Doesn't Matter

I just finished reading “Why They Kill” by Richard Rhodes.

Well, it isn’t really by Richard Rhodes.  He wrote it, but he’s acting as an abridger for Dr. Lonnie Athens.

Rhodes, because of his traumatic childhood, is interested in what makes a boy bad.  In the course of his investigation he “discovered” Lonnie Athens.  Dr. Athens did extensive work interviewing criminals behind bars and has evolved a theory called The Process of Violentization.

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it.  

I didn’t think it was.  The book is really more of a detailed abridged digest of Athen’s theories and supporting evidence, rather than fun reading.  If you work in the field of preventing children from growing into monsters, you should be aware of this book. 

Dr. Athens doesn’t believe in the bad child.  One can almost hear him in the role of Lennie Bruce’s Father Flatski.

“Come on out Dutch.  There’s no such thing as a bad boy.  Killing twelve people doesn’t make a boy bad…..”

Dr. Athens believes they are formed into killers by the influences of their childhood.  He very well may have a point.

I, on the other hand, believe some people are just evil, but that not what I need to discuss.

The important part of the book, to me, is that violence is always a choice made in advance of the act.  It’s not a dead end street trap that forces itself on the actor.  We read of some incomprehensible act and we cannot understand why. 

We make excuses for the actor, ask if they were high or wonder if they’re mentally unhinged.  These rationales let us think that we can understand what happened.  And with this understanding we are somehow shielded from or at the least, capable of avoiding this violence.  We believe, we assume, we can avoid being a pothole on the next actor’s dead-end path. 

But the violence wasn’t random, the victim was.  The actor decided in advance, made a conscious decision they were going to rob, rape, kill, beat-to-death someone.  The decision is made, then they act.

Do not lull yourself into a false sense of safety by saying it would make no sense to be shot/robbed/kidnapped/raped…  Or you can avoid being trapped by actor who suddenly discovers that violence is the only option.

Just because you don’t know the reason, never doubt there is a reason and that a decision has been made. 

Do not waste time and energy wondering about a reason or motivation, but move right into defending yourself against a perceived threat.