An Effort to Unlock the Past (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72210601.html?dids=72210601:72210601&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Dec+13%2C+1993&author=Marcia+Slacum+Greene&desc=An+Effort+to+Unlock+the+Past)
Self-Discovery May Be Inmate's First Step Away From Crime Series: THE CIRCLE: A MAN CONFRONTS HIMSELF Series Number: 2/2
"[Gregory "Black" Coleman], left, an inmate at the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility, discusses the program he's in with another inmate. The program seeks to reform repeat offenders with counseling, therapy and education.; Speaking out: In the circle, Coleman makes a presentation about the effects of liquor advertising and alcohol abuse on the black community.; A solitary man: In Unit 57-A, Coleman, above left, heads toward his room; above, after rejecting a meal provided by the Department of Corrections, he eats cornflakes alone in the dining room. Of necessity, he learned early in life to be independent.; He grew up fast: Coleman's grandmother, [Louise Morse], right, took him and his three sisters in after it became clear that their mother, an alcoholic, was not looking after them. He already knew how to steal.; Gregory Coleman, D.C. Department of Corrections No. 202020, is an everyman of the city's prison population - a black male with a troubled childhood; a school dropout and juvenile delinquent; a drug addict and a five-time loser. That list helps explain why he is in prison, but it gives few clues about how to keep him from returning."

Aaaaaaand....

Child Murderer Offers Troubled Past as Defense (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/21820316.html?dids=21820316:21820316&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Jul+2%2C+1996&author=Cassandra+Stern&desc=Child+Murderer+Offers+Troubled+Past+as+Defens e)

Aaannd...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminology
"Strain theory
Based on the work of American sociologist Robert Merton, this theory suggests that mainstream culture, especially in the United States, is saturated with dreams of opportunity, freedom and prosperity; as Merton put it, the American Dream. Most people buy into this dream and it becomes a powerful cultural and psychological motivation. Merton also used the term anomie, but it meant something slightly different for him than it did for Durkheim; he saw the term as meaning a dichotomy between what society expected of its citizens, and what those citizens could actually achieve. Therefore, if the social structure of opportunities is unequal and prevents the majority from realising the dream, some of them will turn to illegitimate means (crime) in order to realise it. Others will retreat or drop out into deviant subcultures (gang members, "hobos": urban homeless drunks and drug abusers)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strain_theory_%28sociology%29

Not true. Human nature is the cause of violence and crime: the abovementioned serve only to facilitate/justify such actions. Deep down, we're fucking primitive...

What's your point?

Not true. Human nature is the cause of violence and crime: the abovementioned serve only to facilitate/justify such actions. Deep down, we're fucking primitive...
Geeeeez! You are such a fatalist!

No no no... Human nature is one small component. The main reason is due to what I mention in this thread. What I'm saying is that our situation can be changed. What you are implying is that the situation is hopeless. :bugeye:

Human nature is also the cause of poetry, love, compassion, charity, and tremendous acts of beauty and kindness. The problem is that some people make a business of using negative feelings to make names for themselves and to cause damage. These people should be given jobs that they can do where they can quietly work without hurting people.

This makes me think of those 'beautiful' Objectivist truths: they sound great on paper, but just you try applying them. :)

It's conceivable that we could change, but I doubt we'll be successful in doing so. For what it's worth, I think it's a noble effort.

Stop blinding yourself to those truths. That's what people do who become troublemakers. The neurotic who grows up to start a war is the same thing as the neighborhood punk who tortures animals and beats up other children. He is often the same person. He has decided that the world is bad and must be beaten into submission. If it won't submit, kill it. If he is neurotic enough, he believes that physical law is some plot against him, so he tries to kill physical law. Think about it. Gravity doesn't have a choice whether it dashes your head against concrete or holds the atmosphere securely in place. We need the atmosphere so we learn to live with the gravity, at least some of us.

Some of us are like, if we fall and hit our heads, the world has betrayed us and it owes us its collective ass.

It is also true that there are people out there for whom we cannot express how horrible they are. There are demons in human form, just a few of them, who have worked their way into positions of influence and authority. They are the ones who launch pogroms against innocent humans and animals. They corrupt the rest of us until we are ready to kill each other for a little bit of peace, even if we rationalize it by saying that we thought they wanted to kill us. I'm sorry for the human world. It seemed like a good idea when it started, but recent contacts and events have helped convince me that if certain people are allowed to continue doing what we are doing, most of humanity will die and take whatever is good about humanity with it. They plan to kill those who do not belong to their little cliques, as thoroughly as possible. All that time they will be shouting slogans about safety, about improving the human race, about patriotism, and those will be poisonous lies.