Yesterday, a man in Alabama shot and killed 10 people before killing himself; in Germany, a gunman shot and killed 15 people, teachers and students from a college, before killing himself. What do these two cases have in common? Both involve a white male and the killing of what appears to be unrelated victims; the gunman, supposedly, had no specific people that they wanted to kill. I have to wonder if this increase in violence and shooing deaths has anything to do with the horrible economic conditions? My mom suggested that many of the acts of violence that are occurring has something to do with how horribly the economy is going. More people, it seems to me, have been killed by gunfire and more robberies have occurred. People would rather kill their families or other people and then themselves than ask for help? or possibly even go to jail. This is ridiculous! Many people believe that the actions being seen now are just like some of the actions seen during the Great Depression. The Depression was more limited to the men committing suicide and leaving behind their families but at the same time it is not quite as bad. However, if the economy continues this way, I believe that possibly we could see even more crime occurring and even more murder-suicides or just murders. What do you think?
4 comments:
I definitly agree that there will be a spike in crime because of the economic conditions. I also think it will go up because people are so desperate for money and other resources. It's really sad that these people, like Victoria said, kill and steal instead of asking for help.
I also think there will be an increase in crime due to our economic crisis. It seems like these criminals have the idea that "desperate times call for desperate measures." I was also talking with my mom about this the other day and she mentioned that people feel so hopeless and stressed out that they do outrageous things such as killing a group of innocent people. This might sound twisted but I can see why people would commit suicide during this time period, but I don't really understand why someone would murder others because of their own financial problems.
I agree, I think the crime rate will increase because of the economic times. I was watching good morning america this morning and there have been a significant increase in bank robberies. These men who robbed the banks in separate cases were not known criminals, they were working fathers trying to make ends meet for their families. Its so sad to see things like this happening but unfortunately it seems like there's not much we can do about it.
Victoria,
This is a thoughtful post. I like the graphic you provide and the fact that you discussed the topic with your mom as well. Some additional complications: Can numbers tell the whole story here? Is there really only one trigger at work here (the economy)? How would you account for killing sprees during periods of thriving economic growth?
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