In the following interview about the impact of economic inequality, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and evolutionary psychology pioneer Dr. Martin Daly brought up an interesting statistic that I'd never heard before which is that about 50% of murderers had alcohol in their systems at the time of the murder. Not only that, but 50% of the victims did too!
Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions and views. They do not represent the official positions of Steemit Inc. or any employees thereof
Coincidentally I was also recently watching the following video of Simon Sinek in which he points out that almost all alcoholics discovered alcohol when they were teenagers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that alcohol is the root of all evil, or drawing a hard causal relationship between alcohol and any other sociological phenomena. But throughout my life I couldn't help but notice how often alcohol played a factor in the bad events I either witnessed or experienced. The correlation has seemed to so strong that I once asked myself, "What would a dystopian future where the world was ravaged by alcohol abuse look like?" Ever since I first had that thought I've had difficulty not seeing our very own world as exactly that. Just walk around your local downtown Thursday through Saturday night and estimate how many people have alcohol coursing through their veins. 90% percent often seems like a fair estimate. And all of this ignores the well established link between alcohol consumption and negative health effects.
What's My Point?
What causes violence is an insanely complex subject that is unlikely to boil down to one causal factor. Daly's hypothesis seems to be that what it really comes down to is relative income inequality, and that seems right to me. Even a certain percentage of the aforementioned alcohol consumption may very well be attributable to people steeling themselves in anticipation of a violent confrontation. In other words, the alcohol in people's systems might to some extent be explained by them preparing for a violent confrontation and not the cause of the confrontation itself.
Cigarettes
However, given the ridiculously high percentage of both perpetrators of violence and victims of violence with alcohol in their blood I can't help but wonder if we could seriously reduce our own likelihoods of being the victims of violence (or the perpetrators) if we limit our own alcohol consumption. I'm certainly not saying that we should ban alcohol, but perhaps we should reconsider how accepting we are of its prominence within our culture. Many know that alcohol can be as bad for your health as smoking cigarettes, but cigarettes do not have this connection to violence, and yet people do not hesitate to openly and vocally criticize those who smoke.
An Alcohol Tax?
Many might argue for taxing alcohol like we tax cigarettes, but I am not at all impressed by the supposed impact these taxes have with respect to decreasing consumption nor am I convinced that the negative impact of criminalizing related activities (like selling loose cigarettes which is what led to the death of Eric Garner) are not worth considering. I don't feel the analyses of these taxes adequately account for the ever increasing awareness of the negative health effects of smoking, the social stigma that has become attached to the activity, or the aforementioned negative side effects of criminalization that are rarely considered. But the taxes due demonstrate our attitude toward smoking. We as a society are willing to publicly penalize people who participate in this unhealthy and dangerous act and the science of social pressure is well established.
Throwing Stones
At this stage in my life, I am always hesitant to tell other people how to live their lives. The aphorism, "Every time you point a finger at a person, there are 4 more pointing back at you," has demonstrated itself to be more of a "truism." I obviously am not going to walk around chastising anyone who chooses to have an alcoholic beverage, nor am I going to abstain myself. But I do think it's safe to say that given the horrifying correlation I opened this article with, this is at the very least a conversation we aren't having nearly enough.
That's an interesting stat about the amount of murderers with alcohol in their systems. I'm sure if you could find stats for other things such as criminal damage, people cheating on their partners, petty theft etc you would also see some sort of correlation between them and alcohol consumption. The fact is that under the influence of alcohol you are just more likely to make bad decisions.
As for increased taxation of alcohol, here in the UK we already have to pay a lot in tax on our booze and it's not cheap! A lot of people still drink heavily, but younger generations are starting to drink less than their parents did
Great point. If it's 50% of all murders, who knows what the percentage is for theft, assault, etc.
And what a horrible correlation it is indeed. Like you, at this stage in my life I prefer not tell people how to live their lives or whether to drink or not, but seeing how alcohol is associated with violence it really is worrisome.
Alcohol, the original "gateway drug" and Satan's urine.
lol, Satan's Urine
Lmfao
Lmfao
:)
Great article. Thank you!
Alcohol is a sweet and a slow poison that degenerates a human mind for short term and his/her whole body in the long run.
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Thanks :)
I think almost anything can be abused, but with alcohol in my anecdotal experience it becomes bad when people are using it as a form of "escape". I think often people can have issues and use alcohol as a coping mechanism.
