THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
May 22, 1992
 
Liberal Myths Fanned The Flames In Los Angeles
By Dennis Prager

I wonder if, in November 1939, after Krystall- nacht, when Nazis burned hundreds of synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses, there were German liberals who demanded that Germany focus on the "rage" of the Nazi rioters. I doubt it. But if there were, history would have the same contempt for them as it will one day have for those who focus on the "rage" of the black rioters; the liberal black leadership, liberal media, and liberal presidential candidates.

The only moral distinction between the white thugs who burned down Jewish establishments in 1939 and the black thugs who burned down Korean and other establishments in 1992 is that the bract thugs avoided Korean houses of worship. Yet, all one bears from liberal politicians and the liberal ../media is about the "rage" of the rioters, that America has neglected its black citizens, and that a racist America has brought all this on.

These are all myths; destructive liberal myths; that have helped ruin many black lives, and which have led to the torching of Los Angeles far more than the Rodney King verdict did.

First, the "rage" excuse.

We are repeatedly told that the rioting is the result of "rage." As the Reverend Jesse Jackson put it "desperate people do desperate things."

If not meant as a justification, this point is simply meaningless: All criminal violence; including serial murder, Nazi genocide, and racist lynching-is committed by people with rage. But good people don't focus on the rage of those who committed evil; they focus on the pain of the people hurt by those who can't control their rage.

Good people also understand that to focus on the rage of those who commit evil is really" attempt to excuse those who commit the evil."

This is easily demonstrated. People who invoke the "rage" explanation for black rioting never use it with regard to crimes committed by whites. No one uses it to defend the four officers who heat up Rodney King, though they certainly acted out of rage. No one argues that we must understand Ku Klux Klan violence as the work of people with rage; though it undoubtedly is. And if someone were to describe the Nazis who burned Jewish businesses and beat Jews as "desperate people doing desperate things," the person would be considered a moral idiot.

Why, then, do we have a different standard when assessing the black violence against Koreans and other innocents (the violence directed solely at innocents)?

The reason is clear; black and white liberals make fewer moral demands on blacks than they do on other human beings.

This generation-long liberal removal of moral responsibility from black people; Rep. John Conyers announced, "Those weren't criminals; they were outraged citizens"-will only help to ensure another torching of Los Angeles and other cities.

The second destructive liberal myth that helped burn Los Angeles is that America has neglected blacks, and that this neglect was the primary cause of the riots. Repeated often enough by white and bract liberal leaders (non-liberals are not permitted to be black leaders), this lie has taken on a life of its own among many blacks: "It's all America's fault that I have not advanced."

This is old stuff. As Jeanne Kirkpatrick said in 1984, the liberal motto for a generation has been, "Blame America First."

Since the War on Poverty began, America has spent more than $2 trillion on the poor and minorities That liberals still believe that the answer is federal money emanates from three factors:

1. The continuing influence of Marxist materialist thought on all segments of the Left;
2. the consequent liberal devaluing of moral values, which are far more decisive than economics in determining behavior;
3. the dependence of black and other liberal politicians on delivering federal mosey in order to stay in power.

The third destructive liberal myth is that white America is racist; a racist developed AIDS to destroy blacks; and why so many blacks and white liberals can buy the "black rage'' excuse for murder and arson. The constant repetition of the mantra "America is racist" has raised a white-bating generation of blacks, the consequences of which were seen last week, and will be seen often again.

Orlando Patterson, the black Harvard sociologist, recently wrote that American blacks have more freedom and civil liberties than blacks anywhere else in the world, including black Africa. But to those who hate this country, this means nothing. A black who loves America is considered by white and black liberals an Uncle Tom.

Little good will come from the burning and destruction of Los Angeles. But if liberals rethink their myths about race, America, the role of money, and the role of moral responsibility. An immense good will have been achieved. Until then, however, there will be more fires because liberals are pouring more gasoline than ever.