged. And because everyone in the mob is also a victim, they get to act out to show their rage. If the loot a store, they are just letting that store owner know what it is like to be a victim. If a car is burned, then the person who owns the car will know what it means to be a victim too. Oh, the law may say not to do this, but ending the victimization is more important than the law, right?
The entire Democrat party of today survives by making different groups into victims whose grievances have to be addressed through the largesse of the government. For poor people, the Democrats don't want to help teach them to be successful on their own. Hey, the poor are victims and will always be victims. They won't succeed. They can't succeed. What is needed, according to the Democrats, is for the government to dole out enough cash and other goodies to keep these poor victims going.
It is time to stop teaching people that they are victims. We need to teach them that they have to strive to succeed on their own. People have to take responsibility for their own actions and their own futures. People have to learn the difference between right and wrong and accept the consequences if they fail to do what is right. In Ferguson, that means that the police have to move in to arrest those who are looting and the rest of the community have to applaud the apprehension of the criminals. They are hoodlums not victims. Society's rules of behavior must be followed even by those who have thought themselves victims for so many years.
These are not the simple questions that they seem to be. After all, the issue here is not why one or two people are misbehaving. The issue is how a huge chunk of a community could go so far off the tracks in this way. In my opinion, this behavior is the result of our society teaching people that they are victims. People of color are taught that they are victims of racism. Women are victims of sexism. The poor are the victims of the rich. Those who "win" in society have only gotten there at the expense of those who have lost. Indeed, America has been built on the bodies of victims who were used up and then discarded by the masters who control everything.
Teaching victimization does not stop there, however. Not only have these people been victims of past behavior, but they are going to continue to be victims no matter what they do. And because of this victimization, the victims themselves are owed some manner of recompense for all the troubles that have been caused for them. If someone is poor, it is not because of his or her own actions, but rather because he or she has been victimized by others. If an African American does not succeed where a white person does, it must be the result of racism. If a woman does not get a job that a man does, it is because of sexism. It is never because the "winner" was more qualified or did a better job or made a bigger effort. It was because the loser was really a victim.
Now translate this belief in victimization to the crowd in Ferguson. They "know" that Michael Brown was shot because he was being victimized by the white policeman. They don't care what the actual facts show; Brown was a victim and he must be avenged. And because everyone in the mob is also a victim, they get to act out to show their rage. If the loot a store, they are just letting that store owner know what it is like to be a victim. If a car is burned, then the person who owns the car will know what it means to be a victim too. Oh, the law may say not to do this, but ending the victimization is more important than the law, right?
The entire Democrat party of today survives by making different groups into victims whose grievances have to be addressed through the largesse of the government. For poor people, the Democrats don't want to help teach them to be successful on their own. Hey, the poor are victims and will always be victims. They won't succeed. They can't succeed. What is needed, according to the Democrats, is for the government to dole out enough cash and other goodies to keep these poor victims going.
It is time to stop teaching people that they are victims. We need to teach them that they have to strive to succeed on their own. People have to take responsibility for their own actions and their own futures. People have to learn the difference between right and wrong and accept the consequences if they fail to do what is right. In Ferguson, that means that the police have to move in to arrest those who are looting and the rest of the community have to applaud the apprehension of the criminals. They are hoodlums not victims. Society's rules of behavior must be followed even by those who have thought themselves victims for so many years.
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