Bitter Mayor Clings To His Religion

A mayor calls for citizens to don burlap sacks and ashes in a religious show of contrition for Birmingham's worsening crimewave. The article, of course, hides the fact that he's a Democrat, because we all know it's Republicans who do this sort of thing.

Not only is there an obvious double-standard on display here (has anyone asked Obama if his fellow black churchgoers are also bitterly clinging to Wright's lunatic version of Krazy Konspiratorial Kristianity?), but even as metaphysics it's awful.

In what version of the Bible can one ask for forgiveness for someone else's sins (or in this case, capital crimes)? There was a bit of this is in the Middle Ages with the buying of indulgences for others who had sinned, but that theory of redemption-by-proxy has been long discredited.

It's the same stupid liberal impulse to pretend that evil-doers are not themselves blameworthy and instead make a great show of one's own enlightenment by ostentatiously "taking responsibility" for one's contribution to someone else's evil.

But it's always bullshit. Liberals and lefties are fond of claiming that Al Qaeda, for example, is largely reacting to "our own" sins, but when they make such claims they are using the words "we" and "our" in a nontraditional manner. They never really mean themselves, despite that "we" and "our" traditionally include the speaker in the grouping. They always mean other people by "we" and "our."

So it's doubly dishonest. They make a great show of "accepting their own responsibility" for the crimes of others, which is jackass in and of itself, but on top of that they're even claiming this indirect responsibility on behalf of their less-enlightened, less-nuanced fellow Americans who are bitterly clinging to their notions of individual responsibility and so will not and cannot take such responsibility themselves.

When Michael Moore et al. so nobly and courageously ask aren't "we" responsible for Al Qaeda, of course they always mean you. It's hardly noble or courageous to point fingers of righteous blame at others.

Why, that almost sounds like a Republican thing to do, doesn't it?

Instead of this ostentatious posturing, why doesn't the mayor focus his attention on those who are actually responsible for the crimewave, such as, I don't know, just spitballing here, just right-braining it, criminals?

posted by Ace at 12:17 PM

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