Argument-based Homicide in America
Feeling alienated by fellow classmates, two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO who referred to themselves as the Trench Coat Mafia went on a rampant killing spree which took the lives of themselves, twelve other students and one teacher (Obmascik 1). This incident caused an immediate plea for more socially responsible communities, assuming that greater moral values would curb the likelihood of these argument-related homicides. This relies on the notion that greater social organization will lead to a decrease in the rate of crime. Dov Cohen, in her article "Culture, Social Organization, and Patterns of Violence" shows that in the West (which includes Colorado) and South, where a culture of honor persists, there is a higher rate of argument-related homicide that in other areas of the country (the North). More specifically, in the South and West, more organized societies have a higher rate of argument-related homicides than less stable ones.
Argument-related homicides are far more prevalent in the South and West than they are in the North (Cohen 412). This is not merely supported by the number of argument-related homicides in the given regions, but also by the beliefs within the cultures. Southerners and Westerners support honor-related violence more than Northerners and also react more aggressively when insulted (Cohen 408). In addition, laws in the South and West are more likely to support those who use violence consistent with honor (Cohen 409). For these reasons, it is hardly surprising that argument-related homicide is more common in these regional locations.
The more stable communities within these regions are more likely to be on the extreme sides. The morals ingrained in the more stable Northern communities do not find this behavior acceptable and argument-based homicide is therefore more common in less stable communities. The opposite is true in the South and West. The stronger communities condone these actions and they become more common than in those places that are morally more blasé. Nevertheless, the most striking difference is the regional difference between the communities of the South and West and the communities of the North.
The correlation between the homicides in more stable and less stable communities for the given regions is striking. In the North, the homicide rate per 100,000 for white males ages 15-39 is 4.7 in a stable community and 6.7 in an unstable community (Cohen 412). In the South and West, however, the numbers are much higher.
One of the theories that is associated with this school is the “Concentric Zone Theory”, which states that some of the highest crime rates will occur in the zone in transition (Lilly, 2012, p. 40). This is shown in the film when looking at the neighborhoods where much of the crime occurs. These neighborhoods are full of families that live in or close to poverty (Kotlowitz, 2012). The violence interrupters were taking a large step in trying to solve many of these problems, much like Shaw and McKay, with neighborhood organization (Lilly, 2012, p. 41). The group of people in the film would walk around and talk to citizens within the community and try and explain to them that violence was not the answer. They wanted the youth and the people on the streets to know that situations could be handled differently and one way to stop the violence that was occurring was by calling a ceasefire. The Chicago School of Criminology also explains that “juveniles were often drawn into crime through their association with older siblings or gang members” (Lilly, 2012, p. 41). Many of the youth that were involved in crimes in the film had history of crimes in their families. Some, like the people in the violence interrupters group, were able to escape the life of violence and continue to share their story and hopefully help people. Much of the crimes throughout the show were based on blood
Lilly, Robert J., Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context And Consequences. 5th ed. California: SAGE.
In 2012, there were an estimated 14,827 murders and non-negligent manslaughter crimes reported by all agencies in the United States according to the Uniform Crime Report at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter are defined “as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another.” A 1.1 percent increase occurred from 2011 to 2012. But it should be noted, this is a 9.9 percent drop from the figure for 2008 and a 10.3 percent decrease from the number of murders recorded in 2003. Of the murders that occurred in 2012, it is estimated that 43.6 percent were reported in the south, 21.0 percent were from the Midwest, 21.0 percent were accounted from the west, and 14.2 percent were from the northeast of the United States. There were 4.7 murders for every 100,000 people in 2012. The murder rate went up 0.4 percent from 2011 to 2012. It went down in 2008 by 12.8 percent and dropped 16.9 percent from 2003. The majority of offenders were over the age of eighteen and they accounted for 9,096 of offenders in 2012. According to the Uniform Crime Report, the number of offenders who murdered in 2012 totaled 14,581. The majority of these offenders were male, totaling 9,425. Female offenders totaled 1,098, and 4,058 were unknown offenders. Black males topped the list as far as race was concerned with 5,531 committing murder. White males followed with 4,582 offenders. There were 4,228 classified as race unknown regarding offenders who murdered in 2012. The victim data reported was 9,917 male victims and 2,834 female victims. Of those victims, 11,549 were over the age of eighteen.
Caesar came from an old patrician family, where he received an education, and began his journey into a political career (Hart 337). He started just as any man would trying to make something of himself and not die the same way he was born, average. Without having conquered Gaul and crossed the Rubicon he would just be another politician in a corrupted government. “Julius Caesar reached a mature age without achieving astonishing success (qtd. Hart 7). Unlike rulers like Alexander The Great, Caesar was into his 50’s with nothing to show for it. The most influential people are usually geniuses or prodigies that can’t help but make a difference in the world. Unlike people like Einstein who mastered Calculus before he was 15 he was just a white sheep amongst others.
