Why are serial killers and mass murders more prevalent in America? (middle east, accuse)

[middle-aged mom]

According to this somewhat dated site, the U.S. is #24 for muders per capita:


NationMaster - Murders (per capita) (most recent) by country

Many countries do not track or report crimes.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by ShepsMom

Let's see. We live in a "fast pace, money is everything" society, we have to work to live and not live to work. Parents have to work long hours to support their families, ignoring children education and not providing basic values (some!) Education is poor, teachers have no control over kids in school, no uniforms in school to promote equality. Video games, Junk television, violence, pornography, PG-13 rating will make your skin crawl. Media keeping us brainwashed and a lot of time concentrate on wrong things, glorifying negatives and talking less about positive. Young girls looking up to "idols" of mainstream celebrities without brains. Our society have no values, we can't live together as a family. The farther family away, the more we love them mentality, no culture....... Should i go on?

Exactly. the No. 1 prescribed drugs are anti-depressants.

[One Thousand]

Originally Posted by elvislives

Why do you think there is more school and workplace shootings in America than the rest of the world?

I suspect it's unreasonable expectations of the world around them and a fear of confrontation to resolve problems in a more natural fashion.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by TKramar

maybe it has something to do with the "roving" spirit of too many Americans--as far as serial killers go.

I believe people in other countries aren't as apt to move around as most Americans.

I don't agree with you very often, but here I have to agree that you have hit the nail on the head. The fact that Americans are so mobile and mostly live in large urban areas is a HUGE factor in the "success" of serial killers in this country. In a society where people move around all the time, where you seldom get to know your neighbors very well is a perfect environment for people like the Green River Killer (who actually worked less than a 1/4 mile from my home, and dumped a victim a few blocks away).

Think about it folks, how long would someone with murderous tendencies get away with it in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business (as it usually the case in a small town)? The answer is - not very long at all. In a place like that EVERYONE knows who the "troubled" people are - in fact, everyone knows EVERYTHING about EVERYONE. Same thing USED to be true even in the large cities because before so many folks had cars people still tended to know everyone in their neighborhood - even if that neighborhood happened to be in the middle of a large city. Someone might commit a murder once, but it's unlikely that he wouldn't be a suspect right away. And even if he hid those tendencies he would still probably be found out everyone comparing notes in regards to who was where at what time.

Nowadays however, with everyone having cars and the mobility that grants us, folks don't tend to hang around in their neighborhoods the way they used to. Instead, they move about as they wish and in effect we've all (well, many of us anyway) become sort of modern-day gypsies. The result is that no one really knows their neighbors so sick folks such as Ted Bundy etc can more easily hide their actions by simply committing their crimes in an area where no one recognizes or remembers them. They can successfully "pretend" to be normal while around their small circle of acquaintances and let their "true selves" come out only where off somewhere else with people who don't know them. And, when things start getting too hot, they can simply move on.

Ken

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by Tricky D

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948 It also happens to be the main reason why the blacks never dared to revolt against their 'master'.*
Every black American who owned a gun was in direct violation of the law so it was perfectly normal to shoot armed blacks on sight.

to be fair and stay on the post was about serial killers and mass murderers not many of them on the hood. but let us not color code the thread. as to hood shootings not alota white folks around mostly black on black violence. no master around, he gone. not shooting armed people that confront us is causing a whole lota problems. running and hiding is not working well. the law needs to change.

[60-minutes-II]

Originally Posted by Redisca

It's a bigger and more populous country than many of those "developed" nations, for one. It is also a country where wrong-doers enjoy extraordinary legal protections, even by standards of liberal democracies -- and thus those wrong-doers must commit many more mistakes (which often translates into many more crimes) in order to enable the State to put them away, than they would in, say, France. I think it would also be an error to assume that just because a country is "developed", it is reporting crime statistics to the public accurately. Just looking at Russia's list of serial killers on Wikipedia, I can tell you with certainty that there is no way -- NO WAY -- that list is anywhere near exhaustive. But Russia is a "developed" country -- wouldn't you agree? Some countries, for whatever reason, simply do not put serial killers in their own category; hence they have "zero" serial killers statistically, though not practically. Again, the statistic of each country must be looked at in context. Simply assuming the US has a more violent society in order to ask why it is more violent makes it a rhetorical question.

I agree with you on most of your points other than Russia. Russia is not a developed country. And Russia is more of a violent place than the US. It has half this nations population but the same number of gun crimes. And that is with guns being illegal in Russia. Imagine if the guns were legal to own.
I think the US has such a huge number of serial killers because we give them the society to "advance" in. Want to kill a bunch of people? Go ahead we'll make a movie about your murders after you die. <See the problem?

[younglisa7]

First off I don't think our punishments are harsh enough. Jails should be so awful that you would never want to go back. We have a prison about 30 minutes from where I am and they were actually proud because it has a great gym, media room, library and many more extras. A lot of people around here have nothing. The criminals actually like going there because it's nicer than their homes.

Secondly- if you are "found" guilty and there is "absolutely" no doubt why do they get to stay on death row for years. I'm sorry if it sounds harsh but the hard working, crime free Americans have to pay for this.

JMO,
Lisa

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by elvislives

Why do you think there is more school and workplace shootings in America than the rest of the world? Not to mention the abundance of serial killers?

What makes you think that they are? The news? The history channel?

Let's imagine a hypothetical island in the South Pacific. This island has a stable population of about 600 people. About once every ten years, one of the islanders has a problem of one sort or another that leads him or her to kill another islander. If you lived in such a place, would you feel like you could live out your life in relative peace and safety? I would.

Interestingly enough, the murder rate on such an island would be mathematically the same as the murder rate in the United States. We feel insecure and unsafe because we hear about bad things happening everyday. There is a constant stream of bad news right into our living rooms. It's not a broad conspiracy to keep people afraid, it's just an emergent property of a society that is addicted to instantaneously available news.

People in the United States are not qualitatively different from people anywhere else.

[elvislives]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

What makes you think that they are? The news? The history channel?

Let's imagine a hypothetical island in the South Pacific. This island has a stable population of about 600 people. About once every ten years, one of the islanders has a problem of one sort or another that leads him or her to kill another islander. If you lived in such a place, would you feel like you could live out your life in relative peace and safety? I would.

Interestingly enough, the murder rate on such an island would be mathematically the same as the murder rate in the United States. We feel insecure and unsafe because we hear about bad things happening everyday. There is a constant stream of bad news right into our living rooms. It's not a broad conspiracy to keep people afraid, it's just an emergent property of a society that is addicted to instantaneously available news.

People in the United States are not qualitatively different from people anywhere else.

another who didn't read the links

[elvislives]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

to be fair and stay on the post was about serial killers and mass murderers not many of them on the hood. but let us not color code the thread. as to hood shootings not alota white folks around mostly black on black violence. no master around, he gone. not shooting armed people that confront us is causing a whole lota problems. running and hiding is not working well. the law needs to change.

Black serial killers..... Black Serial Killers - St. Louis CofCC Static Webpage seems it not just a white thing...