safehaven215

"Equal justice cannot be achieved in an unequal society. The justice system in American society merely reinforces those inequalities."

-Randall G. Shelden

There are two major reasons why society is always concerned with today's crime rate. The first reason is to maintain order in the world we live in. The second reason is simple. For a crime to be committed there must be a criminal and a victim. We the people are the potential victims that these criminal acts will be carried upon. Though these are two legitimate reasons why we should always be concerned with crime; crime also directs attention away from more threatening crimes that have ultimately put this country in the position that it is in today. For some reason this smoke screen of street crime has brainwashed all of us forcing us to think that this is our greatest criminal danger. The most common definition of the word crime is quite simple-the breaking of a law- this broad definition does not and cannot label all of those who have committed a crime. What this does is allow those who have power to chose what is a crime and what is not! It is in our human nature to in no way give ourselves a disadvantage no matter what the situation may be. My point is that those with power will make the rules (laws) so that they will conveniently lie in their favor. We (those who are not in power) must suffer because most things that we need to survive have been engulfed in penalties, licenses, fees, and taxes preventing us to live our lives. Now we are forced to violate these laws because we are trapped by these rules, and have no other choice. Those in power say, "Why do they behave that way!" "They are heathens!" "They act like animals!" Why? The reason they say this is because they don't live our lives! There is not a complete absence, but a huge difference of struggle in their lives compared to ours. They simply have not been forced in certain positions......yet! That's besides the point though. The point is that if we did not commit these small crimes, what would distract us from seeing exactly what was really going on! Why is gas about to hit five dollars a gallon? Why is it that we are still in Iraq? I'm curious, I'm sure you are too, but they can't tell us the reason why because they are too busy telling us about Jerome and Chris Jenkins who robbed a liquor store for three hundred dollars! Not telling you that Jerome and Chris just got laid off, and have to pay child support or they're going to jail! I'm not trying to justify anything I'm just saying that there are two sides to every story, and finally I'm ready to hear the other side for once.

Peace Trevor Winston Lee

"We must not say that an action shocks the common conscience because it is criminal, but rather that it is criminal because it shocks the common conscience. We do not reprove it because it is a crime, but it is a crime because we reprove it."

-Emile Durkheim