Argument-based Homicide In Ame :: essays research papers fc

Argument-based Homicide in America Feeling alienated by fellow classmates, two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO who referred to themselves as the Trench Coat Mafia went on a rampant killing spree which took the lives of themselves, twelve other students and one teacher (Obmascik 1). This incident caused an immediate plea for more socially responsible communities, assuming that greater moral values would curb the likelihood of these argument-related homicides. This relies on the notion that greater social organization will lead to a decrease in the rate of crime. Dov Cohen, in her article "Culture, Social Organization, and Patterns of Violence" shows that in the West (which includes Colorado) and South, where a culture of honor persists, there is a higher rate of argument-related homicide that in other areas of the country (the North). More specifically, in the South and West, more organized societies have a higher rate of argument-related homicides than less stable ones. Argument-related homicides are far more prevalent in the South and West than they are in the North (Cohen 412). This is not merely supported by the number of argument-related homicides in the given regions, but also by the beliefs within the cultures. Southerners and Westerners support honor-related violence more than Northerners and also react more aggressively when insulted (Cohen 408). In addition, laws in the South and West are more likely to support those who use violence consistent with honor (Cohen 409). For these reasons, it is hardly surprising that argument-related homicide is more common in these regional locations. The more stable communities within these regions are more likely to be on the extreme sides. The morals ingrained in the more stable Northern communities do not find this behavior acceptable and argument-based homicide is therefore more common in less stable communities. The opposite is true in the South and West. The stronger communities condone these actions and they become more common than in those places that are morally more blasà ©. Nevertheless, the most striking difference is the regional difference between the communities of the South and West and the communities of the North. The correlation between the homicides in more stable and less stable communities for the given regions is striking. In the North, the homicide rate per 100,000 for white males ages 15-39 is 4.7 in a stable community and 6.7 in an unstable community (Cohen 412). In the South and West, however, the numbers are much higher.

Malls Are Actually a Haven for Crime

Imagine getting out of your car to go shopping at the mall. You do not plan on staying long; you just have some more Christmas shopping that you need to do. You have your budget, your list of items to buy, and you are in a hurry to get it all done by the time the mall closes. You are proud of yourself for how organized you are. It seems that you have everything planned according to what you need, however, that is not the case.   As you walk into the first store on your list, you reach for your wallet and realize that it is gone. You dig in your pockets, but find no trace. While you were in the mall, someone had stolen your wallet. One thing that you did not plan on was to be a victim of a mall crime. Although malls seem fun and relatively safe, the rate of crime that occurs at malls is growing higher and higher. From credit card theft to sex crimes, the mall is no longer a place that you can stroll through without any worries. The mall is now a haven for crime. In this argument, we will review the amount of crimes that occur in malls, the people who are targeted, and how the crimes may be prevented. Because the rate for crimes in malls seems to be increasing with each year, many people are afraid to go out shopping anymore. Although internet shopping is growing more and more popular, the cost of shipping alone is enough to make you brave your busy mall for those single items that you need. Though the crime rate is high at malls, customers must not forgo their mall experience simply out of fear. On the contrary, they must become more aware of themselves while at the mall and must simply be careful. The amount of crimes that occur in malls is astounding. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for example, there have been twenty-six assaults at the Monroeville mall within the last two years, eleven burglaries at the Station Square mall, nine robberies at the Monroeville mall, three-hundred-fifty-two thefts at the Monroeville mall, ten sex crimes at the Robinson mall, fifteen drug crimes at the Robinson mall and seven gun crimes at the Monroeville mall. These numbers are relatively low compared to statistics throughout the country (www.thepittsburghchannel.com). Mall security and store owners both know that the crime rate is higher when the mall has more visitors. Although large crowds often bring in large amounts of money, they also bring in a larger number of those who are up to no good. A large reason that the crime rate is so high in shopping malls is that, according to www.beverlypd.org, a website designed to prevent mall crime, sixty-five percent of malls are located in high crime areas. Twenty-five percent of malls are located in places that have almost three times more than the national crime risk. Though the statistics are unnerving, knowing who is targeted can help decrease risk of becoming a victim. When it comes to the question of who can be the victim of a mall crime, the answer would be anyone. There are, however, those who are more likely to be victimized. Consequently, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website about victim information (www.ojp.usdoj.gov), the highest rate of victimization is those who are between the ages of twelve and twenty-four. Although elderly theft seems like it would be the highest, possibly due to media influence, the amount of elderly who have been victims of theft has gone down considerably. Young people are seen as being less cautious as old people, thus they may be targeted more than anyone else. They are also less likely to report a crime than older people. Although the rate of mall crime is high with the specific age range, there are steps that anyone can practice the next time they visit the mall. Several tips for shoppers were provided by www.kevincoffee.com and www.signonsandiego.com: 1.Never put your purchases down inside of the mall. They can be snatched before you have time to react. 2.Try to put your purchases in one or two bags, so that you are not juggling them to the point that you are not paying attention to your purse or wallet. 3.Before leaving the mall, make sure that you have your keys out so that you do not have to fumble with them as you are walking to the car. 4. Avoid going to the mall at night. Daylight is your best option. However, if it is unavoidable, then before exiting the mall at night, park your car in a well lit area and when you are through shopping ask a security guard to escort you to your car. You do not know who could be lurking nearby. 5.Put your purchases in the trunk of your car. Nothing is more appealing to a thief than a pile of shopping bags that are visible in a car. While the mall has crime rates that perhaps few people know about, the key to being safe is to know the facts. Everyone deserves the basic right of shopping in the mall without having to worry about being the victim of a crime. It takes effort, however, to gain that right back.   If everyone would follow the basic steps above, a large percentage of the mall crime rate could be decreased. Although the percentages may seem like numbers, remember that every number is simply a representation of a person and that the next time, the person could be you. Read also: Snatch Theft Essay Works Cited Coffey, Kevin. â€Å"Avoiding Pickpockets.† Detective Kevin Coffey. 2006. 11 Dec. 2006 . David, Kristina. â€Å"To Make Your Spirits Bright, Avoid Theft.† Sign on Sandiego. 25 Nov. 2006. 11 Dec. 2006 â€Å"Office of Justice Programs.† Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2006. 11 Dec. 2006 â€Å"Local Mall Crime Rates Increase.† The Pittsburgh Channel. 17 Dec. 2006. 11 Dec. 2006 . â€Å"Shopping Mall Crime Prevention.† Beverly Pd. 2006. 11 Dec. 2006 .                           

