| >I guess we could all
>look at the Bundys/Specks/Mansons et al and say "there but for the grace of God
>go I".
Blaming ones behavior on ones hormonal state is about as
irresponsible as blaming it on ones upbring. Bundy/Speck/Manson
all had the option of *DECIDING* whether to reject or obey the
norms/folkway/laws of our culture. However, there is ample evidence
that chemicals can fix a chronic rapist, but the similar drugs seem
to have little effect on other crimes.
Somehow, this issue seems to contain the mirror of a study done
on the menstrual state of women involved in domestic violence.
|
|
"Violence"!
Before I met my wife I was closely associated with violence.Starting
with the service and continuing into my early motorcycle days.
My parents were'nt violent, firm but not violent.
My early boyhood friends were into sports, baseball, fishing, so
I never saw it there.
But when I went into the service it was drilled into your head.."Do
onto others before they do you!
It was a job and was treated like that.
When I was riding with the club it was a everyday occurrence. We
called it "Checking your Mud". But after a while it became second
nature to strike out at anything, anyone that even dared to look
crosseye at you.
Maybe I grew up or you just reach a point, but I became sick of
it! Just couldn't take it anymore. My values changed and my outlook
changed.
Oh I often have to suppress the desire to "NAIL" someone who is
giving me a hard time, but I can and do. Before I never thought
about hurting someone or worse.
What I'm trying to say it wasn't a part of me. I was put there.
Brainwashing, environment, association, yep and maybe a little
of me.
Does all this make sense? The worse part was at the time I actually
enjoyed it!!
Cal.
|
|
Actually there have been studies (can't quote exact sources)
on the role of chemistry/biology in violent crimes. The study
I'm think of did find some correlation between certain areas
of the brains of repeat violent offenders. The chemistry in-
volved has to do with certain B vitamin deficiencies, as well
as a lack of iodine.
Sociological studies have revealed definite patterns that
abused children are more likely to commit violent crimes
as adults. One reason that males do this more than females
is that most societies tolerate (or encourage) violent male
behavior, thus setting a pattern of behavior that, over time,
can go beyond what the society tolerates. Violence, like drugs
or alcohol, is addictive, the more so if your childhood has
been tainted by sexual or physical abuse.
|
|
There goes another theory!
Never abused as a child, physically or sexually.
Always took my vitamins, more now since I found health!
I've seen studies where it says people who drink beer,smoke all
things possible, and have tattoos are more prone to violence.
The best part is the greatest number of people who are prone to
doing someone up drank "MILK"!
Boy I love studies!
|
|
re .5
The study I mentioned dealt with folks who engaged in criminal
violence (murder, torture, rape, armed robery, etc.). I don't think
you include youself in this class of violent persons.
Despite your cynicism, there is value in such studies. If society
can find a pattern & break it, we may reduce the number of violent
crimes, or at least contain it (God forbid, even treat these
offenders). What I'm talking about here is a class of criminal
offender who has a definite, recognizable profile that should
be identified and dealt with accordingly.
We are governed by body chemistry as much as anything
else. Take away the iodine in the brain & a genius is reduced
to a babbling idiot. I lived in a rooming house with a fellow
who needed lithium treatments to control his violent behavior; one
night, having missed his treatment, he cut his wrists; the next
time he missed the lithium he tried to cut me & another guy with
a broken bottle, & he was not f***ing around either. My sister
(a social worker) can chronicle endless tales like this, many
of them treatable with vitamin or chemical therapy (I do not
mean drugs).
[general flame]
Men in general are expected to react violently at one time or another:
we "fight back," "don't take this lying down," "fight the good fight,"
"take a stand," and so on. There is a very thin line between the
socialized violence of the boardroom in business and actual physical
violence. The only difference between the boardroom & the barfight is
the style. Boardroom violence is slower, more painful in the long run,
& often extracts a heavier price; the barroom brawl erupts quickly & is
over in a matter of minutes, with stitches, on average, being the only
real damage inflicted (I am assuming your violence never crippled
or disfigured anyone).
Men are taught violence from birth. My son (6) watches cartoons
where good battles evil with a host of armaments; we both enjoy
watching football ("good hit," we both exclaim); he likes wrestling,
takes karate, & generally likes mixing it up with his peers. Am
I raising a violent child? No...I am preparing him for a violent
world, as I was prepared. I have never started a fight in my life,
& hopefully I never will, but I am trained to expect that a fight
can happen and to deal with it. For the average person, violence
in & of itself has less to do with one's genitals than it has to
do with a conscious choice. .3 learned violence and was seduced
by it. He made a conscious choice to stop because he was sick of
it. Most random violence is a conscious choice; criminal violence,
on the other hand, has almost nothing to do with choice, though
it is enhanced by our society's fascination with the brief feeling
of power over the victim. The "dark side" is a seduction, & for
those who were raised on violence at home (abuse & rape) the appeal
is closer to chemical addiction than it is to machismo.
|