I guess it is good if controlled but in excess, it could be detrimental to one's self and the people around them.
People are more violent towards women when they are drunk.
They even harm them by putting mental pressure on women.
Very well-versed and impactful content. It is the worthwhile message to be distributed among masses so upvoting and resteeming.
Here we have what seems to be a causal relationship.
However, they are all symptoms of a deeper disease.
Ever wonder why alcohol is legal and cannabis isn't?
Why is the more dangerous substance allowed?
When you look into poor people, you find that they are poor.
Poor in health, poor in thought, poor in motivation, poor in time scale planning.
What is the difference between a poor farmer and a middle class farmer?
The middle class farmer weeds his farm. Guaranteed to increase production by 20%+. You would think that the poor farmer would be more motivated to get that extra 20%.
Alcohol does all kinds of bad things to your system. It messes up your aura. It creates cracks where demons can jump in. Ever get black out drunk? Well, at those times you might not have been in your body.
When you are poor... when you are depressed, you tend to seek out palliatives. Instead of working on yourself. On your being. Finding those traumas and working them out. Instead of this, you dive into the bottle.
These people are also the same ones who look outside themselves for the problems. And when you think the problem is out there, then it is only a short step to using violence to stop the perceived problem.
Exactly. Moderation along with choice is key.
Alcohol related deaths are enormous, while weed is illegal. In my country, you have many football fans, who get drunk, and than they make problems.
I dont think we can blame alcohol or anything for a persons actions. People know what they are getting into when they make these purchases. We can say Money , love, and a long list of other things can cause violence. People over react all the time.. accidents happen but to blame it or to center it on thing is wrong..
For the health of people I would say yes, a tax would be a good idea. I dont think think a slump in crime would happen.. Saddens me to say this but especially in America.. I love my country but my people we dont make alot of sense until its time to kick someones ass.. even then its a lil blurry.. (lil humor) But if we tax the hell out of one thing that welcomes taxes on ANYTHING the government would see fit as UNHEALTHY... And we like our right to choose too much so that wont happen.... We did go to war over Tea a long long time ago
Personally I find Alcohol to be a highly mundane and very boring drug. It offers very little value to my life and only takes away from my mental and physical well being.
If you are going to take a chemical into your body for recreation or any other intent there are FAR healthier, entertaining and beneficial drugs to alter your consciousness with. Alcohol numbs and helps you disassociate with yourself and those around you. It helps you cope with the shitty society you live in and the "American dream" life you sold your soul to. You are a slave for 5 days out of the week. And for 2 nights you get to be free and unleash all your pent up animalistic rage through the lubrication of alcohol
Most governments are completely fine with alcohol being part of the culture of their citizens because it work for the government. They make massive amounts of money of of the drug and its keeps their slaves, dumb, numb and addicted.
Surprisingly (or not so) many of the drugs on the Schedule 1 list are drugs that will open your awareness give you the full comprehension of the present moment. They make you less controllable, more intelligent and harder to follow orders. Hence Nixon and Reagans crack down on drugs. The Population of the 60's were becoming less and less docile, more aware, more connected, more thoughtful and that posed a threat to their control.
Alcohol though does the opposite and works in their favor.
Thanks for the post and the statistics. This is a topic that is heated not only for me but for the culture at large and needs more attention.
That's a very interesting statistic. Great post. Very insightful information. Thanks!
Hi @andrarchy, You do not even know how I am glad for this post. I did not have any idea about it. It is quite strong argument against arguments of my Cameroonian friends who believe if there is no alcohol in Africa, there is just war everywhere. I can not resist to always compare alcohol with marijuna which is demonized here in Cameroon as the worst witchcraft magic. If you actually smoke marijuna you are considered automatically as thief or assassin. That is why we actually concentrate in our conservation program in Cameroon as well on primary alcohol prevention to raise the awareness about this bad habit. Cameroonians unfortunately do not know the danger hiding behind drinking so the always offer alcohol (even strong up to 40%) to very small kids young as 7 years old. The situation is really sad. There are only 163 beds in whole Cameroon for alcohol addicted people. And I have to say they are too many (obviously far more than 163). If you are interested in our conservation program to save Abongphen Highland Forest in Cameroon check it here.
Thank you plenty!