Not much information is given about Julius Caesar’s early life because he had lost the works he had written as a child. It is known that Caesar was educated by a man named Marcus Antonius Gnipho. In his late adolescence, he took up a political position during the Roman Civil Wars. He quickly learned to associate himself with the most powerful people of Rome; he would only marry Cornelia, “the daughter of the most powerful Roman of the era, the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna”. Shortly after that, Lucius was killed by Sulla, the future “dictator” of Rome. Sulla demanded that Caesar divorce Cornelia; he refused, so Sulla stripped him of his priesthood of Jupiter and extracted his dowry from his marriage to Cornelia.
Well-known for his significant impact on the philosophical world, Socrates was one of the first people to truly question individuals and take the average level of thinking to a much more elevated level. The Last Days of Socrates, specifically Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, written by Plato demonstrates Socrates’ great use of the Socratic method as well as rhetoric, the art of persuasion. Many people looked down upon Socrates because they viewed his calling, as told by the Oracle of Delphi, to be impious. Although Socrates was put to death for living a life such as his, he was very extremely successful during his time alive. Socrates was successful in both the realm of philosophical truth and in the outside world because humans used rhetorical ways of thinking to find purpose and make decisions without the influence of other members in society.
Socrates lived such a private life that it lead to the most important revelation of his entire life. He would go about his life doing nothing but self-examination. In examining his life so strenuously others would come to him to be taught, or to have their children be taught by Socrates. They would offer him money and he would refuse. They would do whatever they could to learn anything Socrates had to teach. What they did not know is that Socrates was not teaching anyone he was simply going about his usual life and people just happened to learn from it. This was also why Socrates was put on trial. He was brought up on two charges, one of impiety and the other of corrupting the youth. These two charges set the course for the last month of his life.
Why are some neighborhoods more prone to experience violent episodes than others? What is the extent and in what sociologically measurable ways do communities contribute to the causation and prevention of crime in their neighborhoods? Are neighborhood-level predictors adequate to explain differences in violent crime rates in the respective communities? These are some of the questions addressed by this statistically intense paper published in Science 1997, by Sampson, Raudenbush and Earls.
It takes one person to begin expanding a thought, eventually dilating over a city, gaining power through perceived power. This is why Socrates would be able to eventually benefit everyone, those indifferent to philosophy, criminals, and even those who do not like him. Socrates, through his knowledge of self, was able to understand others. He was emotionally intelligent, and this enabled him to live as a “gadfly,” speaking out of curiosity and asking honest questions. For someone who possesses this emotional intelligence, a conversation with Socrates should not have been an issue-people such as Crito, Nicostratus, and Plato who he calls out during his speech. (37) The problem is that many of the citizens of Athens who wanted Socrates dead, lacked that emotional intelligence and thought highly of themselves. So of course they become defensive when Socrates sheds light on the idea that they may be wrong. As someone who cared most about the improvement of the soul, Socrates would have made a constructive role model to the criminals of Athens, as he would go on saying, “virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man…”(35) Socrates was able to benefit everyone alike as he had human wisdom- something that all the Athenians could relate
Julius Caesar, a man born in around 12 to 13, 100 BC, was considered the start of a new legacy in the history of Rome. Participating in several wars, becoming dictator after forming multiple military alliances, to being assassinated on the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was a politically-flexible, popular leader of the Roman Empire. (Julius Caesar Biography, April 23, 2014) Although Caesar’s birth was never confirmed on the exact date, he was born and raised by his mother, Aurelia, and by his father, Gaius Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar: Historical Background, April 23, 2014)
Having this tie with his newfound parents leaves him no choice but to take the fault for these murders, because he loves them in a way he has never loved his other parents before. The detective is persistent on finding the real killer of the recent murders, and knows that Angel is hiding something, and he is also starting to put together the emotional connection between Diego, Maria, Angel; he tells Maria that she seems to be a little too emotional about this case. The consistent theme of Angel getting squeamish around dead bodies is what keeps the detective thinking about the
The Columbine Shootings were one of the greatest tragedies that the nineties faced; and changed the world that was once known. The fault for this tragedy falls on popular culture, moral climate, and the parents of the shooters; not the shooters themselves. Society has greatly affected the minds of the youth, and viewing violence on television, video games, and on the internet, has planted a negative seed of thought in their minds.
Jurik, Nancy C. and Russ Winn. 1990. “Gender and Homicide: A comparison of Men and
In their book Homicide, evolutionary psychologists Margo Wilson and Martin Daly identify one such conflict between human nature and the contemporary cultural order. They argue that humans have an innate concept of justice which is based on the idea of personal revenge. According to this concept of justice, it is legitimate and even praise-worthy for people to whom a wrong has been done to avenge the wrong-doing themselves.
Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 102 B.C, into one of the oldest patrician families in Rome and was a guaranteed member of the democratic or popular party. His family, being aristocratic, was reserved and rather ordinary in political and military achievement.When he was young he got the advantage of an arranged marriage by his uncle, Caius Marius, and was married to Cornelia (daughter of Cinna) in 84 B.C. Caesar was proscribed and subsequently fled from Rome once he refused to abide by Sulla’s order to divorce Cornelia in 82B.C. In cause to disobey the dictator Sulla, Caesar chose to shun arrest by hiding in the Sabine country. Not long after, Caesar soon got malaria. During his nonattendance, his mother’s family succeeded in gaining a pardon for him.