https://www.mediaite.com/news/seth-rogen-defends-car-break-ins-in-los-angeles-i-dont-personally-view-my-car-as-an-extension-of-myself/
Essentially he is saying stuff like, if you live in the "big-city" you can expect to have your car broken into, get over it, seemingly giving crime a pass. This should, on the surface, rub every law abiding citizen wrong. It should also make Republican’s go ape shit. I think we are seeing that ape shit response. Even from a few moderate democrats.
The complete thoughts here are far deeper and more nuanced for a tweet. The thoughts here go so far beyond the pages of People Magazine or the latest Woke experience from the progression wingnuts on the left who strive to make the criminals the victims. Let’s dig deeper.
Let’s start with remembering that very first crime you’ve experienced that was committed against yourself and I’m talking about a relatively petty crime. A misdemeanor, a theft. Not a felony, not a violent act. Let's not confuse the two. Regardless of the petty nature of the crime, who didn’t feel violated? It’s still shocking. It’s emotional. It’s ethereal. And yes, being violated is a valid expression. Those who have numerous petty crimes committed against them, without serious mental preparation, stoic meditation perhaps, rarely can reduce the pangs of violation--even if minuscule by comparison to physical assault or armed robbery, for instance.
Rogen claims his car has been broken into 15 times. I hope that’s an exaggeration, but nevertheless, repeated exposure to that same stress, no doubt, will make your mental reaction somewhat less fraught with anxiety. Certainly, that first night of sleeplessness after experiencing a crime, will abate, if a car break-in has been something you’ve decidedly decided to live with. Doubtful Rogen would feel the same way if his house was broken into, perhaps while resting peacefully inside. There are other petty crimes. Having your wallet or purse stolen at the airport. Having your bike stolen. Tires slashed. Hotel room burglarized. Even a home break in, preferably while you were on vacation. For the record it’s not petty at all if you are home. Rogen also claims he's unaffected, because he doesn’t view a car, and the material value of things in the car, as an extension of himself.
To some extent, all of these crimes have befallen me, or someone I know. They all suck. Yet here we are, giving crime a pass. What would Jesus do? If you steal a loaf of bread to feed your hungry child, should you have your hand chopped off? These are ethical and moral scenarios that have been explored greatly throughout the literature. Even better, if you have an expensive car, park it in a sketchy place, leave your wallet on the dashboard, and leave the doors unlocked, haven’t you just explicitly invited the crime? This would be akin to saying a woman invites an assault by wearing skimpy clothes. Let’s stop that line of bullshit right there. No one invites crime against themselves. Period. For whatever reason, you parked the car, felt it was safe to run into the 7-Eleven, and did so. Only to get trapped momentarily in the back of the store and delayed by some high school kid trying to make a mature selection on which IPA they should try to buy with their phony ID. It happens. Next thing you know, your cell phone has walked out of the parking lot...hopefully after it locked itself. The cell phone can be replaced easily...if it’s an Android. You’re fucked if you iPhone was stolen and you don’t know your Apple ID or password. But I digress...
Now another crime story, from the early 1990’s. My aunt and uncle visited me in Texas. They were accompanied by their three young daughters. This story is a bit poignant as my uncle just passed from cancer a few weeks ago and I attended his memorial in Florida. I actually recounted this tale when I spoke at his celebration. They traveled in a van, the five of them, around the country having returned to the states for a year furlough, after doing five years of missionary work in a foreign land. In every sense of the word, these five disciples of Jesus, spinning around the country in a van, doing, living, and breathing God’s word are a living manifestation of His Gospel. Unfortunately their van was broken into in San Antonio. I don’t remember everything that was stolen. But I do remember it included personal artifacts, such as pictures from their mission, over the last five years. Principally the evidence of their mission and the reason for their travels. Missionaries need sponsors. Without support they cannot be on the front lines, in far off places, preaching the salvation of the Lord. Missionary work is not a thing without support. My aunt and uncle were un-phased by the crime. Living true to their beliefs, it was to them, in fact, “God’s will”. These two beautiful humans are not hypocrites. In 50 years I have not seen them waiver in their belief in this regard. Perhaps, given the expression on one of my cousin’s faces at the memorial, when I recounted the tale, the crime was still raw. I heard her mutter the words, “Ugh, San Antonio”.
Would they excuse the crime, certainly not. Are they bothered by a crime that was most certainly God's will? Also, certainly not. The criminal, should he have been encountered, would most certainly have been forgiven by my aunt and uncle . So has the cancer that ravaged my uncle’s body, so recently rendering him to the Lord, been forgiven by his wife, now widowed aunt. My uncle, some of his last words, when asked how he was doing? Could only respond, “Better than I deserve”. Should any of us believe, what befalls us is somehow not better than we deserve, we have not paid attention to life in general. Those are strong words and I use them only to set context for this post. Individually, today perhaps, many of you have mighty struggles. I am not insensitive to that pain and real suffering. Yet we can, in fact, understand and perhaps give it less power over us, as Saint Seth has perhaps told us in his tweet.
Here’s another crime story. One that plagued me a few years ago. Forget living in the big city, and locking your car doors. I fled the city and lived not only in the suburbs, but in a gated community, on a barrier island in Florida. This is the pinnacle of escapism. I’m embarrassed to say that. I’m also embarrassed to say our gated community was not free from crime. Lock your cars the neighborhood youth seemingly checked for locked doors routinely. This was an insider threat. What was worse for me, however, was not losing my radar detector, pinched from the glove box one evening, it was losing my bikes directly out of my garage. This happened twice. Shame on me for leaving the garage door open, I guess. Cue my first several encounters with Florida law enforcement. Turns out, if you want to check to see if your bicycle has been reported, or recovered to law enforcement, you have to contact all municipalities. There are at least five separate municipalities on that barrier island, all within easy bike riding distance. You can’t just call your local one...chances are the bike left your municipality about 6 minutes after the thief started pedaling. Do the cops in Florida care about bicycles? No. This isn’t even a crime in Florida. Even if they took the bike from your garage. As it turns out, the hoodlum wasn’t actually stealing my bike, they just needed it to travel someplace. Grabbing the nearest, unlocked, set of wheels, is a mode of transportation. Florida’s finest advised me to drive up and down the beach-front and look for a place where someone might have needed the ride, and dropped the bike. I did this. My bikes never turned up. I started to check to see that my garage door was closed every night. I never grew insensitive to this particular petty crime. But perhaps, I didn’t live in Florida long enough.
What am I saying here? I’d love for someone to put words in my mouth because this isn’t easy. Don’t condemn Seth Rogen for his liberal views with regard to crime, petty crime. They might not just be liberal. He is not the left-wing boogieman you may think he might be. I’ve just provided two ultra-conservative accounts of the dismissal of petty crime as a part of life, and not just in the big city, code word, urban-environment.. Don’t be a hypocrite. Live your life, if not in accordance with His Word, in accordance with Seth’s word. Get used to it. But you should also lock your doors...
