In recent times, it seems the concept of personal responsibility has taken a backseat in the wake of feel-good excuses and pseudo-scientific explanations. A troubling incident in Times Square highlights this trend. An obese woman, in the throes of a violent rage, stabbed someone to death and subsequently threatened police officers. Rather than tackling the significant issue of her violent behavior, there’s a growing chorus clamoring for the notion that perhaps she should be seen as a victim of her own circumstances.
Consider for a moment the suggestion by some that instead of holding this woman accountable, we must assume she might have been under some mental duress—possibly even a hormonal imbalance. Yet, is it truly justifiable to sweep such violent actions under the rug? When does society draw the line between genuine mental illness and the abuse of such defenses as a scapegoat for barbaric actions? The officers present, after all, were ultimately forced to act to protect themselves and those nearby when the woman charged at them. Should they also be questioned for simply doing their job?
Critics argue, with a fair amount of sarcasm, that if someone like Lindsay Clancy could be excused for postpartum psychosis, why not chalk up this woman’s rampage to some undefined psychotic episode? Perhaps she, too, should be given a brief stint in a mental facility and then allowed to roam the streets again. Such leniency raises critical questions about society’s priorities in dealing with crime and punishment. Are we now supposed to ask every perpetrator of crime if their blood sugar levels were just a tad low or their testosterone happened to spike?
It’s crucial to highlight the dangerous precedent this sets. Every individual has agency. To undermine this with endless pardon due to supposed biological factors is to dismiss the very nature of personal choice. Imagine if every criminal were able to evade justice simply because of some molecular imbalance or deficiency. Would civil society still stand when chaos reigns, masked as hormonal upheaval?
The ideology that humanity lacks control over its actions is not merely laughable but perilous. When society begins to toss accountability aside, it opens the floodgates for more chaos and anarchy. In clinging to the possibility of endless biological and psychological alibis, the safety and stability of communities hang in the balance. Personal responsibility isn’t an old-fashioned notion. It’s the bedrock of a functioning society, one that knows when it’s time to put a stop to excuses and start serving justice.
