Several tragic acts of violence have permeated the papers and web sites around America recently. The Christian Science Monitor posed the question Monday if such horrors are rooted in the nation’s recession.
The article by Patrik Jonsson cites several cases: gunned down officers in Oakland, California, an Alabama shooting spree, a North Carolina nursing home massacre, and a murder-suicide in Santa Clara, California.
Are such cases really a reflection of anguish stemming from hard
financial times? What I glean from Jonsson’s
story is that there’s not really a direct correlation between
tragedy and recession. But factors from an economic downturn
— a lost job, a home foreclosure, a pay cut or wage freeze —
simply increase the strain on those of us peddling in the economic
engine. It sadly spurs some to commit unthinkable acts.
Here’s a quote from the
story that sums it up best in my estimation:
“Most of these mass killings are precipitated by some catastrophic loss, and when the economy goes south, there are simply more of these losses,” says Jack Levin, a noted criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.
Sort of related: I applied for my CPL on Tuesday and right behind me were three other people, including a woman, also applying.