http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6097
A Georgetown University (GU) student who says he was mugged at gunpoint says he “can hardly blame" his assailants.
Senior Oliver Friedfeld and his roommate were held at gunpoint and mugged recently. However, the GU student isn’t upset. In fact he says he “can hardly blame [his muggers].”
“Who am I to stand from my perch of privilege, surrounded by million-dollar homes and paying for a $60,000 education, to condemn these young men as ‘thugs?’ It’s precisely this kind of “otherization” that fuels the problem.” Tweet This
“Not once did I consider our attackers to be ‘bad people.’ I trust that they weren’t trying to hurt me. In fact, if they knew me, I bet they’d think I was okay,” wrote Friedfeld in an editorial featured in The Hoya, the university’s newspaper. “The fact that these two kids, who appeared younger than I, have even had to entertain these questions suggests their universes are light years away from mine.”
Friedfeld claims it is the pronounced inequality gap in Washington, D.C. that has fueled these types of crimes. He also says that as a middle-class man, he does not have the right to judge his muggers.
“Who am I to stand from my perch of privilege, surrounded by million-dollar homes and paying for a $60,000 education, to condemn these young men as ‘thugs?’” asks Friedfeld. “It’s precisely this kind of ‘otherization’ that fuels the problem.”
Police also aren’t the solution to the problem, Friedfeld argues.
“If we ever want opportunistic crime to end, we should look at ourselves first. Simply amplifying police presence will not solve the issue. Police protect us by keeping those ‘bad people’ out of our neighborhood, and I’m grateful for it. And yet, I realize it’s self-serving and doesn’t actually fix anything.”
Friedfeld suggests that the “privileged” adapt to normalized crime, until the wrongs of the past are righted.
“The millennial generation is taking over the reins of the world, and thus we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past,” writes Friedfeld. “Until we do so, we should get comfortable with sporadic muggings and break-ins. I can hardly blame them. The cards are all in our hands, and we’re not playing them.”
Friedfeld did not respond to Campus Reform's request for comment in time for publishing
Originally posted by whodeyI may be less inclined to like my attacker, but he is obviously right about the cause of the problem. I have met people who live in much more socialist societies who leave their front door open all day while they are at work. There are presumably some less unequal parts of the US where that is the case.
I suspect some here feel the same.
Shall we count a show of hands?
Originally posted by KazetNagorraYep, and then he could go on to claim that the sun rising up tomorrow will cause 246 cases of erectile dysfunction, 97 cases of head lice, the chain to fall off 204 bicyckles and 23 umbrellas to fail to open.
A bold claim. Is he also claiming the Sun will come up tomorrow?
Originally posted by twhiteheadSo poverty causes people to become violent?
I may be less inclined to like my attacker, but he is obviously right about the cause of the problem. I have met people who live in much more socialist societies who leave their front door open all day while they are at work. There are presumably some less unequal parts of the US where that is the case.
Some of the nicest people I've met were poor. Then again, they were Christians.
Originally posted by whodeyNo. Poverty causes some people to steal.
So poverty causes people to become violent?
The muggers in question were not violent (in the incident as you reported it), and plenty of rich people are violent.
Some of the nicest people I've met were poor. Then again, they were Christians.
Not all poor people turn to crime. And not all criminals are poor. But examples do not prove or disprove a trend.
Some of the nastiest habitual liars on this forum claim to be Christians.
Originally posted by SleepyguyThat is not what I said. You seem to have difficulty following a conversation.
So the guy could have just refused to hand over his money. No problem.
If you came to my house and started breaking my windows, I might first threaten you and then forcibly stop you. But that is not the same thing as saying I am a violent person or that house ownership has made me violent.
Similarly a robber that holds someone up at gun point is not best described as a violent person. They may be a violent person, but they may not be. Depending on your definition, the act of robbery at gun point could be called a violent act.
Originally posted by SleepyguyIf the person being attacked and had a gun and shot the theif then we would have thread after thread about how guns need to be taken off the streets, especially if it was a whitey doing the shooting.
So the guy could have just refused to hand over his money. No problem.
Originally posted by twhiteheadThat may be one cause of the problem, but there must also be others. I have had many people just ask for money instead of mugging me, or even ask if they could do some work in exchange for money. What is the difference in their mindset than those that would rather take money by force? So there must be a greater problem with the mugger than has been identified.
I may be less inclined to like my attacker, but he is obviously right about the cause of the problem. I have met people who live in much more socialist societies who leave their front door open all day while they are at work. There are presumably some less unequal parts of the US where that is the case.