Voilence in America

Violence in America

America has the largest number of people behind bars for violent crimes and on the highest homicide rates in the world. It has been noted that the American definition of violent crimes constitutes a smaller spectrum of crimes than European and Asian countries. The homicide and violent crime of the United States is comparable to that of disturbed East European and South East Asian regions. It’s been noted that 45.9% of the crimes between 1974 and 2004 are committed by whites; blacks make up a 52.1% and other races about 2%. One big factor that plays into the violence in America is the ownership of guns. Because in America its sociably acceptability to walk around with guns and then you add impulsive behavior to that, it is no surprise that that the violent crimes that are committed in America are due to guns. Its more normal to have a gun than to see a kid walking around on a cellphone. If we went back in time a little say around the 1700s and early 1800s, it would be no problem for an American to carry a gun to protect themselves from wild animals or predators. In America today it hardly makes any sense. Along with the serious issue of guns playing a huge role in the part of violence in America, another issue is the income inequality and poverty in America. In parts of the country that are lower class, it is filled with inadequate levels of housing and healthcare and unemployment. It has been noted that the lower socioeconomic class engages in more criminal activity than those that are considered financially well off. These people tend to be desperate for whatever they can get. Usually they can barely afford to live day to day and most times are extremely likely to suffer from some form of mental disorder. Also the level, if any, of motivation toward hopefully one day being successful, is most times usually non exists. This problem that is present in the lower class can be described as epidemic because it spreads like a bad case of the flu and in these areas it destroys what these people rely on as survival. In these areas usually 25% of kids under the age of 6 are living in poverty. These kids are at extreme high risk of getting involved with drugs and alcohol and most likely will suffer from mental disorder. When you have people that lack money and resources along with finding some way to make ends meet, comes the activity of dealing drugs or stealing cars, or maybe

committing an armed robbery. These are usually actions that come into play when the desperation for money becomes severe. There is no denying that America is a severely stratified society. Stratified means too form into status groups or other groups based on status. In America, our society is made up of societies that are made up of people from the population who are similar in terms of income. The high class consists of few people who are extremely wealthy and they also maintain enormous amounts of resources. A larger part of America’s society population makes up the lower class which suffer both economically and socially as a result of poverty. Currently, the poorest 20% of America’s households receive merely 3.5% of America’s cumulative income and the top 20% of America’s household receive more than 50% of the country’s income. According to a report by World Wealth there are approximately 2 million people in this country who have at least over 1millon in assets while worldwide there are approximately 7million people who contain at least 1million in assets. There are criminologists that think and believe that the disadvantaged (lower class) that exist in America are the leading cause of crime. There are social structure theories that suggest that economic and social forces that operate within lower class areas force many people into engaging in criminal activities. Crime does occur within the upper and middle classes but the crime that takes place in the lower class usually produces more serious criminal behavior that usually begins at youth and continues during adulthood. There are social theorists that argue that environment plays a huge role into the behavior of those that are considered lower class. If it was not due to the environment then crime and violence would be even distributed across the structure of the society. Due to the fact that violence and crime seems to be higher in lower class areas than the middle class areas its obvious that areas where the lower class reside are areas that are highly influencing and therefore controlling most of the behavior (crime and violence) that seems to take place. There are social conflict therioes that state that crime arises in usually to political conditions. There are Liberals that believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all. Also that it is the duty of the government to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and each individual and human rights. They believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. But this is one of the issues. The government overlooks so much when it comes to the lower class and therefore the issues with crime hang in these particular areas the way that the do. Then there are the Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems. What should be done when there is an individual that needs assistance or better yet someone or a group to show that there is better in our society. Just because you or your family may not have the wealth or the resources of the high class there is some social group or some type of resource that can aid the individual and the individual’s family to get on their feet and strive for more. If there seems to be a problem between lower class and higher class their conventional goals, rules and norms, than logically it would make sense to provide the lower class with more opportunities and to know how it feels to experience rewards of this society to the individual and the individual’s family. If it is possible to provide those of the lower class that are really struggling to live day to day with some sort of financial aid through a specific welfare program, that could possibly solve some of the issues of violence in the lower class areas of America. There has been research that has shown that crime declines when a family is able to receive income from public assistance in order to pay for much needed resources. If increased law enforcement and some type of educational service could be offered in these areas this could possibly cut down on the violence and crime that seem to take place at an increased number in these areas. Also if members of the lower class didn’t feel as if they were some “different” part of our society, that would help with making them feel as if there is something to look forward to in the future regarding the individual and the individual’s family. This could be something as such as education, training, and seeking employment to better themselves and their family. This being only one of the many issues in America, if addressed the correct way this could possibly end America’s numbers of being as high as they are in crime and violence.