Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
We can't stop it all, now, en masse, because through our failure of will, we've let it happen over the years everywhere. Had we hit these problems when they started, (a not-too-expensive proposition, actually, given some of the venues), it would have been spread over time.
Had we, years ago, taken a strong stand against bullies killing innocents, I think the threat we would present might have even kept a few of these from happening in the first place.
I can't seem to seperate this from the more basic concept - I see a guy severely beating up a kid across the street, I cross the street and make him stop. (It's a safe model, for the moment, as there is no bully we can't beat, really.) To argue that the kid isn't my responsibility seems craven.
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The problem is that for so many years we subsidized so many of those bullies, and put more than a few of them in place. Or, even more problematic, we turned today's bullies into the savage haters they are today by propping up even worse bullies, on the theory that at least they weren't commies.
We not only let it happen for years, we supplied the bats, guns, and electrodes. To take your basic example. If we spend thirty years helping the guy beat up his kids, how can we come back and pound him now? Or, another variation, what if every Dad on the block is beating up his kid but you. Can you take them all on at once?
