MANSFIELD: Affluenza? I Believe In It

By Mansfield Frazier

A new word — “affluenza” — has recently come roaring into the lexicon (actually, it’s not new, there’s a book so titled) via a Texas attorney who represented 16-year-old Ethan Couch. The lawyer claimed the youth was blameless for driving drunk and causing a crash that left four people dead in June because … hold on to your hats for this one folks … he had affluent parents who never set limits for him, which caused his “affluenza.”

Judge Jean Boyd bought the argument and sentenced Couch to 10 years of probation but no jail time, saying she would work to find him a long-term treatment facility. His family has agreed to spend close to half-a-million dollars a year to send him to one of the most posh treatment facilities in the world, an idyllic enclave overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

And I totally agree with the sentence … albeit with one huge caveat.

For well over a decade I’ve worked from time to time with a team of death penalty lawyers and mitigators in Oregon. A large part of their job is to gather evidence of what happened in an accused killer’s life that would explain to the court why the person committed the crime they’re standing trial for. And in virtually every case lurid tales of horrible childhoods spent in the clutches of twisted or addicted parents emerge.

And why should anyone be surprised? I’ve long held that the vast majority of people who commit heinous and depraved acts are sick, and further, they did not cause their own sicknesses. In almost every instance a caregiver did a horrible job of childrearing.

So, following that logic, the young man in Texas isn’t responsible for his actions, but certainly someone should be held accountable; and that certainly should be his parents. Laws should be changed so that parents are responsible for the horrendous actions of minor children.

But my real argument has to do with “Impoverishenza.” If a minor child of wealthy parents is not responsible for his or her actions, then how can the children of poorer people be held responsible for theirs? Why isn’t impoverishenza — limits not set by impoverished parents — just as legitimate a defense? Indeed, perhaps even more so since these poorer parents had fewer resources to work with.

The simple fact is … such a defense would never work for folks of lesser means (in front of this judge or any other) because, as we all know, in America justice can be — and routinely is — bought, perverted by money … as it was so glaringly made manifest in this Texas case. And we call this a fair justice system?

 

The New Normal?

Thanksgiving — which increasingly is turning into little more than Black Friday economic debauchery — is thankfully behind us, and I can hardly wait for Christmas to be over. Not that I’m a latter-day Ebenezer Scrooge, mind you; it’s just that I’m one of those folks who are deeply saddened by the fact the holidays are the only time of the year we make the thinly-veiled pretense that our hearts overflow with the milk of human kindness. Of course it’s also the season where more people commit suicide than any other time of the year.

The turnoff for me is that we so blatantly use — or misuse (pimping is a better word) — the poor during the Holiday Season: We salve our collective conscience in regards to our national parsimoniousness by magnanimously handing out free stuff … all the while patting ourselves on the back and loudly proclaiming ours to be a “Christian nation.” Humbug!

This year a law firm — one that specializes in auto accidents, chasing ambulances harder than a pack of escaped pit bulls chasing a mailman — is collecting coats, toys, food and other items at their headquarters … of course with the TV cameras steadily rolling. In the trade this is called “earned media” — meaning it’s advertising that costs absolutely nothing, it’s totally free. This little stunt will save the firm thousands of dollars in advertising … perhaps even hundreds of thousands.

But if we solve the problem of poverty in this country these wealthy organizations will no longer be able to make money off pimping the poor. Besides, what’s the sense (or fun) of being financially well off if you don’t have someone — some demographic — you can look down your collective nose at?

The law firm’s research no doubt indicates this form of fake philanthropy is a growth sector, one set to continue trending upwards as more and more Americans are either unemployed or are members of that growing group known as “the working poor.” People that work full-time, and still struggle to get by week-to-week, are the fastest growing demographic in this midst of plenty that supposedly is the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth.

A group of employees at a Wal-Mart in Canton went so far as to solicit donations of food from workers so other less fortunate workers could enjoy Thanksgiving dinner … before going right back to being wage slaves.

“Philanthropy,” said Helen Keller, “is a tragic apology for wrong conditions.” Tru dat.

Increasingly, it’s coming to pass that the Holiday Season — and the aforementioned attendant fake philanthropy — is being used to keep the masses placated … comfortable and quiet in their vastly reduced economic circumstances. At least they have the holidays to look forward to.

And just as economic activists and union organizers begin to gain a head of steam in terms of waking up underpaid workers (and those who have simply dropped out of the job market), along comes Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and everybody gets all dewy-eyed as free turkeys are passed out and flat screen TVs can be had for $150 for those greedy enough to brave the biting cold … and then they go right back to snoozing.

Rather than joining in with others and storming the ramparts of obscene wage inequality, too many of the poor meekly accept their reduced circumstances, some having no knowledge or memory of a better time … and that’s exactly what the new Robber Barons are depending on.

Plutocrats set out a few decades ago to condition American workers to the “new normal” of poverty level wages … and their scheme is working — with a vengeance. Young men who formerly looked forward to landing a job as an autoworker or in a steel mill are now gleeful — happier than pigs in shit — to get a job stocking shelves at an all-night superstore … right alongside women who could once make a decent living as substitute teachers, who now need two jobs to make it, as long as they’re willing to beg for food stamps so their kids don’t go hungry.

However, such realities are pushed aside during the holidays.

But that spirit doesn’t last all year. Along comes the cold winds of February and snow is butt deep to the Jolly Green Giant; the battery in the hooptie used to get back-and-forth to a shit minimum wage job is deader than the throwing arm of a Browns quarterback; the bus is running late … and some dirty, rotten, no-good son-of-a-bitch drives past too close to the bus shelter and splashed slush on everyone.

At that point in time all of the hoopla and bullshit of the Holiday Season is a far distant memory. That’s when people can be awakened out of their stupor and begin to be solicited to join in with others in demanding that all Americans be afforded the dignity of not having to stand in line for charity handouts — that we stop this sickening slide toward becoming a nation of mendicants and beggars … so the rich one percent can get richer by keeping wages lower than whale shit (and as you should know, whale shit goes right to the bottom).

Let them keep their free turkeys, coats, shoes and other bullshit … instead of expending so much energy on fake, feel good philanthropy, how about doubling the minimum wage so people can provide for their families by their own labor, with dignity and pride. Isn’t that what America really is supposed to be about?

 

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.

 

 

 

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One Response to “MANSFIELD: Affluenza? I Believe In It”

  1. Bill Wiltrack

    It almost seems odd Mansfield, having just read your article, but I think you actually have a lot in common with Jesus.

    You both are black. You both speak the truth and neither of you are afraid to ruffle a few feathers.

    Another great article. All the best to you in 2014 & beyond.

    Happy Kwanzaa!

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