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>This is not the case for other Western European countries. It is in some of them like Sweden for example.

dotancohen 2y ago
There is a very strong correlation between two factors here, one of them being violent crime, that Western Europeans are very hesitant to acknowledge. Sweden is well known for having high levels of this other factor right now, so your observation about violent crime is not surprising.
- maccard 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - lupusreal 2y ago
    I've been poor, flat broke for years in fact, but I've never felt any compulsion to stab some stranger on the street. Can you explain the mechanism linking poverty to murderous impulse?
    - revert_to_test 2y ago
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7234816/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7234816/ Also, private observation : Poland was relatively safe country during communist rule, although everyone was very poor. Then '90s happened, income disparity went through the roof, unemployment skyrocketed, and you could be greeted on the street by a group of young gentlemen asking you for your possessions, not to mention extreme gang violence and fights between hooligans.
      - CalRobert 2y ago
        How does housing availability compare to the Soviet era?
    - maccard 2y ago
      The other replies have an excellent example in Poland. To respond to your anecdote - that’s not how statistics works. It doesn’t mean that everyone under a certain criteria will immediately stab someone. You can have privileged women [0] perform these acts too. [0] https://amp.theguardian.com/law/2017/sep/25/oxford-student-lavinia-woodward-gets-suspended-sentence-for-stabbing-boyfriend https://amp.theguardian.com/law/2017/sep/25/oxford-student-l...
      - lupusreal 2y ago
        The best you might have is a correlation between poverty and being homicidal, but you don't have any causal mechanism from poverty to homicidal because there isn't one.
  - blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
    Assuming it is just poverty and not other factors as well, including cultural issues in some communities, feels naive to me. For example in the US, crime is not evenly distributed across races even if you adjust for poverty rates. There are other factors involved. I also simply don’t understand what you’re implying from your comment - that being poor explains attempts at murder? I don’t believe that. I think it’s not having the right morals and culture, and those root causes should be discussed honestly even if it is uncomfortable.
    - maccard 2y ago
      I did not say that being poor explains attempts at murder, or anything of the sort. If you’re going to engage in that sort of discussion where you straw man, I’m not going to engage with it
      - lelanthran 2y ago
        > I did not say that being poor explains attempts at murder, or anything of the sort. How else is a person supposed to interpret these words of yours? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41076775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41076775 >>> You’re talking about poverty, right? Because that’s what the driver in knife crime is in the UK. What is the other interpretation you had in mind? Why not simply say it?
- zht 2y ago
  Could you elaborate?
  - CalRobert 2y ago
    They mean immigration
    - imdsm 2y ago
      I think we should be able to talk about it here. It shouldn't be a taboo subject where we fear pointing out correlation between immigration and poverty, and poverty and crime, links immigration and crime. Increase poverty and you increase crime. Increase immigration and you increase poverty. Therefore...? So long as we're objective about this and leave tabloid mentality for Reddit and Twitter (...ok, X)
      - CalRobert 2y ago
        I agree, but it is a topic that tends to lead to unkind discourse, for reasons I’m not really qualified to elaborate on. I have no idea what the real situation, or possible answers, are. Of course, I’m an immigrant, so…_shrug_
- Propelloni 2y ago
  Around here (Western Europe) violent crimes trigger fear and outrage, they make the news circuit for days, and many a politician demands stricter laws. They are certainly acknowledged! If you (or anybody, really) files a charge with the police you can bet good money on the fact that it enters the statistics. For all the faults of modern bureaucracy, being sloppy is not one of them. They may be ineffectual but the paperwork is in order!
Rinzler89 2y ago
Or in London too. You're safer walking alone at night in Prague or Budapest than in many parts of London.

There is a very strong correlation between two factors here, one of them being violent crime, that Western Europeans are very hesitant to acknowledge. Sweden is well known for having high levels of this other factor right now, so your observation about violent crime is not surprising.

maccard 2y ago
[flagged]
- lupusreal 2y ago
  I've been poor, flat broke for years in fact, but I've never felt any compulsion to stab some stranger on the street. Can you explain the mechanism linking poverty to murderous impulse?
  - revert_to_test 2y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7234816/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7234816/ Also, private observation : Poland was relatively safe country during communist rule, although everyone was very poor. Then '90s happened, income disparity went through the roof, unemployment skyrocketed, and you could be greeted on the street by a group of young gentlemen asking you for your possessions, not to mention extreme gang violence and fights between hooligans.
    - CalRobert 2y ago
      How does housing availability compare to the Soviet era?
  - maccard 2y ago
    The other replies have an excellent example in Poland. To respond to your anecdote - that’s not how statistics works. It doesn’t mean that everyone under a certain criteria will immediately stab someone. You can have privileged women [0] perform these acts too. [0] https://amp.theguardian.com/law/2017/sep/25/oxford-student-lavinia-woodward-gets-suspended-sentence-for-stabbing-boyfriend https://amp.theguardian.com/law/2017/sep/25/oxford-student-l...
    - lupusreal 2y ago
      The best you might have is a correlation between poverty and being homicidal, but you don't have any causal mechanism from poverty to homicidal because there isn't one.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
  Assuming it is just poverty and not other factors as well, including cultural issues in some communities, feels naive to me. For example in the US, crime is not evenly distributed across races even if you adjust for poverty rates. There are other factors involved. I also simply don’t understand what you’re implying from your comment - that being poor explains attempts at murder? I don’t believe that. I think it’s not having the right morals and culture, and those root causes should be discussed honestly even if it is uncomfortable.
  - maccard 2y ago
    I did not say that being poor explains attempts at murder, or anything of the sort. If you’re going to engage in that sort of discussion where you straw man, I’m not going to engage with it
    - lelanthran 2y ago
      > I did not say that being poor explains attempts at murder, or anything of the sort. How else is a person supposed to interpret these words of yours? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41076775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41076775 >>> You’re talking about poverty, right? Because that’s what the driver in knife crime is in the UK. What is the other interpretation you had in mind? Why not simply say it?
zht 2y ago
Could you elaborate?
- CalRobert 2y ago
  They mean immigration
  - imdsm 2y ago
    I think we should be able to talk about it here. It shouldn't be a taboo subject where we fear pointing out correlation between immigration and poverty, and poverty and crime, links immigration and crime. Increase poverty and you increase crime. Increase immigration and you increase poverty. Therefore...? So long as we're objective about this and leave tabloid mentality for Reddit and Twitter (...ok, X)
    - CalRobert 2y ago
      I agree, but it is a topic that tends to lead to unkind discourse, for reasons I’m not really qualified to elaborate on. I have no idea what the real situation, or possible answers, are. Of course, I’m an immigrant, so…_shrug_
Propelloni 2y ago
Around here (Western Europe) violent crimes trigger fear and outrage, they make the news circuit for days, and many a politician demands stricter laws. They are certainly acknowledged! If you (or anybody, really) files a charge with the police you can bet good money on the fact that it enters the statistics. For all the faults of modern bureaucracy, being sloppy is not one of them. They may be ineffectual but the paperwork is in order!

Rinzler89 2y ago

Or in London too. You're safer walking alone at night in Prague or Budapest than in many parts of London.