From a Washington Times news story:
Talking about education yesterday, Mr. Kerry also told the largely black crowd at the day care center that there are more blacks in prison than in college.
“That’s unacceptable,” he said. “But it’s not their fault.”
Rather than the inmates, the former Boston prosecutor blamed poverty, poor schools, a dearth of after-school programs and “all of us as adults not doing what we need to do.”
Yup, he was only a lad, you really couldn’t blame him, only a lad, society made him, only a lad, he really couldn’t help it, only a lad, he’s underprivileged and abused, perhaps a little bit confused.
Do we really want a return to this sort of attitude towards criminals? Is it really good for the black community to have black criminals hear that “it’s not their fault”?
I have no doubt that adult failings (especially parents’ failings) and poor schools do help contribute to crime. But you can’t cut crime, or increase college attendance, without making kids (and adults) realize that their actions are their fault — that they have to take responsibility for what they do and don’t do.
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