A lot of
what I believe to be right and true are merely points of perception. What one
person enjoys another may hate and what one person believes holy another
believes sacrilege. People are different by nature and always will be. Imagine
a world where everyone thought the exact same and held the same values. To some
that sounds like a perfectly happy world but to me that sounds like some kind
of weird hell. This not only affects whether you like apple juice or orange
juice more but it only affects how we judge people. Justice and judgment is
given by our peers and we expect fair and equal treatment in all respects but
can this even be done? I want to give anyone reading this a quick test and an
interesting story to find out.
Once upon a time there was a married
couple of man and woman. Neither were born into wealthy families so when they
set out to find their own home they had to find one out on the corner of the
city. They needed jobs like any member of society so they agreed and the
husband wanted to be the one to support his new family. He found a job in the
big city but to get there he had to go to the river, take a ferry across, then
take a bus to reach his work. It was tough but honest work. This however also
with rough work conditions meant the man would be gone for most of the day and
only came home late. The wife after being alone at home for most of the day
nearly every day became very lonely and dissatisfied. She set out on the plan
to find a man to meet her needs. She was responsible about it however, she
would not get overly attached and when she believed things got too serious or
when they got to a point where it was more work than reward she would back out.
This went on for a little while and she met her first lover who got too
attached so she cut contact and faded into the city. Shortly thereafter she
found her second lover and things went well for a while but they got into a big
argument and one day she was kicked out. Flustered and upset she set on her way
home, after all she didn’t need another man she has her husband who would be
home soon since it was getting late. After she made it to the ferry pier
however she realized she had no purse. Unable to pay she asked the ferryman
whom she was a regular customer of if she could have one free ride and she
would pay him back later. The ferryman however a business could not help her.
Afterall if he broke code now what would stop him from doing it again in the
future? She was upset but who could she blame so in her desperation she set
back for lover number twos house. She told him she had lost her purse and
needed to get home and asked for old time’s sake if he could spare some money.
Still angry from their fight he denied her and slammed the door. Realism was
setting in as the wife realized she needed to get home or else the husband
would notice she was missing. In her desperation she returned to the place of
her first lover. She introduced herself to the man who immediately recognized
her and said she had no timed and asked if she could borrow some money and that
she was in a bind. The man still hurt and confused said he had no money to give
to her and told her to leave and closed his door to her. The woman now
increasingly desperate returned to the pier since she had little time, she had
to go home. She simply considered swimming across the pier before she
remembered that down the river was a bridge. The reason it took long to
remember was because it was a run down and shady bridge that was known for
housing crime and muggers. At this point she believed to have the options of A.
be late and try to somehow explain to the husband that she needed to go back to
the house when he returns or B. cross the run down bridge risk the crime and
return home. The option to her was obvious and so she set off to the bridge. As
expected a mugger confronted her and she resisted. In the struggle the mugger
stabbed her and took her jewelry and ran off leaving her there bleeding where
she would shortly after die of blood loss. This is a sad story but the point I
want to share is who here is to blame? Is it the husband for not being home for
and meeting the wifes needs? The lovers for not helping a woman in need and
paying money? Ferryman for not giving a normal customer one free ride even
though she said she’d pay it back later? The wife for cheating and then taking
the risk on the bridge? The mugger who stabbed her and left with her jewelry?
Most people who read this story say it is completely the wife’s fault for
dying. She put herself in all of those situations and deserved what happened.
She had it coming. I’m here to tell you that is wrong. I know why you blame her
afterall bad things happen to bad people right? No this is completely the
muggers fault. He had the knife! He stabbed her! He left her to die. We cannot
blame the victim. Even if she was a cheater does that truly mean she deserved
to die? This same argument is brought up with rape. “She wore skimpy clothing
drank and went down an ally. She was asking for it.” No one deserves to be
taken advantage of. No one ASKS to be molested or worse killed. This victim
culture is something society is terrified we are becoming and I simply want to
warn you of its danger and to ask you to consider the consequences. Morality
and justice are hand in hand. Just because you don’t like someone please don’t
blame them for a crime that they were themselves the victim of. Find the culprit.
And have some compassion for human frailty and vulnerability, I take it you're saying. I agree. We're all implicated in each others' lives, we're all responsible (I prefer that locution to "blame") for one another and for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteIn print, your story retains the same frantic pace you gave it in the telling. That's impressive, Jsoe.