Another extract from one of my favourite books of all time.
From "A Dictionary of Green Ideas" by John Button (1988).
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Blame
[13c. L. blasphemare, to reproach, blaspheme]
The belief that someone has deliberately and maliciously done something to hurt you or others, and should therefore accept the guilt of that action and (frequently) that they should be punished for it. Many green-thinkers make the distinction between "fault" and RESPONSIBILITY, preferring the latter with its positive and powerful connotations. Some go even further, seeing blame as totally futile and unnecessary: "Every single human being at every moment of the past, if the entire situation is taken into account, has always done the very best he or she could do, and so deserves neither blame nor reproach" (Harvey Jackins, 1983). This approach stresses that we are all responsible for what happens in the world, and that much behaviour - whether it be the atrocities of the Third Reich or a sexual assault on a child - which is commonly seen as "evil" or "criminal", while reprehensible cannot be blamed on any one individual. It is OPPRESSION, not innate "fault", that lead people to inhuman behaviour. At the same time, to deny fault is not to deny responsibility - Adolf Hitler was uniquely responsible for his actions, as is the man who assaults a child, as we all are. Such antisocial behaviour cannot be tolerated, but it is only understanding and the fulfilment of basic needs that will help a person to change, not punishment and revenge. In a green and oppression-free society, however, there must always be the space to make individual mistakes, mistakes which are important lessons and which do not deserve blame: "I have the right to make mistakes" (Anne Dickson, 1982). Blame is the perfect way of not dealing with your own FEELINGS, and in a society where feelings are denied it is hardly surprising that blame is so rampant. Blame frequently results from the PROJECTION of ANGER, FEAR and FRUSTRATION, and the confusion between blame and responsibility is so rife in our society that even the most aware of people often prefer to blame anything and anybody rather than acknowledge their own feelings, their own responsibility, and their own power. The blame can even be couched in apparently RIGHT ON political terms, designed to prove the rightness of the blamer and the inevitable guilt of the blamed. When the denial of responsibility joins force with the denial of feelings, the result is VICTIM-blaming, a pernicious aspect of OPPRESSION particularly apparent in the rising tide of VIOLENCE against women. Thus prostitutes are fined, not their clients; rape survivors are told it was their own fault for being out at night.
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[Words in capitals refer to other entries]
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Don't know how much I agree with it but it deserves a hearing.
From "A Dictionary of Green Ideas" by John Button (1988).
"
Blame
[13c. L. blasphemare, to reproach, blaspheme]
The belief that someone has deliberately and maliciously done something to hurt you or others, and should therefore accept the guilt of that action and (frequently) that they should be punished for it. Many green-thinkers make the distinction between "fault" and RESPONSIBILITY, preferring the latter with its positive and powerful connotations. Some go even further, seeing blame as totally futile and unnecessary: "Every single human being at every moment of the past, if the entire situation is taken into account, has always done the very best he or she could do, and so deserves neither blame nor reproach" (Harvey Jackins, 1983). This approach stresses that we are all responsible for what happens in the world, and that much behaviour - whether it be the atrocities of the Third Reich or a sexual assault on a child - which is commonly seen as "evil" or "criminal", while reprehensible cannot be blamed on any one individual. It is OPPRESSION, not innate "fault", that lead people to inhuman behaviour. At the same time, to deny fault is not to deny responsibility - Adolf Hitler was uniquely responsible for his actions, as is the man who assaults a child, as we all are. Such antisocial behaviour cannot be tolerated, but it is only understanding and the fulfilment of basic needs that will help a person to change, not punishment and revenge. In a green and oppression-free society, however, there must always be the space to make individual mistakes, mistakes which are important lessons and which do not deserve blame: "I have the right to make mistakes" (Anne Dickson, 1982). Blame is the perfect way of not dealing with your own FEELINGS, and in a society where feelings are denied it is hardly surprising that blame is so rampant. Blame frequently results from the PROJECTION of ANGER, FEAR and FRUSTRATION, and the confusion between blame and responsibility is so rife in our society that even the most aware of people often prefer to blame anything and anybody rather than acknowledge their own feelings, their own responsibility, and their own power. The blame can even be couched in apparently RIGHT ON political terms, designed to prove the rightness of the blamer and the inevitable guilt of the blamed. When the denial of responsibility joins force with the denial of feelings, the result is VICTIM-blaming, a pernicious aspect of OPPRESSION particularly apparent in the rising tide of VIOLENCE against women. Thus prostitutes are fined, not their clients; rape survivors are told it was their own fault for being out at night.
"
[Words in capitals refer to other entries]
-----
Don't know how much I agree with it but it deserves a hearing.