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen - 1588 Words

â€Å"If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination† (Ebert vii). These scathing remarks are the result of an unfortunate encounter between Roger Ebert, the renowned acrid movie critic of the 20 and 21st century, and the 2009 blockbuster film â€Å"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen†. Though this was just one man’s opinion, however passionately negative, of a movie that grossed nearly half a billion dollars at the box office (imdb.com), we must consider Ebert’s 46 years in the field, best-selling novels based on this topic, a Pulitzer Prize, and assume that his apprehension, in both senses of the term, of the motion picture was at least slightly accurate. But it was not just he who was dismayed by the lack of cinematic finesse; the movie critique website Rotten Tomatoes defines the mov ie as, â€Å"a noisy, underplotted, and overlong special effects extravaganza that lacks a human touch† (rottentomatoes.com), and Metacritic, a media critique website that uses a numerical formula to judge a piece’s quality, gave â€Å"Transformers† a 35%, which, according to them, means the movie was â€Å"generally unfavorable† (metacritic.com). So if â€Å"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen† really was â€Å"A horrible experience of unbearable length† (More Movies that Suck), why was it so lucrative? Could it possibly be that the film had such anShow MoreRelatedTransformer Metaphor1944 Words   |  8 PagesThese kinds of movies are regarded as joint-military force movies, and one of the largest joint-military movies is Transformers, which was released in 2007. The third series was recently released, which is now being processed into a 3D version to be released in the coming months. The movie series includes Transformers (2007), Trans formers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and Transformers: The Dark of the Moon (2010). All three movies have tapped into the common fear of war, because the period of theRead MoreDeath Of The Fallen At The Rancho 16883 Words   |  4 Pagesthe side. While the accident was non collision the car and my young mind were hardly unscathed. It was a weird day from the very beginning, my mom announced out the nowhere that me and two brothers were going to the movies to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the Rancho 16 which I found strange because I didn t think I deserve such a rare treat. Before my mother and I left for the afternoon showing we drove the summer school where my brothers were picked up. 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Looking back a decade and a half later, consumer demand has clearly spoken: six of the last ten highest grossing movies were based on comic books: Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man 3, The Avengers, Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen, The Dark Knight , and Spider-Man 3 (Lev-Ram, 2015). Today, studios have demonstrated confidence that this trend will continue. For example, movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are scheduled out until at least 2019, with Inhumans