Equal Blame

Billy and Bobby – normally well behaved boys – are bored one day, so they pick up a few stones and throw them at a house.

There’s some minor damage – a chipped window, a broken light fixture, some dents in the siding.

 

Johnny – the neighborhood terror – comes along with a bowling ball, and throws it at the house.

The ball crashes through a window, then shatters a glass coffee table, ultimately landing on the dog laying under the table, killing the dog.

 

Neighbor A calls the cops. Neighbor B runs outside to confront the children.

The police arrive, and question the boys and the neighbors separately.

The homeowner arrives home, sees the damage and becomes justifiably angry. He wants to know who did this to his home and dog.

 

Neighbor A tells the homeowner which damage was caused by each boy.

Neighbor B tells the homeowner that all of the boys were responsible, and they should be blamed equally, and should receive equal punishment.

 

Word starts to spread throughout the neighborhood about what happened.

Billy and Bobby try to explain to people that they know what they did was wrong, and they’re willing to pay for the damages they caused, but don’t feel it’s right that they share equal blame for the worst of the damage. Neighbor A corroborates what they’ve said, and defends them.

Neighbor B and Johnny very loudly and persistently try to tell people that all the boys are equally to blame, and that Johnny wouldn’t have done what he did if he hadn’t seen the other boys throwing rocks first.

 

It ends up going to court. You’re the judge. What’s your ruling? What is the punishment? Who pays for the damages? Are all three boys equally responsible?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now apply this scenario to politics and news. Are all politicians the same; should they share equal responsibility for destroying our country?

Are all news outlets the same? Is it morally right to say, “they all did it, they’re all to blame!”? Or are you just trying to obfuscate the fact that one news outlet is much worse than all the others.

When the wrongs that one person, one company, one political party do severely outweigh the wrongs that another person, company or political party do, should they all receive equal blame, equal punishment? Is that fair?

Again, you’re the judge. What’s your ruling?