Rip the System

There is a bitter, loathsome creature who has a law firm in Rogers Park. I will not name him here. "BLC" will suffice. Last Saturday, while at the Artists of the Wall festival at Loyola Park, BLC was interviewed by a local resident. I was standing near enough to hear part of what BLC said. "There's no point in reinventing the wheel," he said, affecting his best thoughtful demeanor for the video camera. "If you've got something that works, why not just do more of it?" An interesting point of view for a man who favors radical, historically unproven social changes. If taken literally, BLC's professed philosophy of doing more of what works and not reinventing the wheel would cause him to denounce, for example, the welfare system. He favors the welfare system, which was (still is) so broken that Bill Clinton agreed with Republicans and passed sweeping welfare reform in the 1990's. By the same token, BLC's philosophy should cause him to see institutions that have worked for centuries or millennia and want to preserve them. In sad reality, however, BLC wants to tear it all down, man. I just saw BLC, with his young son, at a coffee shop. BLC is wearing a black t-shirt with large white block letters on the back. They say:

BLACK MAN

WHITE MAN

RIP THE

SYSTEM!

That's a bit divisive, wouldn't you say? What about Chinese and Latino people who do not fall into either the "Black" or "White" category? Are they not invited to rip the system, or is BLC's anarchy project for members only? I'm not sure exactly what the saying means; it could have several meanings. "Rip" as in "rip off?" "Rip" as in tear, tear down, destroy? In either case, it seems to be encouraging undesirable behavior. A nice message for his young son, eh? One might believe that BLC has spouted the dogma so often, as he did with the interviewer at the beach on Saturday, that he has developed a bipolar disorder that allows him to believe his own lies. Or to be unable to recognize them as such. BLC loves to lead local candle light vigils. I wonder if he thinks those actually accomplish anything. I wonder if he thinks that killers lay down their guns when they see those inane "Don't Shoot" signs in merchants' windows. I wonder if BLC ever thinks that severe punishment for crime is something that works, and we therefore need more of? Or does he favor reinventing the wheel? Does he favor ripping the system, and would that not be reinventing the wheel?