Feel free to bookmark this and just read it again whenever it comes up: Theres this process we go through, over and over again: When some group claims injustice and demands attention/action, invariably some members of that group act horribly -- individuals in the movement riot, or lie, or are revealed to be hypocrites of some kind. At this point, we automatically dismiss their original complaint out of hand, because if they REALLY had a legitimate cause, we figure, they would behave and go through proper channels. Why cater to the needs of a bunch of unruly thugs? Thats like negotiating with terrorists! This is a logical fallacy, for two reasons: 1) Violent and unruly people can attach themselves to any movement and 2) Americans have a long tradition of disobeying the law when we felt like legal recourse was not going to be effective or timely (Google Boston Tea Party). Whether or not the original complaint is valid is a separate issue, and focusing on the demeanor or misbehavior of those who complain is a trick to allow yourself to not have to think about it any further. Your brain, by default, wants to be dismissive - were all busy and we dont like our lives to be intruded upon by other peoples problems. But this is what allows systemic problems to fester, and eventually those other peoples problems will become your problem.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 21:05:39 +0000
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