There are people out there who seem determined to feel like a victim. Somewhere along the way, people got it into their heads that this was acceptable, or even virtuous. But recently, a jury found that you can only take that mindset so far under the law.
A man by the name of Dan Black filed a lawsuit against former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke. In 2017, Black met Clarke and asked if he was, in fact, the Sheriff David Clarke. Clarke said yes, and then Black reportedly shook his head at Clarke. Clarke interpreted this as a threat and reported it, and Black was detained when the plane landed.
Black filed a complaint about how he was treated upon his release. Clarke, known as an outspoken individual, posted two separate Facebook updates about the incident criticizing Black. In the second post, he referred to Black as a “snowflake.”
It seems that Black was determined to live up to that billing. Black claimed he felt too intimidated by the Facebook posts to seek redress for his treatment at the airport, and filed a lawsuit claiming Clarke’s Facebook posts were thus a violation of his right to free speech.
That twisted logic — that Black was seeking redress for not being able to seek redress — did not move the jury.
It found for Sheriff Clarke. As The Daily Caller notes: “The jury disagreed, siding with arguments from Clarke’s lawyer, Charles Bohl. Bohl argued that rather than infringing on his right to free speech, Black’s incident with Clarke only encouraged it, as the man conducted three TV interviews in the days afterward.”
Three TV interviews? If only everyone were so deprived of their free speech rights.
Black has apparently so bought into the narrative of victimization that he couldn’t see the clear flaw in his claim. He did not claim that Clarke had threatened him — which of course could be a crime — but just that Clarke’s opinions felt intimidating. In other words, Black couldn’t stand up to being mocked.
Folks, there is no virtue in being a victim. Being a victim means you were deprived of your rights — you were made powerless. It’s a horrible thing to be a victim.
Yet in this day and age, people love it. They embrace it. They think it gives them some kind of credibility or social standing, and frankly, it can among those who believe in the bigoted concept of “intersectionality.”
This time, Black’s play fell short. Hopefully, this is a sign that victimhood culture is on its way out.
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