As young minds and leaders, we were constantly told "you are our future." When it comes to big issues such a climate change, we are the ones that will hopefully make a difference to save our planet. As the future of this world, there's a lot weighing on our shoulders. Can we be as brilliant as the young minds of the industrial revolution? As powerful as those of the Civil Rights era? Yes, my answer is yes.
If you've been keeping up with big news, you've definitely seen "#NeverAgain" or "#MarchforOurLives". These circulating hashtags are those of brave, strong, and incredible survivor students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland Florida. It's so sad to see another tragic school shooting take place in our country and we can only wish for peace and comfort in the friends and families of those we've lost.
Despite the tragedy, students have been working hard to create change. Their hashtags, campaigns, and events have created a spiral of support as well as action beginning with company withdrawal from the NRA as well as Trump's push for newer gun laws. In just two weeks, these students have already made progress that we could not have imagined for our nation in such a short time. They are the prime example of just how powerful we young people can be.
While these students are pushing change for a better world, one without guns, others simply want justice. Isn't that what this country is all about? Yet, what is justice for a young man who has murdered 17 individuals? For supporters of the death penalty, that is justice. Considering that Florida is a state that would allow for such capital punishment, there is lots of debate circulating about whether or not this is justice.
As a student currently enrolled in a criminology course, we've touched a lot on this subject. It seems that humans are incapable of rationing such a violent crime as murder. Those who favor the death penalty simply feel that this would be sufficient punishment, and to see this been done would actually stimulate the reward pleasure center in the brain.
We want criminals off the streets and locked away so they could never harm or commit another crime again, which is why there has been an epidemic of mass incarceration in our country. We believe criminals to be such awful individuals. They are disturbed, heartless, and cold, but are they really?
Perhaps, we've been socialized to view these individuals in a light that is not reality. Don't get me wrong, I'm not justifying any crimes or defending murders. Instead, I'd like to share some of the knowledge I have gathered and provide a new perspective on crime and criminals. At the end of the day, criminals were once people of society like you and I, and the people in your life right now, could easily be a criminal one day.
Most crime is consequence of three things: money, sex, and dispute. Therefore, much crime falls on the smaller scale in contrast to murder. So why do we believe murder is such a big deal? I for one have always assumed that murder was a popular thing and thought the likelihood of being murdered was pretty high. However, that is simply a consequence of our media and the ways it seems to romanticize murder with shows such as cold cases files, how to get away with murder, and Dexter . If you don't believe me, check out this video of other myths about crime.
Going past crime itself, there are many theories that explain why people commit crime. I will explain only three: strain theory, rational-choice, and control theory.
Strain theory asserts the idea that people face problems that can create strain taking the form of stress, anger, or even depression. When this happens, individuals can be more vulnerable and inclined to commit crime as their logic goes out the window and this strain(emotions) takes over.
In contrast, rational choice views criminals as more calculated and in control. Crime takes place when the criminal sees an opportunity and weighs the benefits and costs to make a decision about whether or not they should commit this crime. If you leave your wallet in your unlocked car with little to no witnesses around, you've set the perfect opportunity for someone to cash in with little chance of being caught; you've made the perfect criminal.
Lastly, control theory considers that anyone of us could be criminals. In fact, we are very inclined to commit crime but it is a sense of control that holds us back. There are formal controls such as police, parents, and other authority figures as well as informal controls such as gossip, self-image, and investment in society. Without such controls, there would be little to stop anyone from committing a crime.
We are all criminals to some degree. Remember when you jaywalked across the street to get to your class, snuck in that candy bar as a young child, or went out for a night of drinking as a 18 year old. These are very minor crimes but that's where most serious criminals start. While we might feel an immense dissociation from those locked behind bars, some of them aren't much different from you and I.
Taking this course has really opened my eyes to a new perspective on crime and the individuals who commit crime. I find it to be very interesting and I hope you did too.
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I am also enrolled in a criminology class and this topic is definitely very interesting. It is true that our society has glorified and normalized crime and murder when in reality that is nowhere near the truth. I also learned about the several different approaches to explain how criminals become criminals which is very is a very interesting topic. Like most things in life, the person's background and environment are some of the most important determining factors in influencing criminal behavior.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is interesting. I think the common humanity between criminals and non criminals is a good reason for why we need to reform our criminal justice and prison systems. Norway's prison system is based on the idea that taking away individuals freedom is enough of a punishment. They try to create a sense of normalcy in prison life by removing bars on windows and providing inmates good living conditions. I think we should treat even the worst criminals as if we want them to rehabilitate and be able to reenter society.
ReplyDeleteHi Norma! I also have become really interested recently in the political happenings with the Parkland school shooting. Seeing that companies are taking a stand displays that finally action is being done. I watched the speeches made by the students of the school, and it was incredibly inspiring to see young people speak out amidst a tragedy in order to make life better for people after them.
ReplyDeleteI also thought your discussion on the death penalty and criminology was very interesting. Personally, I am disgusted with the murders the man who went to that school and I don't know what is the right way to deal with his crimes legally, but seeing the pain he caused the families of the children makes me feel like justice needs to be served in the best way possible. I hope our justice system is able to do so.
Granted, I haven’t taken this class. That being said though, I’m having trouble relating to the criminal acts of say, a school shooting as you led your blog with. I think there are varying degrees in control and strain as you mention in the theories and that while I understand you’re trying to make a point, I think it would be worth exploring the values of those different levels to add some sensitivity and perspective.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned in your blog post that Americans want criminals off of the streets forever to avoid harm, and that this could be why we have an incarceration problem. I think this point rings very true. We have trouble with looking at the justice system as a system for containing and rehabilitating criminals. Instead, we often see it as a system whose only purpose is to punish.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Louis that incarceration is an issue. I think a potential solution is rehabilitation, but the it becomes blurry when we think about if people should be given a second chance. I thought the theories about criminal activity were interesting, but I also don't see any of those theories applying to the school shooting. I don't think any of them could possibly rationalize the death of those children, so I'm guessing there's a more nuanced approach for specific cases.
ReplyDeleteIn the United States, when you commit a crime (even if it is some petty stuff such as shoplifting some candy-bars when you were twelve), you put a very distinct stain on your personal record. I do find the different theories that you have discussed very interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn address to a lot of this heat and other potential readers: the mention of the school shooting was simply a pivot point to shift the discussion to justice and more specifically our justice systems with ideas about how we view it as well as the views about criminals. The intention is to provide new perspective on criminals (general) and not the shooter himself or the act of murder. The theories explained do not justify or defend those actions.
ReplyDelete