Words Matter - Leftist Excuses for Criminality

This has been a pet peeve of mine for a very long time. The Ontological Error of ‘Gun Violence’

I wanted to title this post "Leftist Obfuscation of Criminality," but I resisted. ("Eschew obfuscation!" That is not a motto of mine, but it should be.)

The Left loves to talk in ways that hide the truth. Bring up the issue of crime, and they will start talking about "gun crime." If suicide is mentioned, they will start talking about "gun deaths." As if an inanimate object was responsible for the crime committed, or if guns were not available, people would be unable to commit suicide. Neither, of course, is true.

From The Other McCain:

My guns have never perpetrated any violence, and probably your guns are equally innocent, but liberals have a quasi-religious belief that criminals are not responsible for crime. No, it would be wrong to blame the criminals and put them in prison, according to Our Moral and Intellectual Superiors™ in the Democratic Party.

At the root of this mentality is an unwillingness to accept that some people are just bad — irredeemable, a net detriment to society, genetically inferior, social failures, a waste of oxygen. In this, the attitude of liberals toward the criminal class is something akin to the attitude of abused women toward the violent men they love: “I can save him!” Or perhaps we might compare it to Victor Frankenstein who, when the enraged villagers show up, tries to defend the murderous monster he has created.

You should read his post, if only for the classic quote from All in the Family.

As for suicide, I haven't looked into this in a while, but Canada is an interesting example, because way back when, Canada and the United States had very similar gun laws. That changed. Canada's suicide rate didn't change much, as guns became less prevalent. What changed was the method used by people who kill themselves. Suicide vs “Gun-death” Suicide from the Archives.

So if access to firearms cause suicide, why is it that limiting access to firearms didn’t move the suicide rate of Canada? Could it be that people bent on self-destruction choose the available means they believe will achieve their end? In the city of Toronto, 4% of the suicides occur by throwing oneself in-front of a transit train. What does that prove, expect that 4% of suicides choose that method? Does it say anything about eliminating public transit trains?

But the Left refuses to see people as actors. You are a collection of circumstances. It is one of the reasons they attack minorities so strongly (racial, or otherwise) when they wander away from the positions ordained by the Left. (Ask me how I know this.)

Anyway, you should definitely read what The Other McCain has written. He covers carjacking and murder in Chicago, and the pronouncements of the recently elected mayor. (By all indications, the new mayor is a complete moron.) And he references the cult-movie classic, Repo Man (1984). I will let Mr. McCain have the last word.

Some people just can’t deal with reality.