Homicide In The USA and India.
By Rummuser. Filed in Uncategorized |
The New Yorker of November 9, 2009 has a fascinating review of a book by “Randolph Roth, whose book “American Homicide” (Harvard; $45) offers a vast investigation of murder, in the aggregate, and over time. Roth’s argument is profoundly unsettling. There is and always has been, he claims, an American way of murder. It is the price of our politics.
Roth attempts to graft LaFree’s argument onto all of American history. He has determined that four factors correlate with the homicide rate: faith that government is stable and capable of enforcing just laws; trust in the integrity of legitimately elected officials; solidarity among social groups based on race, religion, or political affiliation; and confidence that the social hierarchy allows for respect to be earned without recourse to violence. When and where people hold these sentiments, the homicide rate is low; when and where they don’t, it’s high.”
I studied this information a little carefully as the latest issue of India’s Outlook magazine has an amazing take on the subject of urban crime in India and as I maintain, there just seems to be too much serendipity in these matters. The outlook magazine’s survey pointed out a disturbing trend of young urban Indians being the killers with the number increasing every year.
The percentage of young, urban killers in the 18-30 age group is climbing year by year
- 2003: 38.03
- 2004: 39.76
- 2005: 40.19
- 2006: 41.46
- 2007: 43.14
I went to the web and found that the following is the comparative statistics of the number of homicides per 100,000 population per annum of the countries from which most of my readers come;
India – 2.82; the USA – 5.80; the UK – 2.03, Northern Ireland – 2.48 and Scotland – 2.13. Being the incurable Indian that I am I also found that the rate for Pakistan was 6.86 and China was 2.36.
Ahem, Pakistan can now claim to be superior in something to India and Al Ham dul Illah, the USA too!
Humour apart, some of the fators that Roth identifies as being responsible for high incidences of homicide seem to fit the Indian situation too. In a macabre way then, be it American or Indian, motivating or demotivating factors for the citizens of both the countries seem to be the same. So, the saw, people are the same everywhere. The reasons attributed in India in the survey show the following to be most important: Warped sense of right and wrong; Break down of the family bonds and norms; Violent fantasies; Will to kill; The belief that one can get away with the crime; Prolonged/Sudden provocation; Possibility of easy money; Sexual frustration; Television/films; Perceived injustice/humiliation; Inability to realize aspirations.
One can write volumes on each of the motivating factors as each has its unique place in urban India today. When all or more than two or three of the factors come together, it is a recipe for disaster.
Sometimes, I despair for the youth of my country. When articles like these appear it breaks my heart that urbanization is taking its toll on the future of this country. The solution of urbanizing the rural parts is going on at such a slow rate that I despair about that too.
I cannot visualize being able to murder, no matter what provocation or motivation. Can you?
Thursday, November 12th 2009 at 10:47 |
When there is no respect for human life, murder increases. Murder is practically legal in certain circumstances in some parts of the world now. They just don’t call it that..
Rummuser Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 10:22
Sadly, yes.
Thursday, November 12th 2009 at 14:30 |
I can visualise murdering a partner if that partner was habitually violent and brutal towards me, which of course is a situation many women find themselves in. Fortunately I don’t have such a partner so my murderous impulses are merely dormant.
Rummuser Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 10:21
Even that IF is beyond me I am afraid.
Thursday, November 12th 2009 at 19:40 |
Good news bad news – the good news, it demonstrates that we are all very much the same regardless the color of our skins (among other things) – the bad news, we are a violet bunch.
Rummuser Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 10:19
That we are Phil, on both accounts.
Thursday, November 12th 2009 at 20:06 |
“If I have to come up those stairs…. I’ll murder the lot of you!” So chanted my mother if we didn’t settle down to sleep!
Dear love her, she didn’t mean a word of it.
I have never disliked anyone enough to want to end their life. I would hate to be called for jury service that involved a murder trial. Living in Northern Ireland where life, for many years, seemed to have no value… wiped out sometimes because of ignorance more than reason. I want to go to San Francisco and sing with flowers in my hair.
Rummuser Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 10:19
Whenever we went for a swim, our Mom would caution us not to drown and not to come back if we did.
Friday, November 13th 2009 at 00:46 |
I usually feel guilty when my wife tries to get me to kill a bug in the house. I doubt that I could harm anyone.
Rummuser Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 10:18
I too simply cannot kill any creature, not even a mosquito.
Friday, November 13th 2009 at 04:46 |
I don’t think I could murder anyone unless they were trying to harm my children in a violent way. Then the ‘she bear’ in me would probably come out.
One other factor contributing to murder is poverty and crowded population. A study was done with rats and when there were too many in the cage they killed each other.
Rummuser Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 10:16
That is a very interesting insight! I suppose that so would I. Murdering for reducing population seems to be a bit excessive reaction though!
Friday, November 13th 2009 at 12:06 |
I agree with Darlene. The instinct to protect my own. But for any other reason I just cannot understand.
Friday, November 13th 2009 at 18:04 |
Dear brother,
My memory is pretty prodigious, and my recollection of our mother’s warning was “If you drown and come back, I will kill you”!!!!!
Grannymar Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 19:52
Barath,
This is why I rejoice that my sister is not a blog reader!
When we fell as children, mammy would say “Come over here and I will pick you up!”
Rummuser Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 11:11
Rummuser Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 11:14
I stand corrected little fellow! Thank you.
Friday, November 13th 2009 at 18:50 |
I don’t think the conclusion of the rat study was that they killed for population control but that they became frenzied when they didn’t have enough space. I suppose it was population control in a way, but that was not the motivation of the rats. Transferring that study to humans, think of ghettos where people are jammed into small rooms and have no parks or places to get away. The murder rate goes up and gangs form.
Rummuser Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 11:13
I understand now. I am studying various material on precisely this phenomenon and shall write a post soon.
Thursday, November 19th 2009 at 07:04 |
Hi Ramana!
I am surprised there is no mention of drugs and its influence on the murder rates. Though I suppose the condiions raised speak to the caliber of influences directly related in which drugs would be a part of anti-social relationships to the murder rates increasing. Is that a rising issue in India?
And I don’t think I have it in me either…but who knows as life has often taught me we really don’t know what we are capable of until we really are experiencing it. As in the example if my children were being threatened who knows…though at this point in life they would probably have to save me instead.
Namaste,
Diane
Rummuser Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 20:07
You are quite right. A great deal of crime now a days are drug related. Mostly committed by users.
Namaste.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 18:34 |
Those statistics are scary
Rummuser Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 22:39
Indeed they are.
Wednesday, November 25th 2009 at 01:32 |
This is very interesting. I think that more people need to be aware of the effects of drug addiction. A lot of homicides are linked to drugs. This is why people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol need to do a drug detox to get them back to happy, healthy and productive drug-free lives.