So, I just read this photo-journal article. It was just showing all these crimes that had been committed by children who had grown up in wealthy families. The article talks about the crotch bomber, John Hinkcley Jr., the Menendez brothers, and even Osama bin Laden. In it's own way the article makes a link between priviledged childhood and a criminal adulthood.
I suppose that raises the question of whether or not their is a causal link or not. Are kids from middle class or even poor families just as likely to commit these crimes. Does the degree of criminal behavior change as you increase or decrease the amount of access a child has to money and possesions. Are their ways for wealthy parents to avoid these risks with their children?
I have some of my own ideas, but I think these questions should absolutely be looked into. In my opinion there is a degree of boredom and the inability to be satiated that can drive young adults to do these things and live lives of crime. The Loeb brothers in the article for example. First, they lacked the necessary love and affection we all need as humans. Second, they had everything they could want. So, in that theory they should have never been bored. However, when everything is available or you can get it, those things become boring. The things you can't have or do become very exciting. Murder is about control, which they didn't really have over their lives, so they murdered because it was something they weren't allowed to do and at the very least it would be interesting. (Just my opionion, I don't know anything about them for sure.)
Of course, not all rich spoiled kids will be criminals. Just look at the Hilton family; those kids haven't killed anyone, yet. However, they are wreckless and there have been a number of DUIs in that family. There are a lot of risks associated with wealth, especially when parents allow posessions to parent their children.
This is just a note to parents and a plea for more research to be done. This is not a good sign for our society and it couldn't hurt to learn how to stop the trend.
Suicide
13 years ago
1 comment:
This is an interesting post. We hear about these children from wealthy families who either turn out to be major criminals or wreckless young adults, but how many more children from wealthy families turn out to be fine upstanding citizens (that's just a fun term to say- fine upstanding citizens)? Or just normal people who don't do anything extraordinary one way or another, but happen to come from wealthy families. We also hear about some people who inherit wealth from their families and do a lot of good with that wealth. I like to hear about those. :)
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