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There is one reliable and consistent determinant for which groups of people commit crimes, and that is the incidence of poverty, unemployment, and injustice. Wh
by InclinedPlane 11y ago
There is one reliable and consistent determinant for which groups of people commit crimes, and that is the incidence of poverty, unemployment, and injustice. When people lose hope, when they see the system as not cooperating with them and helping them when but rather antagonizing them and in opposition to them. When people perceive society as unfair and taking advantage of them. Then the idea of seizing their own advantage to the detriment of others starts to seem sensible. And it isn't necessarily a matter of moral decay so much as a matter of applied game theory.
This has been true for every ethnic group imaginable throughout history. In America it's been true of the Irish, the Italians, the Polish, the Chinese, and so many others. So many now celebrated "model" ethnicities. The existence of [ethnic group] gangs who regularly commit certain crimes at rates much higher than others is not a sign of the uniquely fragile moral fiber of [ethnic group], it's a signifier of their continued mistreatment by society and continued ethnically biased socio-economic inequality. Only a tiny minority of any [ethnic group] are criminals, to take the actions of a minute sub-set of a very large group of people as a bad mark against the entire group is entirely unjustified, especially in light of the issues I've described above.
I can't believe that it's 2016 and I still have to explain this.
- nkurz 11y agoOnly a tiny minority of any [ethnic group] are criminals, to take the actions of a minute sub-set of a very large group of people as a bad mark against the entire group is entirely unjustified, especially in light of the issues I've described above. I agree with you, and presume 'dsl' does as well. I assume the use of [ethnic group] instead of the specific minority was head off misinterpretation. What caused you to interpret the comment as claiming that crime was the result of the "uniquely fragile moral fiber" of [ethnic group]? Edit: I do think it's fair though to characterize the propensity to commit crime as a "moral failing" even if the causes are primarily economic.
- InclinedPlane 11y agoTo clarify, my comment is in reference to the many other replies, not to dsl.