Whats makes someone throw their life away for crime?

[Texashiker]

Last night I was watching a youtube video about the zimmerman trial when I clicked on a related video. The related video was about someone being convicted of murder.

I kept clicking on related videos of people being convicted of rape or murder, but mostly murder.

A couple of videos showed the accused attacking their lawyers, some cursed the judge, one guy pissed in a trash can right there in the court room,,,. A vast majority of people showed a total lack of respect for our laws and justice system.

We only have one life to live, why live it behind bars?

 

[Jeffg010]

I would say most of those type of people were molested as children and that will screw you up pretty bad. Also broken homes with no fathers to learn right from wrong and doing what ever you want and never learning that was bad behavior. Add drugs to the mix and you get some bad things that happen.

 

[kranky]

Probably as many reasons as there are murderers in jail.

Some people don't care if they are in jail because it's better than their life on the outside. Some are blinded by rage, greed, jealously or revenge and aren't thinking about potential consequences. Some are certain they won't get caught. Some are simply evil and although they don't want to be in jail, they won't stop being evil if they are on the outside. Some did something stupid without intending to kill someone but things went wrong. Some are mentally ill and don't understand what they are doing.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Combination of:
- Lack of proper parenting.
- Lack of life to begin with....
- Environment
- Youth/teenage brain
- Drugs/Alcohol
- money

 

[Jimzz]

Simple, back an animal into a corner and it reacts; humans do the same. Tell someone they will be locked away for a very long time and they have little to lose.

 

[Texashiker]

Simple, back an animal into a corner and it reacts; humans do the same. Tell someone they will be locked away for a very long time and they have little to lose.

An animal does what it does.

Foxes eat mice and steal chickens. The fox does what comes natural to it.

People on the other hand, we have an option.

 

[Juddog]

An animal does what it does.

Foxes eat mice and steal chickens. The fox does what comes natural to it.

People on the other hand, we have an option.

Some people do what comes naturally to them, and what comes naturally to them isn't necessarily the same thing that will come naturally to you.

There was most likely survival at stake at some point in the past where one of their ancestors survived via this characteristic, thus the genetics were passed onto their offspring. Some people are just born naturally more aggressive and without any kind of empathy; the only hope is that they'll have good parents and be raised properly to learn to overcome these characteristics.

Take those same qualities and raise that person in a broken home and you have a serial rapist / murderer / criminal in the works.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I would say it starts with vaccines and then progresses to taking pictures people post on Facebook for personal use.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Desperation/emotions/assuming they won't get caught/not thinking of consequences

 

[Exterous]

I would say it starts with vaccines and then progresses to taking pictures people post on Facebook for personal use.

You forgot credit cards

 

[Saint Nick]

Nothing else to lose. No sense of consequence.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Lack of education for the most part, mental issues, life history.

 

[Texashiker]

Some people do what comes naturally to them, and what comes naturally to them isn't necessarily the same thing that will come naturally to you.

When breeding livestock you look for desirable traits, and breed for those traits.

I have a couple of hens that are pretty smart. When I get a rooster I want to breed those hens to maintain certain traits in my flock.

If we take that same concept and apply it to people, what happens when women go after aggressive men generation after generation.

10,000 years ago breeding with an aggressive male would help ensure the future of the offspring.

Today, those aggressive traits are not desirable as society has become domesticated.

I am thinking society has out paced evolution. Or maybe, aggression is an outdated evolutionary trait.

 

[SlitheryDee]

There is little or no calculation involved I think. These people aren't doing the same math you are in considering your limited lifespan and your desire to not spend it behind bars. For the most part all they do is act to benefit themselves in the immediate future. Life way down the line never really enters into their mind. That does the job of removing consequences for their action from their consideration. Consequences are things that happen in the future, which is beyond their ability to consider. The actions that will get them what they want right now are all that matters.

 

[Murloc]

they probably had nothing to throw away to begin with

 

[Juddog]

When breeding livestock you look for desirable traits, and breed for those traits.

I have a couple of hens that are pretty smart. When I get a rooster I want to breed those hens to maintain certain traits in my flock.

If we take that same concept and apply it to people, what happens when women go after aggressive men generation after generation.

10,000 years ago breeding with an aggressive male would help ensure the future of the offspring.

Today, those aggressive traits are not desirable as society has become domesticated.

I am thinking society has out paced evolution. Or maybe, aggression is an outdated evolutionary trait.

