5 ms·

If I may throw my speculation into the ring: I assume it’s because people are hurting for money and thus also for necessities like housing, food, and self-deter

by Lammy 5y ago

If I may throw my speculation into the ring: I assume it’s because people are hurting for money and thus also for necessities like housing, food, and self-determination. My understanding of murder vs homicide was that murder requires intent, but some searching suggests robbery can count as that intent: https://www.danielsonlawfirm.com/murder-manslaughter-homicide/ https://www.danielsonlawfirm.com/murder-manslaughter-homicid... “A person is guilty of capital murder if the person attempted to commit or did commit a violent crime such as kidnapping, robbery, or arson, and in doing so, the person causes the death of another human being.” Obviously murder is always bad, and I can’t just forgive murderers even if I feel sorry for them, but I believe the fear and stress of not being able to survive in this world and economy we’ve built can push people over all kinds of edges they would otherwise never approach. I refuse to believe that anybody would want to be a murderer in a hypothetical “perfect” world, even the extreme cases like serial killers. I believe there’s always an emotional hole trying to be filled.

angelzen 5y ago
Here is a Vox article citing a book that appears to have looked at LA crime data in some depth. Their thesis is the murder rate has little to do with general criminality rates, but rather with gangs and easy access to loaded guns. I am too tone-deaf to American politics to say how much bias should I read in those sources, but seems an interesting perspective. The book was published in 1999, before the hyper-partisan era, so perhaps that's a good sign. > "Only a minority of Los Angeles homicides grow out of criminal encounters like robbery and rape," they find (there's no reason to believe the pattern would differ in other cities). So even if it could be shown that American robbery and rape rates are across-the-board higher than those in similar countries (which doesn't appear true today), that still wouldn't explain why America has so many more homicides than other countries. Again, Zimring and Hawkins's LA data was revealing. > "A far greater proportion of Los Angeles homicides grow out of arguments and other social encounters between acquaintances [than robbery or rape]," they find. > This is where guns enter the story. The mere presence of firearms, according to Zimring and Hawkins, makes a merely tense situation more likely to turn deadly. When a gang member argues with another gang member, or a robber sticks up a liquor store, there's always a risk that the situation can escalate to some kind of violence. But when people have a handheld tool that is specially engineered for killing efficiently, escalation to murder becomes much, much more likely. https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9217163/america-guns-europe https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9217163/america-guns-europe https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Is-Not-Problem-Violence/dp/0195131053 https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Is-Not-Problem-Violence/dp/0195...
AuryGlenz 5y ago
I would think that people of that sort have had more money than ever with the federal unemployment benefits. Maybe working keeps people from murdering.
rufus_foreman 5y ago
The robbery rate went down in 2020 along with most other types of violent and non-violent crime. Shootings and homicides were the only types of crime that skyrocketed. In addition, low wage workers who got laid off made more money than they were making working. And there was a moratorium on evictions.

by Lammy 5y ago

angelzen 5y ago

Here is a Vox article citing a book that appears to have looked at LA crime data in some depth. Their thesis is the murder rate has little to do with general criminality rates, but rather with gangs and easy access to loaded guns. I am too tone-deaf to American politics to say how much bias should I read in those sources, but seems an interesting perspective. The book was published in 1999, before the hyper-partisan era, so perhaps that's a good sign. > "Only a minority of Los Angeles homicides grow out of criminal encounters like robbery and rape," they find (there's no reason to believe the pattern would differ in other cities). So even if it could be shown that American robbery and rape rates are across-the-board higher than those in similar countries (which doesn't appear true today), that still wouldn't explain why America has so many more homicides than other countries. Again, Zimring and Hawkins's LA data was revealing. > "A far greater proportion of Los Angeles homicides grow out of arguments and other social encounters between acquaintances [than robbery or rape]," they find. > This is where guns enter the story. The mere presence of firearms, according to Zimring and Hawkins, makes a merely tense situation more likely to turn deadly. When a gang member argues with another gang member, or a robber sticks up a liquor store, there's always a risk that the situation can escalate to some kind of violence. But when people have a handheld tool that is specially engineered for killing efficiently, escalation to murder becomes much, much more likely. https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9217163/america-guns-europe https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9217163/america-guns-europe https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Is-Not-Problem-Violence/dp/0195131053 https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Is-Not-Problem-Violence/dp/0195...

AuryGlenz 5y ago

I would think that people of that sort have had more money than ever with the federal unemployment benefits. Maybe working keeps people from murdering.

rufus_foreman 5y ago

The robbery rate went down in 2020 along with most other types of violent and non-violent crime. Shootings and homicides were the only types of crime that skyrocketed. In addition, low wage workers who got laid off made more money than they were making working. And there was a moratorium on evictions.