I believe you lean independent and libertarian and don't seem to have trouble questioning things on both side. That's great, but not everyone thinks that way, or has the examples and fundamentals to be able to think that way. Humans internalize behavior of those around them, particularly during teen years while growing into adults. Like with Tonik's post, that's not justification for shitty behavior and values, but an analytical reflection of how humans learn and repeat past behavior. If all you know is generations of unemployment, disregard for other's investment, hard work and property, poor parenting, drugs, violence, hyper-sexualized materialism and proud stupidity, it's almost impossible to strike a totally different lifestyle on your own behalf and become a success. Some do it, but it's rare. It's how disadvantaged youth becomes destructive and disengaged adults, perpetuating yet another cycle of poverty and social non-productivity. That's what "institutionalized" refers to. It's both things: NONE of the looting and burning and hose-stabbing or anything else illegal last night is remotely justifiable. Those people are thugs, opportunists and scourges on society. That's what conservatives understand very well. At the same time, there are factors, many of them political and capitalistic, that have created that fertile bed for this disease to grow. It's what liberals understand. Both are valid perspectives and I don't trust anyone who negates one for the other, as it speaks about their own inability to creatively problem-solve and not what's being described.