Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Euphamism Darkly

Mitch Albom hides the ball well in his article on the flash mob phenomenon: Mitch Albom: Flash mobs: Quick start, hard to stop

Look at this impressive though most likely unintentional use of euphemism:

They call it a flash mob. And it recently has shown its dark side, in London, Philadelphia and other places.

That's as close as Albom gets to describing the predominantly "dark" racial makeup of the flash mobs that have been sweeping across the US and England.

Thankfully, we've yet to have one of these flash mobs in the Detroit area and hopefully Albom's coverage doesn't inspire a bunch of morons to try and form one. Of course, given the dearth of white people in Detroit proper, the focal racial bent these flash mobs of black-on-white assaults as seen in other US cities likely won't be as prevalent unless they want to try and play in the suburbs.

Albom's concern about and blame of the technology that lets morons gather into criminal mobs rather than the cultural milieu that makes such mobs thinkable is rather indicative.

As can be seen in Mark Steyn's latest must-read essay Lessons for us from London in flames, this problem is less one of technology and far more of a culture brought about by a welfare state coupled with an indulgent justice system with an attitude toward miscreants that doesn't make them face the consequences of their actions.

Until it is clear that such criminality will not be excused or tolerated, you're going to see it continue, regardless of the technology that causes crowds of those bent on criminal acts to gather.

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