Aggression was an essential trait to the early males. You needed someone to think quick, and act aggressive, to not only fight off wild animals but other human tribes as well. Back then it was essential to our survival as a species.

Nowadays we're left with the results from overbreeding and the aggressiveness is turned almost exclusively towards other humans. Because there are so many people there are no more unsettled frontiers to retreat to in order to escape. The only path of escape at this point is settling in outer space and that holds tremendous logistical and engineering difficulties.

Aggression is still rewarded in today's society. You can't be a high end executive without being aggressive enough to out maneuver your co-workers. You can't stay a CEO without conforming to the needs of the shareholders, enforcing ruthless behavior (such as GM closing down the plant in Flint Michigan to move the production to Mexico when profits were at an all time high).

Being an alpha male is something still looked highly upon, whether it's sports, business, or the street life, as long as you don't cross the line from being merely aggressive to being overly aggressive (e.g. murdering someone).

 

[jhansman]

A vast majority of people showed a total lack of respect for our laws and justice system.

Hmmmm, could that be because the system is so flawed that once you are dragged into it, you have little chance of ever getting free (I have seen this up close and personal with a family member who was (truly) innocent of the charges against him). Laws? Please. The vast majority of the law passed are designed for two things: raise revenue and restrict personal freedom. But, to answer your original question, criminals are stupid, otherwise they wouldn't resort to crime. They think they can get away with it, but rarely do.

 

[lozina]

Simple, back an animal into a corner and it reacts; humans do the same. Tell someone they will be locked away for a very long time and they have little to lose.

I dont think it is that simple.

Back a cobra into a corner 10 times and you will probably get 10 bites.

Back a human into a corner 10 times and you will probably get 10 completely different responses

 

[edro]

They highly underestimate their chances of getting caught.

When emotions are running high during physical assaults (assault, murder, rape, etc), ramifications are weighted lightly in their mind.

 

[crashtestdummy]

- Lack of life to begin with....

This, to me, is the key. If you are a drug dealer in Chicago's south side, your life expectancy is already about that of an inmate on death row. The result is that you really have nothing to lose by killing someone. The worst possible consequence has already occurred.

 

[moonbogg]

We are primates with a slightly more complex nature than the others, my friend. Nothing should come as a surprise.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

they are dumb

 

[JulesMaximus]

Risk vs reward? If your prospects for making a living are very limited then why not turn to a life of crime?

 

[ImpulsE69]

I did it for the glory, then I did it for the fame, then I did it for the sex, then I did it for the moniez, then I did it for the sex again, now I do it because I'm Robin Hood.

 

[Kaido]

Combination of:
- Lack of proper parenting.
- Lack of life to begin with....
- Environment
- Youth/teenage brain
- Drugs/Alcohol
- money

Yeah. It's hard to 100% fault someone who makes bad decisions if they've been raised that way. I think there IS a point where you become an adult and have to make your own decisions, but I don't think you can completely discount the worldview & habits you acquire as a kid. Some people grow up in very warped environments and it very much molds who they are as a person; I don't think it's fair to expect people to make miraculous changes if they've never had that good influence to begin with, or been given the encouragement & guidance towards being a better person.

It's easy to say well, if they're adults, they should make the choice, but a lot of people also don't realize the opportunities that exist for them, so they do what they know -whether it's being a welfare sponge when they really don't qualify, or selling drugs, or stealing, or whatever. I have a friend who basically grew up on the street (well, lived in the back of a car) and grew up partying & drinking with her mom even at a young high-school age; her views of life are pretty twisted compared to a regular nuclear family setup because she didn't grow up under normal circumstances in a conventional home situation. Now she has a hard time in life - staying in one place, holding down jobs, etc. But she doesn't relate to your typical after-school special type of life because she never had that influence, so it's hard to judge her and say she should act like everyone else when she wasn't raised like everyone else and doesn't have the same headset on that most other people do.

I think that's the case with a lot of people who commit crimes, especially recurring crimes - you go with what you know, even if it's wrong and even if it ultimately ends up hurting yourself. There are always other options & more opportunities for you, but people are creatures of habit, so we keep seeing the same things over & over again. It's sad. But then again, you can't teach that stuff in school anymore, because that's "overstepping the bounds". So unless you come from a good family or are a self-motivated person, there's not always a lot of help out there for you. And even if there is, you still have to make the choice to accept the help, whether it's from a boy's club or YMCA or church group or whatever.