Fatalism won’t make our city better
WHILE WE HAVE much crime in our city and the majority of people don’t involve themselves in criminal activity, I feel we have developed this false sense that crime is part of life that all cities experience. This fatalistic perspective creates a situation where action is deemed ineffective and therefore we can take comfort in not attempting to change the status quo. What’s worse than our abdication of responsibility is the sense that many people have embraced the idea that lawlessness is part of the character of Albuquerque and that the success that comes from operating outside of legal and ethical norms is equitable to the success that is a product of hard work and education.
This mindset of the ubiquity and normalization of criminal activity, coupled with the false belief that the means will always justify the ends, has created a “breaking bad effect” whereby criminal activity is an aspect of character rather than reputation, the attributes of which must be embraced rather than rejected and that the idea of confronting such a perception is futile as you are trying to change who we are and not whom we choose to be. This “breaking bad effect” has allowed us to continue living comfortably in such a city because it has allowed us an excuse for our apathy. It tells us that crime is external to our control and therefore it should be outside of our concern.
If crime is perceived as an inevitable result of modern life, our community risks making crime an aspect of our culture rather than a result of our choices and actions. While we may not directly participate in illegal activities, we help facilitate such activities by failing to stand up against injustices, and, in turn, our sin becomes one of omission rather than commission, all the while we allow our city to fall deeper into disrepair.
If the people of Albuquerque lend more than sentiment toward the effort of improving our city, and we all take responsibility in the well-being of our communities and neighborhoods, real change can be possible, but if we continue to wait for others, whether they be the mayor, the police, the City Council, then I fear we risk waiting indefinitely for a better future. JASON MECHENBIER Albuquerque