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Sunday, December 5, 2010

The New Defense : What Should I do?

It has been classic infantile dependency throughout history for humans to find someone else to blame besides themselves. Usually this is done through a number of defenses that transfer the blame to a higher authority or to some controlling mechanism. The former is usually accomplished by blaming the government or parents or God, and good example is the Nuremberg Defense : "I was only following orders". The latter is achieved by blaming something that would involuntarily and indirectly control you. This one has produced some of the most ridiculous blaming schemes in history, such as "Marylin Manson made me do it" or the classic Twinkie Defense, or just plain ole' fashion defect by mental disorder / disease.

But now we have a new defense, and thus far it is the trump card of trump cards : the "What should I do?" defense, and it has comically and explicitly played into South Park, and has recently been making its way into other shows like Criminal Minds. "What should I do?" alleviates the blame from the accused and onto something implicitly vague. In fact, no one or thing is being blamed in this defense. Incredibly, the accusation itself deteriorates almost completely simply because the question has no answer.

Are we ready to face this defense in court? Can the prosecution work its way around this defense as they had to in the Manson Trails or in Nuremberg? Or will it produce a minor sentence due to the nature of the defense's ability to alleviate the blame from the defendant, as it did for Dan White with the Twinkie Defense for murdering (though ruled as manslaughter) Harvey Milk and George Moscone?

Of course this defense would never hold up well in court, just as the Nuremberg Defense didn't go over well for the Nazis on trail for war crimes. But it does make for a good defense in the case against spouses / significant others, employers, parents, professors, friends, and landlords. This defense echoes the ideology of Charlie Manson : "Nothing is right, nothing is wrong. There's nothing to blame. There is only Now. Now, go out and kill some piggies for me." (That last sentence is only implied). Welcome to society's era of the figurehead, where the Man Behind the Curtain has yet to be revealed in whose to blame... even though there is no Man Behind the Curtain and the magic is only in your mind.

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