law stuff

A report out of Rotherham, England, finds that  some 1,400 children -- some as young as 11 -- were sexually abused, trafficked and officially ignored between 1997 and 2013. The specifics are horrific. Everyone is very sorry.

There are many aspects to the abuse and the unwillingness/inability to take corrective action in the matter, but one stood out as commonplace in the world of the good-hearted -- the fear of being accused of racism. Most of the perpetrators in the Rotherham case happened to be Pakistani ... but officials admitted they were afraid to say so for fear of being accused of yet another social-no-no. And this unwillingness to face one aspect of the tragedy, far from ameliorating it, instead drove it further underground.

Interesting aspect -- everyone trying to be politically correct in an effort to make things politically correct. In essence, a Pakistani lawbreaker was a Pakistani first and foremost and a lawbreaker only coincidentally.

And similar aspects are evident in the decades-long revelations of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church ... put the abuse on the back burner and remember that these (largely) male perpetrators were priests first and foremost... divert attention from the breaking of the law. Morally, the argument may not hold water, but it is a palpable diversion: Let's not tar the entire institution or accuse it too broadly and hence bring down the curse of unwarranted generalization. Let's not be knee-jerk anti-Catholic.

One bad apple -- be it Pakistani or priest -- is no reason to tar the lot and call down an equally-invidious charge of "racism." Good-hearted people would like to be thought good-hearted through and through and not bring down the slimy tendrils of racism on a pristine parade.

Taking its cue from Ferguson, Mo., where an 18-year-old, unarmed black man was shot to death recently, Dallas has taken up the cry to establish "trust" in the black community. Will it work? History suggests that is unlikely, though there will be earnest and good-hearted talk. And one of the aspects to consider is this: Anyone can be a jerk -- black, white, Pakistani or priest. Fearing an accusation of pointing out who IS a jerk is one way of assuring that little gets done. Without laying all the cards on the table -- that's 'all,' not just the good-hearted and well-intentioned -- the old doubts will simply dig a deeper hole.

Oh well ... this goes on and on. I just dislike the notion that the law does not apply to everyone. A white asshole is a white asshole. Ditto a black asshole. If there is a law about such behavior, I would like to see it enforced for young and old alike.