Sympathy

Sometimes, it's hard to find sympathy for some people. I was watching TV last night, and this story aired. Basically, it's a story about a mobster who went into the witness protection program, and (naturally enough), his family went into hiding with him. His son said:

"I'm very angry . . .Up until that time, all my father's exploits really only affected him. This was the first time we started feeling the impact of what he was doing. And to be told we were leaving forever. It was a hard fact to sink in."

Earlier in the interview, the kids (now grown) talk about the garbage bags of marijuana left around the house, and claims that the father's life in the mob didn't actually affect the rest of the family. Personally, I find that claim absurd. In my mind, the whole interview boiled down to this:

"My daddy was in the Mob, and I had to go hiding. Boo hoo, pity me."

Yes, it would stink to have to leave behind family and friends. I have a great deal of sympathy, and more than a little admiration, for any victim who is forced into protective custody because they are testifying against a drug cartel, gang or Mafia. I have a lot less sympathy when the person going into hiding is testifying against his or her former "employers". Some of that lack rubs off when the kids proclaim that their father's criminal activities didn't impact them until they had to move, yet state that some of the same criminal activities were occuring in their home.