Colin Ferguson is a Black man accused of killing white commuters cowering on the floor on the Long Island railroad. Ferguson looks down at his victims and picks seven white people whom he indiscriminately murders in cold blood. His attorney defends him claiming that he is the victim of society discrimination against blacks which created the “Black Rage” which is the truly responsible party in the killings. Ferguson is not responsible. He is a victim. Black rage is to blame. Ferguson’s attorney claimed that fully 2/3 of Blacks surveyed and fully half of whites supported the Black Rage defense! The fallacy in this defense is of course obvious. The vast majority of blacks who have suffered real discrimination do not become mass murders. Indeed the vast majority of people who have suffered abuse actually do not commit violent crimes. Some do however. But they did not have to. They were not merely a victim of circumstance.
Ask someone – why do you answer the phone? They will usually tell you – Because it rings. This however is already the first sign of victim consciousness. Someone who answers the phone because it rings is a victim. The ringing of the phone is a stimulus. The response to the ringing is a human choice. It is indeed precisely what makes us human. Mother asks son why did you hit your sister. Son’s first answer may be “because she screamed at me”. Mother’s teaching must then be to show son his misperception. Your sister yelling at you was a stimulus. Your response to that stimulus by hitting was a choice for which you are responsible.
