Payback

Full page headline in the New York Times, July 9, 2016:

Five Officers Killed As Payback, Chief Says

I know what “payback” means. So do you. Despite the fact that it's not in any of the eight slang dictionaries I consulted, or in several standard dictionaries (including my copy of the OED), the word is in common usage. The few references that do include it define it in a neutral manner as referring to interest on an investment, but the more common use, especially by the non-economists among us, is revenge for a perceived wrong.

In this particular case the “payback” resulted in the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers and the wounding of seven others. The police were guarding a “Black Lives Matter” rally, and they were targeted because they were white. The killer, who died during the incident, stated that his goal was to kill police, especially white ones. He viewed his act as retaliation for the deaths of blacks by police – which was the reason for the rally in the first place.

There is no possible excuse for an unjustified killing, whether by the police or by a civilian, and they should all be thoroughly investigated with appropriate action taken against the guilty. But the investigation and legal proceedings should precede the punishment. “Vigilante justice” is an oxymoron. It has become common for accusations and insinuations to be aired and spread, and used as justification for additional acts before all the facts are known. Some individuals have a pattern of inciting protest and manipulating hatred because it serves political ends, and truth is not the primary issue. Accusation and conviction have been melded, and they often take precedence over the rule of law.

But “accusation” and “guilt” are not synonyms, notwithstanding the indignation of the protesters. The trials in Baltimore suggest that what appears to be intentional may not be so; and what appear be a result of bias may have other explanations. Fear is not a justification for an “itchy trigger finger,” but police anxiety probably is involved, with the United States Department of Justice reporting that “The offending [homicide] rate for blacks was almost 8 times higher than whites.” (Wikipedia citing DOJ statistics.) Moreover, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2013 (the last year for which they published those figures online), 2,491 “Black or African American” individuals died as the result of homicides. At least (and that term is used because the race and ethnicity of the killers in some instances wasn't known) 2,245 of the killers were “Black or African American.” I suspect that the numbers this year are not much different. Black lives mattered then, but I don't recall any protests or payback then, or since, when there was no involvement of police. Additionally, there were 3,164 homicide victims who were “White” or “Other race,” as well as 68 for whom race was not listed. Similarly, the response was so muted that I was unaware of it. Their lives didn't matter.

With or without justification, when police are dealing with blacks they are more likely to “shoot first and ask questions afterward.” It's wrong, but it may play a part. As may the use of public media and the misleading of the public about the nature of the events. According to the Washington Times:

more white people died at the hands of law enforcement than those of any other race in the last two years, even as the Justice Department, social-justice groups and media coverage focus on black victims of police force.

And, from the Washington Post,

The black population in America ranged from 11.6 percent to 13 percent between 1980 and 2013. Compared to the percentage in the population, the percentage of black offenders who killed police officers appears to be disproportionately high.

That hardly justifies either additional killings by the police or the use of retaliatory attacks by civilians, but it highlights the existence of a situation that has been misrepresented in order to provoke an atmosphere that justifies “payback” in the minds of too many of those exposed to it. The media say little to add perspective to the situation; they benefit from controversy and conflict. And the use of social media to air one side of a story, with the implication that it is the complete record, is misleading and, at least on the part of the provocateurs, an unforgivable distortion, reflecting a political agenda. That they have recruited large numbers of others, often those who consider themselves liberals, is evidence of the success of their effort.

The indignation on the part of the vast majority of participants is genuine and justified, however, even if it is inconsistent with the full story. It is as genuine as that of Muslims who have been convinced of a conspiracy against them – convinced by their radicalized and prejudiced leaders. And the actions of those who selectively assassinate white police are comparable to those of the angry and believing jihadists who have been taught since childhood that one becomes a martyr by killing Jews – any Jews of any age, awake or asleep, if he dies in the effort.

A problem exists. Neither mob confrontation nor lone wolf action is the solution. Better training of police officers and a return to the rule of law by those who believe injustices have been done are a starting point.

But to solve a problem you must understand the problem. Denial doesn't work, nor does misrepresentation of the full picture. They just make the problem worse.

[This essay was written hurriedly, and some of the sources were not listed. They can be found, however, using Google or another search tool.]

Look At Me – I'm A Liberal

“I'll be all in clover,

And when they look you over,

I'll be the proudest fellow

In the Easter Parade.”ⁱ

Irving Berlin was a sexist. He also wrote:

“The girl that I marry will have to be

As soft and as pink as a nursery.

The girl I call my own

Will wear satin and laces and smell of cologne.”ⁱⁱ

His view of women obviously was that they were people who were created to give pride to men, and to be the “soft” and “pink” possessions you could find in a nursery.

That perspective, though, was not unique. In the Book of Esther, King Achashverosh wished to parade his wife, Vashti, in front of his guests at a party. Even today it is a common practice for men who can do so to marry and display a “trophy wife.”

But if men have always whistled at beautiful women, women have cherished that attention and eagerly participated in beauty contests and pageants, vying with each other to establish superiority among those who dare to consider themselves peers or betters. And the status of wife and mother are still sought by the majority of women. Whether that preference is inborn or the result of our culture is not the point. What is more significant is that Berlin's views were the predominant ones – at least until recent years. He was saying in a poetic way what almost everyone believed.

