When Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (Dem., Florida) addressed the House of Representatives regarding the killing of Trayvon Martin, she recited a depressing litany of victimization:

If you walk into any inner city high school in the African American community, Mr. Speaker, and ask the students, “Have you ever been racially profiled,”’ trust me, every one of them will raise their hands, boys and girls. You might say to me, “Congresswoman, what does that mean? Who is profiled? And who is doing the profiling?” I will tell you.

Boys by police officers.

Boys by vigilante wannabe-police officers.

Boys who get into an elevator and then everyone else gets off.

Boys who walk down the sidewalk and everyone crosses the street.

Boys who watch people lock their car doors when they approach a car.

Boys who see women clutch their purse as they walk towards them.

Boys who will try to catch a cab but not one who will stop.

Boys who are followed around in stores while they shop.

Boys who wear hoodies.

Boys who wear dreads.

Boys who wear gold teeth.

Boys who sag their pants.

And boys who are walking while black, talking while black, shopping while black, eating while black, studying while black, and playing while black, and just being black.

Yes, this blanket indictment of American society is greatly exaggerated. Yet many African Americans, especially young ones, see it as accurate. Whether an accusation is true is often less important than whether some people believe it is true.
People act on their beliefs. How do people, especially young people, act when their “leaders” − from Rev. Al Sharpton to Rev. Jeremiah Wright to Rep. Frederica Wilson − tell them that they are constant victims of an oppressive, racist society?
● Some young people will pay no attention to what adults tell them, especially when adults tell them negative things about what they can’t do. So they go their own way, and grow up to be whatever they were already going to be before anyone told them they were victims of incessant racism and oppression.
Some will become huge successes. Others will become abject failures. But most will become ordinary people, doing the ordinary things people do to live on this earth. These are the fortunate people − fortunate for themselves, and fortunate for all the rest of us. They remain themselves, untainted by the pervasive anger and resentment that is evoked by a belief that they are victims. They are our hope for the future.
● Some young people will absorb the message that American society is oppressive and racist. They will carry this message with them all their lives − and the damage it produces. They will not apply themselves in school. Why should they? They believe that even with a good education, they will be prevented from getting good jobs.
So they will drop out and get a dead-end job, at which they will work the minimum time required to qualify for unemployment benefits. And if they can, they will apply for disability or other benefits. Why shouldn’t they? The government has assumed the role that private and religious charities used to serve − and without the stigma of taking charity. After all, the government is racist and oppressive, so why shouldn’t it pay back a little of what it owes its victims?
And they will “hook up” and get pregnant or get their girlfriends pregnant. But in startlingly large numbers, they will not marry and make a family. Why should they? The government has assumed the role of father and will help support the women and children − support them poorly, but well enough to justify the men in “taking off.”
Ambition will be stifled in all but the most highly motivated. For many, just barely getting by will be enough. Why shouldn’t it? Just getting by is an accomplishment in an oppressive, racist society.
Worst of all, at every opportunity, racism will be imputed to the most minor irritations. Did someone get off the elevator when he got on? She must be a racist − it couldn’t have been her floor. Did someone cut him off in traffic? He must be a racist − it couldn’t have been a guy late for work. Did a clerk make him wait to be served? He must be a racist − he couldn’t just be new on the job. Did someone refuse to buy what he was selling? She must be a racist − she couldn’t simply lack money for that item.
Yes, racism is everywhere − especially when you have been taught to see it everywhere by your “leaders” − your teachers, your clergy, and your elected representatives.
● Some young people, fortunately a relatively small percent, will take the image of victimhood and reverse it. They will become the victimizers. If they are poorly educated and lacking in skills, they will become street criminals. Why shouldn’t they? They are victims − why not turn the tables? Their own people are already being victimized − what difference will one more victimization make?
What do you think is the leading cause of death for black males aged 15-34? Heart disease? Cancer? Auto accidents? No, it’s homicide, of which over 90% is committed by other young black males. It’s depressing that “community leaders” and politicians, both black and white, ignore these facts.
But if people have more education and skills, they can take their sense of victimization to a higher level. They can elevate their anger and resentment to a higher plane. They can become hate-mongering preachers or race-hustling politicians, feeding off people’s sense of victimization in order to increase their own power and wealth.
So the vicious cycle continues. The young people who were programmed to believe that they are victims of racism grow up seeing racism everywhere, thereby reinforcing their belief. They exude anger, and when it is returned − as it inevitably will be − their belief is further reinforced.
The memory of past grievances remains vivid, while the knowledge of present benefits is foggy at best. Stories of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and lynching are told and retold. But they are not told as important historical events to be remembered. They are told as present-day realities to be resented. To some people, Emmett Till being lynched for flirting with a white woman in Mississippi in 1955 is more real than Barack Obama in the White House in 2012.
This is inexpressibly sad. Gratitude is a source of happiness, and ingratitude is a source of unhappiness. One reason Americans − not only minorities but all Americans − are less happy than they might be is that leftist “intellectuals” and “community leaders” keep telling them what’s wrong with their country, while ignoring what’s right. So why should they feel grateful to live here?
Since 1990, the number of blacks who immigrated voluntarily has exceeded the number who were brought here in the past as slaves. These immigrants are grateful to come here − they know what it’s like back home. But people who were born here have no basis for comparison, other than the utopian visions fostered by leftists. And no matter how good America is, it will fall short of utopia. So the native-born may see no reason for gratitude, only reason for resentment.
Come to think of it, if America is really as racist as Frederica Wilson says it is, how did she get to Congress in the first place? Her ability to address the House of Representatives as a member is itself a refutation of the accusations she makes.
There still is racism in America. Only a fool would deny this. But is there is less racism than there was a generation ago? Only a liar would deny that. Is America the least racist nation on earth? Only someone who never traveled abroad, or a leftist who wants to “fundamentally change” America, would ignore this fact. Is today’s America oppressive and racist? Only race-hustling preachers and race-baiting politicians would say so.
Short of the bubonic plague or an asteroid impact, the worst thing that can happen to a nation is to teach a substantial portion of its young people that they are victims.
Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net. You are welcome to publish or post these articles, provided that you cite the author and website.
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