Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts

Sunday, December 5, 2021

When Reality Strikes Too Close to Home

As we approach Christmas, a time when Christians are supposed to remember the salvation of their souls by a merciful God who sent his Son to earth to atone for our sins it seems kind of ironic the most progressive and liberal among us are now being confronted by their own choices.

Recently, a killer broke into the home of Clarence Avant and killed his wife, Jacqueline Avant.  Ms. Avant, who at 81 was a long-time Philanthropist and supporter of liberal causes.  Also attacked were Droit Kemsley, a star from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and Terrance J, a host from BET were both targeted by “flash mob” robbers.  It seems crime is beginning to affect even the rich and isolated of Beverly Hills, or as Oprah Winfrey, also known as a progressive who likes to give things away, says: "it has “shaken the laws of the universe.”

Crime and violence are not supposed to directly affect those who can afford their own security, who support the release of violent felons back into their neighborhoods, or who fund causes, where felons are the good guys and cops, are the enemy.  Those "good guys and gals" are supposed to stay where they belong and prey on those who also live in those areas, leaving the rich to feel good about helping society.

As Ann Althouse[1] points out radical leadership is concerned enough to say “They're trying to move us backward,' said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles. 'We don't want to move backward; we want to move forward... We need to think about what kind of economic desperation actually creates property crime and how do we get people out of that state... How do we create livable wage jobs? How do we create affordable housing?'"  All great ideas until those rich liberals are actually expected to make choices that may affect their own standards of living.

The problem with all these movements is no one is really willing or able to address how dependence on the government is destroying the essential building blocks of society.  When these building blocks are gone, society will fail and we will have to start over.  The first block is a family.  Not a family unit, but a real family where there is a mother, a father, children who are taught common values by their parents and aren’t just turned into wards of the state.  The second block is a community where all the members share common values of hope (for a future better than today), respect (for the rights of others), and value for themselves and those around them.  The final building block is a trust for a standard of laws that are blind to the color of skin, gender, and the wealth or power (or lack) of the accused.

Friday, October 14, 2011

To Deter or Not Deter, That is the Question?


In the news today there is an article about a billionaire convicted of insider trading in the stock market.  He was sentenced to 11 years, while the Government was hoping for 20 to send a clear message and deter future traders from violating the law.  That got me to wondering; does sentence length or even the death penalty deter future criminal behavior?  Have we seen a marked decrease in criminal activity as more people are placed into prison?
When we imprison people behind walls, away from the public, they quickly move to the “out of sight, out of mind” category and we move on with our everyday lives.  At least those of us not directly affected by their crimes do.  So how do we convey the lesson that criminal activity is wrong, when we don’t teach civics, or ethics, or morality in school, and so many parents don’t teach it at home?
With the abolishment of public stocks, flogging, or execution as “uncivilized” we have made punishment an abstract until someone is caught and then it is too late to have deterred anything.   Locally, shoplifters are now required to place their picture in the paper with the statement they were convicted of retail theft.  I wonder if it is the start of a trend that will bring back the old pillory, dunking ponds, scarlet letters and such?

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