--- In [email protected], "Hannah Robinson"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Thank you for the lovely compliment, Cap'n. Rest assured, the
feeling's mutual.
>
> Alas, I am unconvinced by your argument. You've described each of
> those situations as an instance of a 'crime of opportunity'. Jean
> Valjean/Leona Helmsley/Haley Joel Osment (speaking of which, what
is
> this? the Kevin Bacon rap sheet? Mel to M. Night to Haley Joel?)
sees
> an opening, measures the risk, goes for it despite its being both
> illegal and wrong.
>
> The problem with comparing violent crime to property crime or
criminal
> negligence (not a lawyer yet, so I don't really know best how to
> characterize a DUI) is that the 'opportunity' presented is less
> 'how-can-I-get-away-with-behaving-irresponsibly-but-to-my-own-
benefit'
> and more 'how-can-I-hurt-someone'.
>
> Basically, the victim is largely tangential to the criminal in your
> examples. It's not personal. They are tempted, and they suffer
the
> weakness of mind to indulge. In violent crime, the victim is the
> whole focus of the crime. It requires not weakness of mind, but a
> broken one. What is this irresistible temptation? The victim's
> existence?
Hmmmm. Very interesting argument. Makes sense to me.
>
> To my mind, accidentally leaving your door unlocked isn't the same
as
> going to bar. And I hope we can all agree, that neither one is
> 'asking for it.'
>
> All I'm really trying to achieve is getting people to step back
from
> the judging the victim thing. Even if you are not, as I said
before,
> all about making yourself feel more secure, it's still completely
> unhelpful in dealing with the root cause of crime (which is NOT
> keeping your kids on a leash/wearing a burqa/never leaving the
hosue
> after sundown). As unintentional as it may be, Blame the Victim
is to
> a degree letting the attacker off the hook. I ask that everybody
keep
> that in mind.
Got it.
>
> Sermon over. Praise Jeebus.
Hallelujiah!
>
> (P.S. To Denise, I threw in the defrocked so I wouldn't get anyone
> telling me that not ALL priests are like that. Sigh, sometimes a
gal
> can't win.)
>
No good deed goes unpunished, and all that.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/weingartenchatters/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
