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> On the whole people commit crime because they are desperate (for money, for drugs, etc.), occasionally because they have an anti-social personality disorder.

> On the whole people commit crime because they are desperate (for money, for drugs, etc.), occasionally because they have an anti-social personality disorder. Most violent crime is the result of interpersonal disputes. People get angry. They feel disrespected. And some of them even just think violence is flat-out fun. The "desperate people" model doesn't really hold water with respect to the most serious crimes we care the most about. Second, I am aware that this sounds like some kind of right-wing talking point, but you should consider that it's true: a job at Dunkin Donuts is more remunerative than stealing catalytic converters. It's not even close, really. We have a worker shortage! Fast food wages are higher than ever. Young men steal catalytic converters because it's more fun and because they don't want to work at stupid Dunkin Dounuts and wear a uniform like a nerd. If they were genuinely just desperate, they'd take the job at Dunkin. We'll never effectively police crime if we can't even acknowledge its true nature.

tech_ken 3y ago
> Most violent crime is the result of interpersonal disputes Sure violent crime is complicated. I'll walk back my claims with regard to things like domestic violence or violent crime resulting from a fight or something. However there is still the large component of violent crime that is things like an armed robbery, for which I believe my claim applies. Somewhere else in the thread someone brought up the link between impulse control and poverty, which I think also has bearing here. Poverty has been documented to increase baseline stress, and I would imagine that someone working multiple part time jobs just to afford rent and food is going to have a way shorter fuse than like, some tech worker earning a quarter million a year, but that's just speculation on my part. > We have a worker shortage! Fast food wages are higher than ever. Young men steal catalytic converters because it's more fun and because they don't want to work at stupid Dunkin Dounuts and wear a uniform like a nerd. I see your point here, and I don't think it's totally invalid, but I do think it fails to acknowledge the whole problem. For one, I think we would need to get some sense of how many people both work at DD and steal cats out of cars. I would imagine that it's not a small fraction of the population. While slinging donuts probably pays more than petty crime, it also requires more time. If you're already working one fast food job maybe you're just going to augment that salary with some theft rather than take on another 20-30 hours of work. There's also the pride factor, FF jobs can feel very degrading whereas some varities of crime are self-employment, you get to set your own hours and working conditions. Additionally FF jobs may not even hire you if you've already got a conviction or consume certain drugs. I do overall agree that there is some cultural stuff at play, a young man who grows up in a poor neighborhood and meets a lot of criminals is likely going to feel pressured to himself start committing crimes, but I also have to ask if you can truly blame someone for making that choice and if it makes sense to separate that choice from an overall feeling of desperation? If you're a young man who believes he has absolutely no prospects whatsoever to actually "succeed" following the typical career path then that means you have little to lose, and coming from that mindset I don't think it's totally unreasonable to say "fuck it" and start operating outside the law, even if it pays less than slinging burgers. Desperation breeds disaffectation, which in turn results in seriously anti-social behavior. If coolness was the only factor every affluent suburbanite teenager would also be cutting catties, but clearly that's not the case. Yes the ultimate consequence is something more than "I just need money so I'm going to turn to crime", but the underlying agitation which kicks off the chain of events is often socioeconomic disadvantage.

tech_ken 3y ago

> Most violent crime is the result of interpersonal disputes Sure violent crime is complicated. I'll walk back my claims with regard to things like domestic violence or violent crime resulting from a fight or something. However there is still the large component of violent crime that is things like an armed robbery, for which I believe my claim applies. Somewhere else in the thread someone brought up the link between impulse control and poverty, which I think also has bearing here. Poverty has been documented to increase baseline stress, and I would imagine that someone working multiple part time jobs just to afford rent and food is going to have a way shorter fuse than like, some tech worker earning a quarter million a year, but that's just speculation on my part. > We have a worker shortage! Fast food wages are higher than ever. Young men steal catalytic converters because it's more fun and because they don't want to work at stupid Dunkin Dounuts and wear a uniform like a nerd. I see your point here, and I don't think it's totally invalid, but I do think it fails to acknowledge the whole problem. For one, I think we would need to get some sense of how many people both work at DD and steal cats out of cars. I would imagine that it's not a small fraction of the population. While slinging donuts probably pays more than petty crime, it also requires more time. If you're already working one fast food job maybe you're just going to augment that salary with some theft rather than take on another 20-30 hours of work. There's also the pride factor, FF jobs can feel very degrading whereas some varities of crime are self-employment, you get to set your own hours and working conditions. Additionally FF jobs may not even hire you if you've already got a conviction or consume certain drugs. I do overall agree that there is some cultural stuff at play, a young man who grows up in a poor neighborhood and meets a lot of criminals is likely going to feel pressured to himself start committing crimes, but I also have to ask if you can truly blame someone for making that choice and if it makes sense to separate that choice from an overall feeling of desperation? If you're a young man who believes he has absolutely no prospects whatsoever to actually "succeed" following the typical career path then that means you have little to lose, and coming from that mindset I don't think it's totally unreasonable to say "fuck it" and start operating outside the law, even if it pays less than slinging burgers. Desperation breeds disaffectation, which in turn results in seriously anti-social behavior. If coolness was the only factor every affluent suburbanite teenager would also be cutting catties, but clearly that's not the case. Yes the ultimate consequence is something more than "I just need money so I'm going to turn to crime", but the underlying agitation which kicks off the chain of events is often socioeconomic disadvantage.