Nov
10
2009
See No Evil
David Brooks, writing in the NYT, about the “national rush to therapy” and “willful flight from reality” with regard to the mass murder at Fort Hood by Major Hasan. An excerpt:
Hasan was portrayed as a victim of society, a poor soul who was pushed over the edge by prejudice and unhappiness.
There was a national rush to therapy. Hasan was a loner who had trouble finding a wife and socializing with his neighbors.
This response was understandable. It’s important to tamp down vengeful hatreds in moments of passion. But it was also patronizing. Public commentators assumed the air of kindergarten teachers who had to protect their children from thinking certain impermissible and intolerant thoughts. If public commentary wasn’t carefully policed, the assumption seemed to be, then the great mass of unwashed yahoos in Middle America would go off on a racist rampage.
Worse, it absolved Hasan — before the real evidence was in — of his responsibility. He didn’t have the choice to be lonely or unhappy. But he did have a choice over what story to build out of those circumstances. And evidence is now mounting to suggest he chose the extremist War on Islam narrative that so often leads to murderous results.
The conversation in the first few days after the massacre was well intentioned, but it suggested a willful flight from reality. It ignored the fact that the war narrative of the struggle against Islam is the central feature of American foreign policy. It ignored the fact that this narrative can be embraced by a self-radicalizing individual in the U.S. as much as by groups in Tehran, Gaza or Kandahar.
It denied, before the evidence was in, the possibility of evil. It sought to reduce a heinous act to social maladjustment. It wasn’t the reaction of a morally or politically serious nation.
Dorothy Rabinowitz writes on a similar theme in today’s WSJ, citing as an example Dr. Phil’s insistence that Maj. Hasan is a victim.
7 Comments
Am I the only one who thinks this mentality of making a murderous wretch a victim is just a cloak for cowardice? As in, we are afraid of the consequences if we even attempt to delve into the real problem?
I wonder how many media commentators looked at George Tiller’s killer as a victim.
I don’t think it’s wrong to say that he was a victim, in some sense of the word. I think of the book The Shack in how well it demonstrates that evil often traces back to evils that were perpetrated against the person in the past. As Christians, we would be wrong if we tried to say that any person’s actions are completely isolated from the chain of events which led them to make the decision to harm someone, even in a case as extreme as this.
The key is understanding and communicating that demonstrating causes does not justify the sin. Regardless of how extreme, years of abuse and exploitation does not justify the smallest sin. Christ lays out that example for us, where he lived the perfect life despite the attacks of other people, not because of a lack of them. When you’re dealing with God’s standard, there are no excuses, and that’s how we should consider events like this where a cause for sin is being demonstrated.
“I wonder how many media commentators looked at George Tiller’s killer as a victim.”
Brilliant!
I wonder whether they would’ve reported differently if he was a Christian.
Interesting, and with similar tone, insight from Andrew Bolt (columnist in an Australian newspaper)
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_hiding_the_why_of_the_fort_hood_jihad/
As I listen to the news and read these articles, I have to think that the terrorists are being pretty successful. We’ve become afraid of stating the obvious, of speaking the truth–especially if the situation involves a Muslim. I also begin to wonder if we’re being “terrorized” not only by suicide bombers but also by those who place political correctness, tolerance, and acceptance above good policy and common sense. In many situations, people are afraid of speaking their mind because doing so brings stiff penalties.
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