Blame The
Victim?
December 30. 2015
12-year-old Tamir Rice
Why do some in society choose to blame victims of crime for
the heinous acts committed against them by others. Shouldn't it
be blame the criminals, as no one has any justification for
violating the rights of others. This pattern of blame the victim
happens in lesser known incidents of crime, but as examples, I
will invoke famous criminal cases to illustrate my point.
When 17-year-old Miami boy, Trayvon Martin, was stalked,
confronted and gunned down by violent neighborhood watchman,
George Zimmerman, a man with a history of criminal behavior, who
was acting outside the law again, some had the unmitigated gall
to get on the internet and type garbage about a deceased teen
that was minding his business.
The defense in the criminal case was no better, digging out
stories about an underage murder victim's past, such as the fact
he had occasionally smoked weed. By that insane reasoning, all
marijuana smokers around the world deserve to be stalked,
confronted and murdered in cold blood for walking on the street.
Show of hands, how many of you have smoked weed, heads of state
included (we know who you are anyway) think marijuana smokers
deserve to be stalked, confronted and killed as Martin was by
Zimmerman? You'd be a savage and barbarian if you thought that
is okay.
So why did some try to irrationally reason that it was
okay, putting forward invalid and inhumane reasons in trying to
justify the unjustifiable. If that is your mind's way of trying
to make sense of something heinous, you need to change your way
of thinking.
At the end of the day, what happened to Martin could have
happened to anyone in that situation. Martin was not the
problem. Deranged, psychotic Zimmerman stalking and confronting
a person in violation of neighborhood watch and police rules,
then resorting to violence via a gun, was the problem.
Honestly,
think about it, what would you have done if you were Martin and
you were stalked, confronted and attacked by a stranger in plain
clothes questioning why you were walking on the street rudely
stating, "What are you doing around here?" (which was none of
Zimmerman's business)? Your first thought would be the person is
crazy and looking for a fight or going to rob you.
In the case of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who was shot and
killed by failed, formerly fired cop, Timothy Loehmann, some
chose to blame an underage minor for walking around with a toy
gun in a state that allows people to openly brandish weapons in
public places.
Some stated online that the gun looked real and
tried to justify the preventable shooting death under that false
premise. However, Loehmann and his partner Garmback are to blame
for driving right up to an alleged suspect with an item they
were told could be a fake gun and opening fire within seconds.
Why didn't they maintain a safe distance. They drove up a few
feet from the child.
Trayvon Martin
In rape cases, some blame women for dressing provocatively,
inexcusably stating they were asking to be raped dressing in
that manner. Let me ask you a question, when you are in the
supermarket and the food looks appetizing, as it is supposed to
be for attractiveness, do you not know it is unlawful to open
the packages and start consuming the food.
When you go to a jewelry store, do you not know it is illegal
to smash the glass, grab the pretty, shiny jewelry, stealing
something that does not belong to you. When you are in an
electronics store and you see a nice, shiny item you would love
to have, do you not know it is illegal to grab said item and do
whatever you feel like with it in stealing it.
Therefore, how
can anyone attempt to justify raping someone based on how they
are dressed (or even citing the victim was drunk or high, so it
is their fault). Furthermore, women in loose clothing, covered
up from the neck down and sober have been raped as well.
Therefore, there is no valid argument regarding dress code or
inebriation.
Often in cases where celebrities are accused of crimes
against others, some try to rationalize and explain away bad
behavior regarding conduct that is wholly wrong. So caught up in
idolatry, they blame and verbally attack the victims, rather
than objectively looking at the facts in their faces. Some stars
encourage this behavior in their fans, who end up with egg on
their faces for believing them and mindlessly verbally abusing
others on their behalf.
They begin vouching for famous people they don't even know
and verbally attack and insult strangers on social networking
and in some cases even their own co-workers, family and friends,
whom they do actually know that do not believe the star in
question is blameless in the matter.
Then the truth comes out
after all the public denials and lies by the star that said
celebrity was in fact guilty of the misconduct they'd been
accused of. Be careful swearing and vouching for people you
don't know. You could end up embarrassed or in trouble over
something you've written.
Lance Armstrong, among others, comes to mind. He viciously
attacked his critics, who stated he was using steroids to win
races, called them liars, filed lawsuits against them (knowing
he was guilty) opened them up to public ridicule and hate, with
his fans following his terrible example and verbally abusing and
threatening his accusers. Then what happened?
The truth came out
that he was using steroids for years and engaging in practices
to evade detection. He was investigated, stripped of his medals
and banned from cycling for years. However, he and his fans had
inflicted damage on innocent people who told the truth about his
dishonesty and cheating and the damage was done in that regard.
The majority of society knows right from wrong. If people
would learn to respect the rights of others and exercise due
caution in unsure situations, most crimes and acts of abuse
would not occur. However, when people decide they are going to
do something they know is wrong, giving in to bad impulses,
innocent people end up defrauded, abused, harmed or even killed.
Blaming the victim is cruel and inhumane, as it is the act of
victimizing victims all over again. You are essentially
inflicting damage on someone that has already been wrongly
damaged by others. It's not a good or decent thing to do. It
speaks to a lack of humanity in some.
If the shoe were on the
other foot, the same people irrationally and cruelly blaming the
victim, would want to be believed, treated humanely, fairly and
given justice. As the phrase goes, "Do unto others as you'd have
done to you."