Why are so many Americans the scum of the earth?

[shadroch]

Why,dispite living in the land of opportunity, do so many Americans turn to crime?
Why do so many end up in prison?
Why do Americans kill each other in numbers equal to the worst third world nations?
Why does democratic America have more citizens in its jails and prison than communist China,which has three times our population.
How does a poverty stricken third world country such as India,again with three times our population,have less criminals and murders than the leader of the free world?

[Opinion]

Originally Posted by shadroch

Why,dispite living in the land of opportunity, do so many Americans turn to crime?
Why do so many end up in prison?
Why do Americans kill each other in numbers equal to the worst third world nations?
Why does democratic America have more citizens in its jails and prison than communist China,which has three times our population.
How does a poverty stricken third world country such as India,again with three times our population,have less criminals and murders than the leader of the free world?

I think a lot of those in prison are for minor drug offenses?

Hyper capitalism - The media is full of messages that getting rich at any cost is acceptable.
Like the song - Get rich or die trying.
People are celebrated for being rich and not much else - Paris Hilton

Pornification of America - If the media treats women as sex objects then they are no longer human and their thoughts and feelings don't matter. If they are just objects then it is easier to sexually abuse women.

Tolerance of crime - Even though we have many in prison I think you will find that many of those nations with low crime rates don't tolerate crime.

Lack of education in morality and ethics? If you take religion out of society then you lose a mechanism for instilling moral behavior. If the ethics are to win at any cost then crime is more acceptable.

Perhaps the building feeling of entitlement. Another group is holding you down. An ethnicity or class or the government. If someone feels they are owed and don't get it then they may feel justified in taking it, especially from those groups that are holding them down.

[moo321]

The drug war is a big part of our problem. Whatever you feel about drugs, the cost of the drug war is far higher than the cost of people using illegal drugs.

[Gordon Gekko]

Because we're arrogant, greedy, inconsiderate, and we only care about ourselves. Didn't you know that?


gg

[Opinion]

The Chinese, Saudi and Iranian governments very intollerant.
Sudanese government killing it's own citizens.
North Korea with political prisoners.
Myromar starving it's own citizens.

Many parts of the world have higher drug abuse.

Women are second class in many parts of the world.

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by moo321

The drug war is a big part of our problem. Whatever you feel about drugs, the cost of the drug war is far higher than the cost of people using illegal drugs.

Amen, Brother Moo!!! zg

See - Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says

[Automatic Monkey]

Originally Posted by shadroch

Why,dispite living in the land of opportunity, do so many Americans turn to crime?
Why do so many end up in prison?
Why do Americans kill each other in numbers equal to the worst third world nations?
Why does democratic America have more citizens in its jails and prison than communist China,which has three times our population.
How does a poverty stricken third world country such as India,again with three times our population,have less criminals and murders than the leader of the free world?

I don't agree with the premise of your statement. Most of the Third World is violent and unless you are a big shot, when you are killed no one notices you are gone. At least when someone is murdered in America, there is a record made of it and an attempt is made at justice. In most cities of the world, bodies are found every morning. Honor killings, tribal feuds, these are the rule rather than the exception in most of the Third World, and the victims pass away without even becoming a statistic.

[shadroch]

The US leads the world in percentage of its citizens in jail.
It's murder rate is amongst the highest in the world.Believe whatever you want,just don't let the facts get in the way.

[Automatic Monkey]

Originally Posted by shadroch

The US leads the world in percentage of its citizens in jail.
It's murder rate is amongst the highest in the world.Believe whatever you want,just don't let the facts get in the way.

OK, so we put our criminals in jail, and we call our murderers murderers. Do you think crime in the US is something new? We're getting better at fighting it and keeping people in prison longer.

In the rest of the world, those same criminals would be heading clans and running villages. Go praise them for having a lower crime rate, if you want.

[aslan]

Originally Posted by shadroch

The US leads the world in percentage of its citizens in jail.
It's murder rate is amongst the highest in the world.Believe whatever you want,just don't let the facts get in the way.

I remember when it was safe to travel into Washington. DC, as a child of 12 without an adult. That was in the forties and fifties. Law enforcement was tough. It was probably unfair and discriminatory as well, but it worked. People respected the law. Now we have leaned so far in the opposite direction that sometimes criminals seem to have more rights than victims of crimes. I doubt there would be as many in jail if penalties were enforced as in the old days (fewer early outs, less mercy and more justice in sentencing), but there would be a lot more cases of injustices done to alleged criminals. How do you strike a balance in a country that wants no instances of injustice and thinks it an rehabilitate just about anyone? I wonder what the statistics say about the percentage of people in jail in the 40's/50's and the present day?