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You really nailed it for me regarding the influence of the entertainment media and the distinctions on fault (blame).
It comes down to who and what people view as scary based on their life experiences and cultural education. Bill Cosby’s TV show was extremely influential in making blacks less scary because it destroyed the stereotypes for thinking people with at least partially open minds. Ellen Degeneres and numerous dramas and reality shows have revealed the obvious- LGBT people are like anyone else, except in who they want to have as a loving, live-in partner.
Violence has been made to seem unreal and unscary through all medium in different ways for millenniums. Religions to separate themselves from others have used shame and denigration or worse. Unfortunately, there have been far too few cultures like Native Americans who taught the concept of walking in others’ shoes.
The perception on fault has to do with defining individual responsibility. If the culture teaches that people are viewed as either good or bad and that mistakes are bad, then people are unwilling to accept their part in the problem or conflict. Thus if you are not part of the problem you will not want to be part of the solution for the larger community outside of yours. You will find something or someone, or some group to blame.
It is this kind of thinking and a capitalistic view of life that only begets winners and losers that created our economic crisis. A lot more communication and successful brainstorming for effective solutions for the individual and community would happen if people just adopted the concept expressed by Rabbi Herschfield that you don’t have to be wrong for me to be right and if the problem solving group's goal was to find a win-win outcome.
Human rights violations and unnecessary wars will continue to happen until almost everyone in the world lives a life free of constant struggle and people see the success of the community as important as the success of the individual. That’s provided the community is defined as everyone on earth.
