CRIMINALS AS HEROES?

Heroes— what does it mean to be a hero? It means to act on behalf of others often at a risk to one’s own life or well-being. Heroes are unselfish, generous, caring, and they live by higher moral standards. We think of heroes as people who take risky behaviors— not to be recognized, honored, praised, but to help, to save lives, and to prevent disasters. Typically heroes are actually shy about being honored— they don’t think of themselves as heroes. They say things like, “I was just doing what I had to do.” “I just did what anyone would do.”

Who are the heroes today? Often the average person who steps up in a crisis and helps others without regard to themselves. Today those who risk life and limb in the military to protect our freedoms are heroes. The doctors, nurses, firemen, and first line responders who assist them in need — risking their own health are heroes.

Let’s now turn the question around. Who are those who we can say are definitely not heroes? First on my list would be criminals. Anyone who is doing something illegal is certainly not thinking about others and not extending himself for the good of all others. While most of us are not heroes— we just mind our own business and don’t interfere with others. Criminals are on the other side of the bell curve— self-focused and not even thinking about how their actions may negatively impact others.

Given that, what is this thing with the media? Nearly all of the protests are about criminals who ended up getting hurt or killed while doing something wrong. Yet the media, for the most part, hides that fact. They hide their criminal activities and records and as if that wasn’t bad enough, s they simultaneously promote them as if heroes. The media publishes their names, encourages marches in their names, and set up funds for them.

Yet 98 percent of them are criminals! Nor does this make any difference about their ethnic background or “race.” Whether white, black, Hispanic, or Asian— anyone who gets into fights with the police, resists arrest, and are hurt in the process (which is almost everyone) were doing things that they should not have been doing in the first place. Almost everyone was engaged in criminal behavior, but most of the time that is overlooked.

Michael Brown was no hero. The Obama justice department’s report identified him as attempting to wrestle a gun from a policeman who was sitting in his car when Brown was shot— and that was after bullying and stealing from an Asian store owner as the video showed. George Floyd was no hero. While being arrested for using counterfeit money, cheating a store owner, and resisting arrest — that’s when his tragic death occurred. Jacob Blake was no hero — there was a warrant out for his arrest when he was resisting arrest, he had previously been convicted of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

What’s wrong with the media that they seem to glory in the idea of transforming someone who was hurt or killed while engaged in criminal activities and trying to make that person a hero? And why are some Democrats (especially mayors and governors) joining this. Nearly every one of the persons who Black Lives Matter say was a “victim” of racism was actually a perpetrator of crimes against others. And they would not have gotten hurt, let alone killed, if they had been minding their own business and if they were an upright citizen. Calling a criminal a hero strikes me as an Orwellian inversion of the very meaning of language.

Don’t get me wrong. None of the people killed deserved that! And yes, police need the very best training so that they do not use excessive force. We all agree to that. And where there is a “bad” police person, that person should be fired. But the great majority are well trained and are not racist. Police don’t need to be defunded— they need the very best funding for training, personal development, and equipment possible.

[This series on Political Thinking represents my thinking, and mine alone. It does not necessarily represent Neuro-Semantics which is a psychological model. You can reach me at [email protected] L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. For the book Political Coaching, see the link — www.neurosemantics.com/political-coaching/ ]