Put away the paint brushes

Put away the paint brushes folks.  There is an increasing and profoundly disturbing propensity on the part of far too many to paint everyone in a racial, gender, cultural, ethnic, or religious group as evil, bad, deranged, thugs, racist, etc. because of the actions of one person identified as being in the castigated group.     

Neither you nor I are defined by the actions of another, so it wrong for folks to bring out that wide paint brush and slather on heavy coats of condemning generalizations and characterizations when an individual commits an unspeakable act, or even one with which someone disagrees.

All too often, in the wake of such an unspeakable, mind numbing, unfathomable, heart breaking tragedy, there are pundits, elected officials, activists, and commentators who quickly bring out their paint brushes.  Rather than focusing on individual responsibility, they slop on coats of empty and unsubstantiated rhetoric, telling the reader or listener that all people in the same group as the perpetrator are somehow at fault, share the same characteristics, and are likely to commit the same type of act.  Ridiculous.

People are not bad because they are white, black, hispanic, asian, muslim, male, conservative, liberal, male, tall, short, etc.  Most assuredly, however, there are bad people who are white, black, hispanic, asian, muslim, male, conservative, liberal, male, tall, short, etc.  One group does not have a monopoly on perpetrating the most horrific of acts.  The outward appearance  of a person does not define his/her internal character.  Thus, an individual's character can not be determined by merely looking at him/her.

Evil can and does exist in the internal character of some individuals from all groups.  Just as does unfettered good, love, accomplishment, and every other positive human quality. 

So put away the paint brushes folks.