Compassion, on its surface — concern for the sufferings and misfortunes of others — is simple and straightforward. However, life is neither simple nor straightforward; it is filled not only with uncertainties but also with people whose various definitions of compassion range from genuine and warranted to warped, outrageous, or even dangerous; a "perversion of compassion," as it were.
The left's perverse view of compassion over the last four years has ranged from excusing violent Black Lives Matter riots in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis as "peaceful protests" (ostensibly out of compassion for Floyd) to compassion for illegal aliens who overrun our cities, take jobs from citizens, and in seemingly increasing numbers, commit murder and other unspeakable crimes, and beyond.
In a nutshell, in the twisted world of so-called "progressivism," victims often matter less than assailants or vice versa (depending on skin color), the lives of unborn children are less important than the so-called "reproductive rights" of those who use on-demand abortion to end their lives, and the truly compassionate among us are to scorned.
In a recent example, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) tweeted a video of a vagrant urinating inside a subway car in New York City. Torres wrote that he was sure that “80% of New Yorkers agree” with him on the declining quality of life in the city.
A mentally disturbed person is publicly urinating in the subway, pissing on a public transit system that pisses away $700 million a year in fare evasion. Why do we accept this? New York can do better than what a broken system can deliver.
"Why do we accept this?" A simple question with a complex answer.
"We" accept "this" for a variety of reasons, including faux compassion for the "helpless and hopeless," and perhaps at its worst, a numbing acceptance of "It's just the way things are, these days." Moreover, when those who don't accept "this" speak out, they are often ignored, chastised, or destroyed if necessary. Regardless, said Torres: "We don't have to accept what is unacceptable."
In a Christmas Day op-ed, the editorial board of The New York Post addressed the issue raised by Torres, including the "perversion of compassion" for the mentally ill.
They make life miserable — and dangerous — for everyone. Including themselves. Progressives think they’re being kind, considerate, compassionate to these troubled people. They're horribly wrong.
It’s not compassionate to let to someone sleep on the floor of Penn Station or to permit violent ones to attack innocent people. It’s not compassionate to let druggies shoot up and pass out on the streets.
It’s not compassionate to leave a woman, who appeared to have a walker and is thought to have been homeless, defenseless on an F-train while another psycho fatally lights her on fire, as a suspected illegal, drug-addled, homeless Guatemalan immigrant did Sunday morning.
That attack shocked the entire nation.
Need more? How about the shouting maniac who stabbed a straphanger watching Netflix in an unprovoked attack on board a Brooklyn train?
Just how many of these such incidents will it take for state lawmakers to ditch their perverse “compassion,” get some real help for these people (whether they want it or not) and keep violent ones away from innocent New Yorkers?
"Do they really want to leave it to the Daniel Pennys to deal with more Jordan Neelys?" the Post asked.
That's a fascinating question. Call me a cynic, but in a perverse, ironic way, that's exactly what some on the left want. I suspect they see it as a double win: not only do they afford themselves the opportunity to spew "compassion" for the Jordan Neelys of America, but they also gleefully take yet another opportunity to attack "racism" and "white supremacy."
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The sheer hypocrisy of course is if Neely were white and Penny black, nary a word of condemnation would be uttered by our left-wing friends.
Thomas Sowell: The Left's Phony Compassion For The Downtrodden
Economist, economic historian, social philosopher and political commentator Thomas Sowell wrote about "phony compassion" in a 2016 op-ed, including why he believes "progressives" embrace it (emphasis, mine).
Claiming the role of champions of the masses is something the political left has been doing ever since there has been a political left — which is to say, ever since the late 18th century, when people with such views sat on the left side of the French National Assembly.
Like so much that is claimed by the left, their compassion for the masses has seldom been subjected to any factual test. Both their words and their deeds reveal their low opinion of the people they claim to be championing.
[...]
What role is there for the masses in the vision of the left?
One role is to provide a moral basis for the left to claim power, as defenders of the downtrodden. No secular doctrine has so swept across the world so swiftly, and with such widespread political impact as Marxism in the 20th century. Its central premise is that the workers are poor because their employers have exploited them.
Hence, we have faux moralists like Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren incessantly howling at the moon about "the rich" and "big corporations" not paying their "fair share" of taxes and of course Donald Trump's "tax cuts for the rich," while failing to mention that IRS data has shown that all income brackets benefited as a result of the Trump tax reforms, with the most significant benefits accruing to working- and middle-class filers.
"What is also remarkable is the extent to which the left's preservation of their own self-flattering vision is defended at virtually all costs," Sowell wrote, "with both facts and thoughts to the contrary being dismissed, rather than answered, using such words and phrases as 'stereotypes,' 'blaming the victim' or 'racism.'"
The Bottom Line
As the late conservative political pundit Charles Krauthammer wrote in a 2002 column, "Conservatives think liberals are stupid; liberals think conservatives are evil."
Not to nitpick with Dr. Krauthammer, for whom I had tremendous respect, but there are also those on the left who pretend to think conservatives are evil solely for the consumption of low-information, rank-and-file Democrat voters.
Either way, by first creating (concocting) evil, the left — including a majority of the Democrat Party — must then seek out victims of that evil, from George Floyd to Jordan Neely to Luigi Mangione, who allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, to illegal aliens who commit unspeakable crimes.
