Ashley Madison, the adultery website recently
hacked by “The Impact Group” leaving 25 gigabytes of user information released
to the public is offering a reward to anyone who can track down these hackers. They clearly are hoping to head off, “further victimization,” of their clients.
Planned Parenthood continues to paint themselves as the victims of radical extremist's videos likes of whom are responsible for shooting
abortion providers in their churches, clinic bombings and more. Stating, “The
group behind these videos has close ties with organizations and individuals who
have firebombed abortion clinics and threatened the physical safety of doctors
who provide abortion.”
Interestingly both these groups maintain that they, or their
clients, are the victims of these undercover exposés.
This
reveals something about our cultural understanding of victimization.
Victimization is now understood by the feeling of shame and guilt, not
innocence and injustice.
In one
instance we see babies either being torn apart so that their organs can be
harvested and sold, or moving in a metal bowl awaiting this fate. In the another we have 33 million user
accounts, presumably all of whom are looking to have an affair with someone.
The true victims in these exposés are the spouses of the 33
million and the babies crushed.
While the ethics of undercover videos and hacked websites
can be debated, what has been discovered is uncovering the true
meaning of who is actually a victim and who is actually a perpetrator.
To use another recent example, Vester Lee Flanagan (AKA Bryce Williams)
shot and killed reporter Alison Parker and videographer Adam Ward during an on-air interview. A few hours after killing the pair Williams committed suicide.
Now, if the reasoning of Planned Parenthood and Ashley Madison
were applied to this case, Williams would be the victim driven by guilt and
shame to suicide because of the deaths of Ward and Parker.
Of course, thinking this way about Williams seems ludicrous.
But this is the danger: many in the public will believe the rhetoric of Planned
Parenthood and Ashley Madison.
The Church stands up for the innocent and seeks to see
repentance, reconciliation, and redemption in the life of the perpetrator.
Shame and guilt do not equal a victim, innocence and
injustice do.
