The Art of Evading Responsibility

A masterclass in evading responsibility, courtesy of the intellectual epidemic plaguing the new left.

I’ve long spoken about the intellectual epidemic plaguing the new left where words no longer have meaning, victimhood is currency, and truth is subjective (of course everyone is entitled to their own!) The latest symptom of this worldview seems to be the complete abdication of personal responsibility. Actions have become decoupled from consequences, and anyone who dares to enforce basic laws or social contracts has now become the oppressor.

In the latest iteration of this phenomenon, climate activist Greta Thunberg and her fellow activists were “ hostages” who were “kidnapped” (arrested) by “pirates” (the IDF) who “hijacked” (intercepted) their vessel.

Translated to plain English: the IDF detained Thunberg and eleven others aboard the Madleen. It turns out that trying to enter a restricted military zone and violating a foreign naval blockade has consequences, even if you're a “celebrity.”

The constant inflation and exaggeration of language is central to the new left’s strategy: arrests become “kidnappings,” detentions become “hostage situations,” and consequences become “human rights violations.” The more outrageous the language, the easier it is to cast even logical outcomes of one’s actions as unspeakable oppression.

Since “freeing Palestine” became the cool new trend, activists have done some pretty crazy things — they’ve embraced terrorist organizations, besieged campus buildings, held janitorial staff captive, harassed Jewish students, and more. Yet, for self-proclaimed revolutionaries, the very prospect of consequences triggers full blown hysteria. Even politicians attempted to shield students from accountability, pressuring campus administrations to avoid involving the NYPD. This pattern isn’t limited to protests or campus theatrics, it extends to far more serious matters as well. 

In early March, Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident, was arrested and detained by ICE following his high level involvement in Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD); a student group that “[fought] for the total eradication of Western Civilization,” hosted members of a designated terrorist organization, circulated Hamas propaganda around campus, and celebrated and openly advocated violence against Jews and Israelis. All of which, of course, constitute violations of permanent residency that could jeopardize one’s immigration status. Still, unfettered outrage ensued. Headline after headline insisted that Khalil had been “abducted”, “kidnapped,” and a “political prisoner.” Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib even tweeted, “bring him home,” echoing the language reserved for Israeli hostages currently being held captive by Hamas. 

As it happened, Khalil’s wife was eight months pregnant at the time of his arrest, and was still in custody by the time his wife gave birth to their child. One viral tweet read, “Mahmoud Khalil is going to miss the birth of his son because a bunch of soulless people in power decided to make an example out of him.” Rather than acknowledging any wrongdoing on Khalil’s part, Pro-Palestinian activists took the conspiracy theory route, blaming Khalil’s “misfortune” on “people in power” (whatever that means). More transparently, a headline from The Forward read, “Jewish groups targeted Mahmoud Khalil, and then ICE arrested him.” 

This is the formula in action: every consequence is persecution, every arrest a humanitarian crisis, and personal responsibility is simply written out of the equation. Forget about the actions that lead to arrests; the narrative demands a victim, and victims, apparently, can do no wrong. Under this framework, any enforcement of the law, no matter how justified, becomes further evidence of systemic oppression. Individuals can evade responsibility and simultaneously reinforce a broader narrative of permanent victimization. We see this logic taken to its most absurd form when even voluntary acts of self-harm are blamed on external oppression.

The same playbook unfolded at UCLA, where student activists took to TikTok to accuse their administration of “forcing” a student to collapse: “this is what happens when UCLA ignores their students…she is literally being hospitalized because of you…this is on you UCLA.” The narration plays over a visual of UC student Maya Abdullah being transported via  ambulance to the hospital, after collapsing following a nine day hunger strike. In this alternate version of events, it wasn’t Abdullah’s decision to forgo food for over a week that caused her hospitalization, it was UCLA’s fault for refusing to give in to her manipulative demands. It’s the same story every time. Personal choice disappears, responsibility shifts, and somehow everyone but the individual making the decision ends up to blame.

At the end of the day, rules don’t apply, consequences are oppression, and victimhood is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. Cause and effect doesn’t exist. The moment responsibility becomes inconvenient, it disappears. As long as that logic remains, even the most basic social contracts will continue to be framed as persecution.