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We keep seeing short, shocking videos on social platforms: two recent viral road-rage confrontations grabbed attention because one side in each clip was Black and the other was White, and the incidents quickly became cultural Rorschach tests. Officer Brandon Tatum—who built a big conservative platform after serving as a police officer and now comments on viral crime—picked apart those clips and asked what they reveal about responsibility, culture, and the collapse of public norms.
Anyone who watches the footage without reflexively blaming the camera or the algorithm will notice the same plain fact: people are losing control on the road, and when tempers flare the consequences can be brutal. Videos like the Irvine coffee-throwing incident and other viral altercations illustrate that escalating anger behind the wheel isn’t limited to any one race; it’s symptomatic of a broader breakdown in self-discipline and respect for the rule of law.
Tatum’s point about leaving a neighborhood and seeing different behavioral expectations hit a nerve because it’s rooted in lived experience, not media talking points. Conservatives should be blunt: cultural norms matter — manners, work ethic, and an emphasis on responsibility are the invisible infrastructure of safe communities, and when those norms fray, we see more scenes like the viral clips.
At the same time, we must call out the double standard from big media and activists who instantly turn every viral confrontation into a talking point that fits their narrative. When a White person is violent, it becomes proof of systemic evil; when a Black person is violent it’s sometimes irrationalized as merely a product of environment or “trauma” without equal calls for accountability. Conservative voices rightly demand consistent standards: wrongdoing is wrong, and the law must treat it the same regardless of who commits it.
Economic and policy choices have real cultural consequences, and conservatives are justified in pointing that out. Decades of failed policies — from soft-on-crime approaches to incentives that discourage stable family formation and hard work — have compounded cycles of dysfunction in pockets of our cities, and that shows up in everything from grade-school outcomes to the level of civility on our roads. This isn’t about blaming a race; it’s about confronting bad incentives and restoring institutions that teach self-control and responsibility.
If we care about public safety and social progress, we must promote three conservative fixes: restore law and order with fair policing, support school and community programs that reinforce discipline and civic virtues, and reform welfare incentives so work and marriage are rewarded over dependency. Those are practical, conservative prescriptions that confront root causes rather than offering only narrative-based excuses for antisocial behavior.
Finally, let’s be unapologetic about demanding personal responsibility from every American. Viral videos are uncomfortable because they force us to see a truth many prefer to ignore: our freedoms only flourish when people act with restraint, respect property and life, and are held accountable when they don’t. Patriots of every color should stand together on that principle — firm on the rule of law, merciful when appropriate, and relentless in rebuilding the civic habits that keep communities safe and prosperous.