Nowadays there is a totally different view of sex. (I'll pursue this issue further in a future essay.)  What used to be a private affair, both in terms of people and practices, is now flaunted in the media. Free sex is good.ⁱⁱⁱ LGBTQ organizations and their members are the darlings of the courts and of the press, and failure to laud and to respond positively to the demands of those once viewed as displaying deviant behavior is evidence of prejudice. Not surprisingly, there are many who eat it up. They may loudly proclaim their own conventional sexuality, but applaud those with appetites different from theirs. They kvell^iv at each report of someone “coming out of the closet” and praise his (or her) courage for doing so publicly. They shep naches.^v They feel his pain. The Constitution may not have recognized this group of oppressed people, but they do. They are sensitive to the feelings of those who are in distress, and they want the world to know it.

They're also so understanding of the feelings of others that they identify with those having with gender dysphoria.^vi From their perspective, anyone who doesn't see things their way is displaying evidence of prejudice.^vii There is no room for difference of opinion; they are sensitive and understanding, and those who see things differently are biased. With the granting to school children with gender dysphoria of the “right” to use the bathroom of their choice,^viii notwithstanding the feelings of those already using them, the courts are giving, to the confused, “rights” which take precedence over those of people who are certain,^ix and whoever disagrees with that approach is reactionary and insensitive. He (or she) is probably a religious zealot – a fundamentalist or some other form of hypocrite. He certainly has no concern about the views or feelings of others – only his own. After all, the dysphoric's defender is open-minded, as opposed to someone who thinks differently.

“Look at me.” Advertising their virtue is all they have to do. Once everyone else is aware of their bravery they can move on to another windmill.

For example, there is another situation in which some people seem to place their own feelings and views above those of others, though they claim the opposite and take pride in flaunting it. They make a point of adopting children who are not of their own race. At times they will adopt several children of different races. And at times they do so even though they are fertile and could have children of their own.

There are two messages^x that their actions declare: first that while others simply don't care, they are concerned over the sad fate of children who are not being reared by their own parents, and they are generous, brave, and sensitive to the needs of those children; and second, they are above making distinctions between people based on race or ethnicity. Indeed, they choose to advertise that disdain by a public act. They select the children they adopt because of their race, something which everyone else must notice.^xi It's a brave act and they are making a statement.

However they may see themselves, though, and whatever message they want to express about their views, they do not seem to take into consideration the feelings of the child, who will be reared by those parents and who will have to introduce them to his friends of all races. It will be obvious to him, and to them, that they are “other,” that he's adopted. And however they may try, they will not be able to teach him the customs and the heritage of his own race and those of his birth parents. His loyalties will forever be split, and he will live neither in the world of those who bore him nor those who reared him.^xii But the parent will have demonstrated to the world that he cares. As William Voegeli^xiii noted in The Case Against Liberal Compassion,^xiv “ … liberals care about helping much less than they care about caring.” He also notes,^xv “If you’re trying to prove your heart is in the right place, it isn’t.”

That's the problem. The details of the cases I described are very different,^xvi but in these instances someone was trying to show the world that he cared about the suffering of others and proudly he did his part to right the wrong. His heart was in the right place. But of course he was more interested in displaying his own sensitivity than looking for the best solution to the problem – especially if that way his own moral excellence would not be appreciated by all.

Our concerns and our culture have changed since Irving Berlin's day, and we are quick to criticize our predecessors' lack of sensitivity as we brag about our own. But what we're really doing is advertising ourselves as the purveyors of the current culture as we denigrate the culture of the past. And as we ignore the fact that our descendents will criticize our society and us for all our “isms.”

Next episode: “They The People” – It's time for a change? Well, yes and no.

I        From “As Thousands Cheer,” 1935.

ii       “Annie Get Your Gun,” 1946.

iii      Although women who charge for it are the victims of men.

iv       Boast, take pride, gloat. According to the OED this is US slang. I learned it as a Yiddish expression which focused more specifically on taking pride.

v        Another Yiddish expression. It's similar in meaning to kvell. However you usually shep naches over the accomplishments of a family member (usually a child) and bask in the reflected glory.

vi       Presumably if you “Enjoy Being a Girl” (“Flower Drum Song,” 1958) you have gender euphoria.

           Unless you're a boy.

vii      From their perspective G-d got it wrong, and they are obliged to set things right.

viii    See http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/31/22520422-bathroom-ban-violated-transgender-students-rights-court

ix       Actually a girl doesn't have a specific right to use the Girls' Room nor a boy the Boys' Room, so there's no competition of rights. How that child or his parents feel is a secondary issue.

x        Three if they're fertile. They also show that they're concerned about overpopulation, and would prefer to adopt children already here than bring any more into being. (Incidentally, homosexual unions are a good way to limit population growth. Perhaps that's why they support them.  More on that subject in a few weeks.)

xi       Actually they do make distinctions between people based on their race or ethnicity. Their affirmative action in child selection is evidence of that.

xii      Perhaps his rejection by members of both races is an indictment of our society, but it is a reflection of the reality of the life we live. There is prejudice among all groups, and ignoring it puts those we love at risk. The same difficulty exists for the children of intermarried couples who also face prejudice and identity problems.

xiii     Senior Editor, Claremont Review of Books.

xiv      “Imprimis,” Volume 23, Number 10, October, 2014.

xv       Citing Philosophy Professor David Schmidtz

xvi     They're just two random points in the long spectrum of advocacy for the oppressed. Many others could have been cited and it's likely the reader is aware of some. But in these and in others, the guilt-ridden have no higher priority than standing up for what is politically correct. They care.