I have a friend named Ron Burch.  I’ve known Ron for nearly fifty years. He was a rep for a type house in the early 70s when my partner and I were trying to grow a creative boutique, and for years I’ve used him as an example of how a salesman should deal with customers.

We have a lot in common. We’re both Southern, Baptist, and we were playing Rock and Roll before it became sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Missed the first two. And we may each comprise a substantial part of the other’s blog readership.

Ron and I agree on an amazing number of things, even though he is of the Conservative persuasion and we’re about 180 degrees apart politically. Last week he wrote a blog entitled “Purveyors of Perpetual Victimhood.” I agreed with much of it, especially the part where he says that the cluster of people who are always showing up at racial crises would serve their community better working in the community to solve problems than standing in front of the community waving signs and shouting. (That’s a paraphrase, but it’s pretty close.)

In passing I would like to point out that the same thing is true for the blowhards on the right who are Volcanoes of Vitriol. (Send two box tops and a stamped, self-addressed envelope for a list of Vs of V.)

However, there were two points that I thought needed much further consideration.

The first is his statement that “for fifty years I’ve paid out the wazoo in support of social programs to meet the needs of the underclass—a disproportionate number of which were black.”

Okay, aside from the anatomical ambiguity, there are a couple of problems with this statement from my point of view. The first is that out of every 10 dollars that was paid out of Ron’s wazoo, about nine went to things other than social programs; significantly more went to corporate welfare. Interestingly, just over half of those receiving some sort of aid hold jobs; they just don’t get paid enough to live on, and if companies paid a living wage, we could reduce the burden of social programs substantially.

Additionally, a great number of those receiving aid are the elderly and disabled, a part of our society who have no choice but to depend on someone else. It is true that blacks are overrepresented, but then they’re overrepresented in terms of people living below the poverty level. In terms of pure numbers, there are substantially more white welfare recipients than black.

(And here’s a fun fact: according to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of respondents who have received food stamps is exactly the same for those who are self-described conservatives, liberals or independents.)

My point is that, wazoo-wise, the group that Ron is talking about is small potatoes relative to others that he’s supported “for fifty years.”

The second issue I had was toward the end of the blog, where he quotes a black opinion writer who had risen from the ghetto and say’s “it’s all a matter of choice.” That, to me, is simply self-righteous cackling and not worthy of anyone who processes a thought. Success—or even staying alive—is not simply a matter of choice. It’s a matter of a whole array of things, including things that limit our ability to see or execute choices. Certainly it’s possible to rise above one’s environment, but to claim that those who don’t fail just because they don’t choose to make the right choices is to ignore the very obvious.

A young lady from Atlanta named Kelly Rexroad Williams holds the US National Masters female weight lifter's record in her weight class with a clean and jerk of 70 KG (198.4 lbs.) That’s nearly twice her body weight. I don’t believe anyone would hold that “it was just a matter of choice” for any other female to do the same thing.

It would take someone with the same drive, the same opportunity for training, and the same physical and mental gifts (along with any number of other things) for anyone to reach that level. And I imagine that Ms. Williams was helped along the way by coaches and others who took an interest in her development. What she did was laudable, but it wasn’t because she woke up one morning and chose to become a champion weightlifter.

If a child grows up without knowing about weightlifting, without having access to equipment and training, and being told that girls are weak, the chances are she won’t grow up to be a champion weightlifter. Same thing is true for most of life.

Which leads me to Ron’s conclusion, with which I am in wholehearted agreement. He says, “It’s time for the victims and the organizations that support them to quit wasting time on defining the problem. It’s time they become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.” Well said, so long as the terms “victims and organizations” include every one of us and each of our institutions.  It’s not just their problem. They (the poor of whatever color) didn’t create it. And it’s a hopeless sort of fuming to suggest that they get busy and solve it by themselves.