The details of the Jussie Smollett case are as sensational as they are disturbing, but the bigger story is why a successful actor would invent such a racially-tinged plot out of whole cloth. The inconvenient truth is that his actions didn’t spring from a vacuum. Far from it, our society actually incentivizes this kind of toxic behavior by glorifying victimhood.

Two primary ingredients make up this noxious stew. For years, progressives have sought to weaponize identity politics and wield it as a tool of political power. You’ve likely heard many of the associated phrases bandied around, such as critical race theory (CRT), White fragility, antiracism, intersectionality, and so on. These craven ideologies have become ubiquitous in nearly all facets of life. 

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The second element is the nefarious role played by legacy media outlets. Newsrooms today are packed with political activists masquerading as journalists. The institutional rot began long before Donald Trump came along but by 2017, they were busy torching what was left of their reputations on the false altar of Trump and Russia-gate stories. 

By the time Jussie hatched his plot in January 2019, legacy media outlets had formed an assembly line producing a woke worldview for mass consumption. Smollett’s story perfectly fit the media machine’s pre-designed narrative: Trump and Republicans were racists and they were to blame for a stunning and violent hate-crime perpetrated against a young Black and gay actor. Jussie had every reason to believe that once he was cast as a victim, he would be hoisted upon shoulders and delivered to the next charmed phase of his career and life.

In the Black community, many of our so-called leaders have fully embraced the toxic blend of identity politics and the celebration of victimhood. For generations, they have been selling us the idea that someone else is always to blame for our lot in life. We have no personal responsibility to work hard, get ahead in life, and create the kind of generational wealth that every other neighboring community seemed able to enjoy. We’re told that we are owed something; indeed, we are owed more than any other class, race or religion.

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So why bother trying? After all, we certainly don’t incentivize success. When one of us breaks away from the Black monolith by tuning out the culture of victimhood endlessly preached by our so-called leaders, we tear them down the moment they earn success. We don’t learn from their achievements. They are not held aloft as pioneers who paved the way for us. This culture of victimhood meets modern-day identity politics and so it goes. If this kind of thinking sounds absurd and self-defeating, that’s because it is. 

The poisonous progressive politics that produced Jussie Smollett went into overdrive just one year later. Living in downtown Minneapolis, I watched portions of my beautiful city burn in the summer of 2020 as various media outlets “Black-splained” the rioting and looting taking place in front of my eyes. If it wasn’t downplayed and dismissed as “fiery, but mostly peaceful protests,” it was accepted as the righteous and warranted reaction to George Floyd’s death.

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That’s when I realized the progressive project was proceeding so splendidly that much of the country thought we were animals, incapable of controlling our behavior or emotions. Even more, they were OK with it. Legions of Black talking heads spread out across television channels and were helped along by journalist activists. White suburban liberals sat in front of their TV screens, wracked by revisionist guilt as they nodded their heads, wrote checks, joined demonstrations in solidarity, and endlessly apologized for things they never did or said. Without a hint of irony, they all presented their bigotry of low expectations as a gift in the name of combating racism.

The Jussie Smollett case simply provided a mirror that presented an unvarnished and uncomfortable glimpse of the current state of American society and the acidic political ride we are experiencing as a country. 

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What we see should be a warning to us all that we are far from united and headed down the wrong track. From cries of racism at every turn, to the glorification by the media of victimhood mentality, Jussie Smollett is simply a result of a broken and dishonest media and political landscape. 

Victimhood, along with political correctness and other cultural phenomena brought forth by the left, have corrupted our nation, and specifically our younger generations. As a recent Axios poll of the partisan divide among college students reveals, even worse is yet to come. 

We need leaders brave enough to take the next ramp off this road, before all exits pass us by.