I’m Beginning To Think It’s Well Beyond Gun Control
Something highly incongruous is happening around the country. On one hand, the total rate of crime, including murder, is decreasing nationwide. On the other hand, what murders there are are becoming more spectacular:
- The random killing in Duncan, Oklahoma, of a young Australian baseball player by teens who were “bored”
- The murder of a World War II veteran who is beaten to death by teens in Spokane
- The shooting of four co-workers by a North Florida man who then took his own life
And that’s just within the last couple of days. Whether guns are involved or not, there seems to be a dangerous anomie among teens, and a total lack of conflict resolution skills among many of their elders.
So frequent are these stories that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish one occurrence from another: They merge into one another, with the result that it seems everyone is out there senselessly killing people—all the time!
For one thing, the news media obviously batten on to these stories so that people watching the news or reading the paper (wait—they don’t do that any more) are sickened. Each is accompanied by a news media orgy that continues until it is time for the next news media orgy to begin.
Since I have given up on watching the news, I don’t get as badly hammered by bad news as most people. But even following stories on the Internet causes sufficient consternation.
What must other people think when they watch our news program? I am reminded of Mexican newspapers giving gory details of murders and showing photos of the bodies. At least, that’s the way it was when I used to travel through Mexico in the 1980s.
tarnmoor 
The biggest predictor of violence, is gender. Statistics vary, but men commit more violent acts than women overall and across cultures, at about 3 to 1, possibly a higher rate. Logically, a nunnery would be a very safe place to live. I have always thought women should stand for peace and disarmament, and I don’t see women participating in the military as a huge step forward, though I have no doubt of their ability to perform well. Young men are more violent than older men, and poor young men, the most violent.
I have to disagree, the problem is not about gender as much as despair and hopelessness. our young ones have no heroes and no hope , They are being fed a cultural image that was flawed to begin with and is rapidly becoming useless , and the so called leaders are ether clueless or defending that failing image because it suits there own personal agendas .
The only gender based detail here is that males make more noise about it than females
There is a chapter in Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov in which Ivan describes to his brother Alyosha crimes against children which would be considered horrible even today. I wonder how common they were in Russia in the 19th century.
As for the present day, I am puzzled by the simultaneous drop in crime and the ramping up of the horror of violent crimes.
Can’t speak for 19th century Russia from the little I have read even the good stuff was horrible , I think they enjoyed horrible .
present day I see the word difference crime is an organized goal ( or action) to get something out side of the rules. what you are talking about is not crime much like rape ( a reaction ) is not sex different mind sets .
Our current cultural image pretty largely came out of the industrial revolution and that is failing or ending ( could be a part of a normal process ) remember stuff like Leave it to Beaver and all the good guys wore white hats . That is where I see the reaction coming from , that image does not exist (if it ever really did ) and its not being replaced just defended by those who are on the profit side for there own gain . People are not blind or stupid young or old and some don’t have much moral compass ( heroes ) to follow. We need heroes and the good guys to win not much of that happening .