When I was about eight years old, my mother accused me of committing some type of
abnormal behavior. It may have been an allegation that I was training the younger students on
the finer points of using profanity. Pretty sure that was the allegation.

Of course, I immediately began denying doing any such thing. When I saw that wasn’t working, I switched to the Deflection Defense. I proceeded to explain to my mother that my two best
friends were the ones who were actually in charge of the training, and I would have proceeded
to tell her how embarrassed I was to be around such conduct.

She stopped me about two sentences into my defense.

Mother explained to me, in no uncertain terms, that she did not care what my friends were
doing. The issue was, WHAT HAD I been doing? In a very short discussion, she made me
understand that I alone was responsible for my actions and there would be consequences for
the things that I did.

That lesson has served me well in school, sports, and my career in law enforcement.

It was a long time ago when I was eight, and it appears that since then, a lot of society has
decided the Deflection Defense is legitimate. If the kid has issues in school, it is the teacher’s
fault. When problems arise at work, the boss doesn’t like the worker.

If he is accused of breaking the law, he is being picked on because other people have also
broken this law.

“The police said I was speeding, but somebody passed me right before the officer pulled me
over.” Ever heard that one?

The big problem is this. When young people learn, at an early age, that they can avoid paying
the price for improper behavior, it doesn’t end with a speeding ticket. When they believe that
sanctions will not be applied for misconduct, the sky is the limit as to where it will stop.

Jim Leach, a career law enforcement professional, has a new podcast series called Police
Perspectives, available on Apple Podcast.