One of the shows I watch is Peaky Blinders, a period drama set in the early 20th century around Birmingham, telling of a crime family's lives, loves and deaths. I don't know what the attraction is, but there is a desaturated cool, paired with a struggling main character who is immensely violent, but still has enough redeeming qualities that makes you root for him. It is definitely worth a watch.
But, I was thinking about crime in general a little today, and wondering how much of it is driven by the economy and the lack of viable alternatives for so many people, in so many places. At what point does a person recognizes the extreme unlikeliness that they will find a way out to a better life and says, "fuck it", turning to a life of crime?
It seems that there are two extremes where value of life loses meaning, where there is the very poor where crime and violence is expressed and experienced at the localized level. And the very rich, where the lives of others are only worth what they can generate in terms of wealth, but are expendable, no matter where they are. There is skin in the game of violence at the local level. The skin is proxied at the global level.
I have written before about how I get the sense that in some places, dealing with death is so common, that all life is devalued, because reminders of our own mortality are constantly there. However, in other places, there is an expectation that for example, children will grow into adults and live a long life into their eighties. For instance, at the start of Corona a client of mine was worried about her parents getting it because they were in their 90s, even though a stiff breeze would be just as likely a catalyst for their demise. In other places, people just had to get on with their lives the best they could, because they couldn't afford not to.
So, at what point?
It is not just extreme poverty that can tip someone over the edge - at what point does that entitlement at the other end set in also? At what point does someone feel that they are "above the law" or at least, that they run by a different set of laws? There seems to be some kind of gradual switching in the minds of some people, where perhaps they slide into despair at the lower end and boredom at the higher, so they look to chase a new path - even if it leads to an "untimely" end.
Perhaps crime for some is an extension of entertainment, where it becomes a highly immersive gamified process - an addictive experience that once playing, it is very hard to put the controller down. Just one more dollar, just one more high.
I wonder what the average income is of the average football hooligan - are they white collar professionals?
There are all kinds of different crimes out there, but I wonder how much the general state of the economy plays in pushing new people down that path and, what kinds of crimes "trend" in different economic conditions. Are white collar crimes higher or lower in a recession compared to a boom? Do more people turn to "avoidance drugs" when the economy is struggling? Is the general level of crime higher or lower at the peaks or the troughs?
Of course, violent crime seems to get the majority of the attention, but I think this is because it is more fear invoking, so the media will focus on it to generate clicks. However, I wonder when "normal people" turn - when does someone say, "this is me now, I am going to break the law with intention".
Most of the crime stories there is very little time spent on the road into becoming a criminal, but a lot of the time there is time on the "trying to get out" aspect. I think this is because people want to see the bad guy redeem themselves, but they don't necessarily want to acknowledge, that the same bad guy is a person very much like themselves, that just got pushed a little further, and the switch flicked.
I think most people have the belief that "I would never" but in reality, we are all so very much the same, that it just takes the right set of conditions, and we would.
“You can change what you do, but you can’t change what you want.”
— Tommy Shelby, Peaky Blinders, Series 3: Episode 3
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
White collar professionals tend to have decent dental plans. Football hooligans, not so much.
Is there the same culture growing in the US in recent times?
Plenty of hooligans here, but they tend to be in government rather than at sporting events.
I think that there are those who turn to crime due to desperation as a means of survival. But there are those who spot opportunities and then commit because they think that they can get away with it.
Yes, but perhaps in some way, it is always a decision of opportunity, even if it doesn't require it. While it might be for survival, there might also be other ways to survive, but it could take longer with a lower pay off.
It is quite said that people would want to neglect that aspect that such criminal is still human despite the negative act he or she have indulge into but they just judge on the present situation of such criminal.
People are people, we are all on a spectrum of possibility - it is just the conditions that we need act that vary.
I think that two kinds of person feel that they are above the law. One is the person who has experienced severe poverty than tried illegal ways to become personally and economically stronger, such as being mafia, gang master. The other who is extremely rich or political person that they can feel their power is above the laws. Today, some countries which are in economic crisis favor filthy rich people to invest in country. Also, deputies have legislative immunity in my country, thus they behave as they are above the laws.
It is funny how we rely on people who are likely to be filled with entitlement, to make decisions in our own best interest, isn't it?
To make decision in their own interest :)
I think everyone crosses the road at points that are convenient rather than at designated crossing points and this is where it really all begins xD
Maybe they do which is why the redemption arcs are so attractive?
Probably. If they can be saved, I can be saved too.
I think this is why the superhero characters have also become less "pure" - the good guys aren't all good, the bad guys aren't all bad - they have to be relatable, rather than the shining example of goodness and evil.
Maybe, though it could also be as simple as I find those types of characters/stories exceedingly boring and statistically it's unlikely that I'm the only one ^_^;
Peaky blinders is a nice series,the movie tell the life of a family that deals in drugs, in reality i think that most people that are into different crimes, are cause by the circumstances around them, i have seen people, that said they don't want to go into cyber crime,but the inflation in the country is just too much, humans will are different so if your will is not strong enough,i think that with the persent inflation in my country one can do anything necessary to survive, even going into drugs
Cyber crime seems to be a sanctioned industry in Nigeria.
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This is what I mean - I wonder if being surrounded by death, makes us more immune to the idea of dying, so we devalue life.