Injustice
The media in Boston are buzzing about the apparent jail-cell suicide of a suspected psychopath who robbed and murdered a prostitute. This reveals the class prejudice of the media. It also reveals the public obsession with the dysfunctional and destructive elements in society.
The Craig's List Killer, a middle class young man, horrifies and fascinates because our society cannot accept its own class prejudice and discrimination. To accept this would necessitate doing something about it in a true democracy. How could this young, white man, who did everything to follow the conservative path to wealth and success be a monster? The fact is that the current financial crisis was caused by similar conservative, white men who have done everything to achieve wealth and success. They too, in my opinion, are monsters.
The moral provenance of social-economic class is a myth fostered by the minority who rule and pillage society at the expense of the vast majority of people in it. The Craig's List Killer horrifies the privileged because his crime exposes them to the light of critical scrutiny by the masses. Yes, they are just like everyone else. They are not superior beings. They too can produce a sadistic murderer.
Despite this, the wealthy still demand special treatment, even in shameful death. How many deaths in state prisons get the attention of this suicide? The media revels in this fascination with class and dysfunction, but sheds no light on the underlying prejudices and inequalities.
The human condition will not improve until human rights and justice are afforded to all people on a very basic level in society. The provenance of social class, based in material wealth, stands in the way of universal rights and justice. America cannot address this impediment to universal justice as long as it denies its own shallow materialism and class prejudice.
Hi, Paul.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with "materialism and class prejudice" is that it's not shallow at all, but runs so very deeply in our collective psyche that we no longer see it. In direct conflict with the so called christian values the religious right would have us believe this country was founded upon, what they and the general culture really worships is wealth, fame and power. So much so, in fact, that those without it will act contrary to their own interests and support the very thieves who keep them poor, just to perpetuate the illusion that they, too, may someday have the money, fame and power they do not have now, their fellows be damned.
Should one point out that actual Christian values (as in what Jesus actually said) include taking care of the sick and poor, modesty, simplicity, nonviolence and love of ones enemies as well as ones friends, and that perhaps we got off track somewhere and maybe we could try to redefine wealth as what we as a society have rather then what I as an individual have, then accusations of Socialist spring immediately from the right.
And yet, Americans are more then willing to accept the view that human rights and justice are commodities to be bought and sold, without realizing that for every human right withheld from others, every case of justice denied to others, even (or especially) those with whom we don't agree, makes our own position that much more precarious.
They are willing to accept this because it perpetuates the myth that we can only advance ourselves at the expense of our neighbors, and our turn at the trough will surely come if only we can raise our relative position by keeping all of "them" down.
But now I'm just ranting. Back to your original point, I think the tragedy of the jail-cell suicide is not that it garnered so much attention but that so many more go unnoticed, ignored or denied.
Well said, davek. Thank you for sharing your comment on this.
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