The common denominator in all your failures is you..Yes. That’s a harsh statement. Few people want to face that reality. That’s why so many people will gladly embrace the opportunity to blame somebody or something else for their problems when they can..We have an ever-growing state willing to indulge people when they don’t want to take responsibility for or accept consequences for their own actions..Society made me do it!.The drugs made me do it!.My parents didn’t hug me enough!.It’s not my fault I got burned! Nobody told me the coffee would be hot!.Systemic racism has held me back!.My ex-wife is the root of all my problems!.Greedy corporations prevent me from getting ahead!.The excuses people use to dodge and avoid personal responsibility are myriad..It’s certainly more comforting to direct your ire outwards when things may be going poorly for you than to consider you may have caused all or part of your current problems. Especially when you have so many people telling you nothing is your fault..There are many areas where we need people to start taking personal responsibility but I want to focus on crime..What got me going this time was a Tweet from the Western Standard’s Arthur Green showing an electric vehicle charging station with the charging cables having been cut off by thieves. Crooks have realized the copper in those heavy-duty cables is valuable and thefts are becoming a problem throughout North America..I sought out and read some recent articles on the growing problem. Many offered advice to dealing with the issue ranging from keeping cars in garages to bringing in detachable cables to having retractable cables that would be hidden when not in use..Not a single article suggested cracking down on the thieves..Yes, some personal responsibility falls on the owner to work to ensure their items can’t easily be stolen. Still, we shouldn’t have to keep locking everything we have down for fear of thieves..If the responsibility to protect property fully falls upon the property owner, we need to expand the right to protect property with force..Just as it isn’t advisable for a woman to walk alone during late hours in a bad part of town while wearing revealing clothing, it still doesn’t absolve the perpetrator if she is assaulted..It reminded me of a townhall meeting the RCMP held in my area when we were suffering under a particularly bad rural crime wave..We were told to consider installing gates on our driveways and upgrading our alarm systems. I didn’t move to the country to live in a fortress for fear of thieves. They also told us not to defend our property lest we be charged for assaulting a thief..Violent crime and property crimes are rising across the country. The majority of which are committed by chronic offenders who have been released back into society..It’s past time to put the onus of responsibility on the offenders..I don’t care about their background..I don’t care what led them to a life of crime..If they have been committing dozens of crimes, it’s time to consider warehousing them rather than reforming them..In Quebec, a trucking company was recently forced to reinstate a driver who had been fired for driving drunk..The labour tribunal felt the company didn't take her alcoholism into account. Who the hell will be responsible if that trucker kills somebody? .I am a recovering alcoholic..I have never made a secret of that. It doesn't mean I wouldn't be responsible for actions I committed if I started drinking again. Or at least, it shouldn't. .Look to the West coast of the USA where cities have stopped charging thieves as they feel punishing addicts would be inhuman..San Francisco is a crime ridden hellhole while Seattle and Portland have been seeing an exodus of businesses from their cities as they flee the robberies. .It wouldn’t be that costly to give truly long sentences to chronic offenders. We are spending all that money and more to having them in and out of the courts and remand centres while they steal from and assault innocent citizens..There are no simple or quick solutions to the growing disorder and crime issues. The trend is tied into a tougher economy, the breakdown of family units and an opioid addiction epidemic..We need to change attitudes and what is considered socially acceptable. That’s no easy task but it has to be done..Excuses must be dismissed and personal responsibility must be applauded..Until that happens, crime will only continue to get worse.
