The following is commentary intended for discussion. Add your comments.
When I was a young journalist, I think I probably bought into the notion that there are victimless crimes, such as personal use of illegal drugs, and we should live-and-let-live.
But my decades of experience in covering crime stories across the world have taught me otherwise.
Starting with personal use of illegal drugs, it wouldn’t seem to be something that would impact those besides the user. But it’s clear that whether it’s marijuana or fentanyl, users young and old are having a detrimental impact on the rest of society. One way in which that happens is that the drug users need money to buy their drugs but aren’t getting a proper education to be employable, or can’t pass employment drug tests, or have lost their motivation and ability to hold down a job. So they end up stealing drugs and money from family members and strangers. Sometimes these encounters turn violent and deadly.
Another way personal drug use impacts all of us is that even if the user is buying from someone they know, there is almost always a foreign drug cartel at the end of the line being enriched by trafficking the drugs that end up in the hands of Americans. These cartels are responsible for unthinkable violence and horrors, yet we are making them rich beyond their wildest imaginations.
That ties into another way in which seemingly victimless crimes impact us. The illegal border crossings likewise enrich cartels and the human traffickers who work for them. The open border allows record amounts of drugs to illegally come into the US from China and other countries. We have a record number of drug deaths and record high costs in terms of money to deal with the accompanying homelessness, mental illness, and other problems.
Prostitution typically brings in a criminal element that destroys neighborhoods in terms of value and safety. Prostitutes are also spreading diseases including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The cost to society when it comes to medical treatment and care is large. According to CDC, nearly half of all transgenders in major cities (many of the prostitutes) are infected with HIV. The same survey finds the majority of black transgenders in big cities have HIV. They are spreading a debilitating disease that requires a lifetime of expensive medicine to try to manage– and we’re footing the bill for that with patients who are too poor to afford their own medical care.
It may be like the famous Broken Window theory. When officials give up on enforcing the law when it comes to seemingly victimless crimes, it invites escalating costs and more crime to spiral out of control.
Agree or disagree? Leave your comments below.
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Wasted human potential is an incalculable cost to society; one which few even attempt to quantify. And it often affects people who aren’t drug-addicted.
That wasted potential, I believe, comes from a hopelessness which is pervasive among hugh swaths of America, and the world. It comes from a lack of a fixed-point. It comes from denying that there is Good, and there is Evil. In turning from God, we sow confusion, doubt. We look for meaning in ourselves, our planet, our tribe, our intellect. We become judge. We see those in disagreement with our new, self-made religion as heretics. And our sphere grows tighter and smaller – a “famine of the mind” – Milton.
Barbara Lawson,
https://sharylattkisson.com/2023/12/poll-jewish-people-more-threatened-than-muslims-in-us/#comment-178845
Barbara Lawson,
https://sharylattkisson.com/2023/12/poll-jewish-people-more-threatened-than-muslims-in-us/#comment-178845
Wasted human potential is an incalculable cost to society; one which few even attempt to quantify. And it often affects people who aren’t drug-addicted.
That wasted potential, I believe, comes from a hopelessness which is pervasive among hugh swaths of America, and the world. It comes from a lack of a fixed-point. It comes from denying that there is Good, and there is Evil. In turning from God, we sow confusion, doubt. We look for meaning in ourselves, our planet, our tribe, our intellect. We become judge. We see those in disagreement with our new, self-made religion as heretics. And our sphere grows tighter and smaller – a “famine of the mind” – Milton.
1000% agree and columns such as these with your discussion points were fairly common as I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago! Now you can see the filth and destruction as you drive around this progressive city! I notice it more when I visit as I now live in the MidSouth.
1000% agree and columns such as these with your discussion points were fairly common as I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago! Now you can see the filth and destruction as you drive around this progressive city! I notice it more when I visit as I now live in the MidSouth.
true. not only do these people ruin their own lives, they make their families and friends miserable, they as you state, most of the time end up in crime after some time. And those that end on the streets, bring a peril to even more people. Having a garden and countryside also might help, living in concrete blocks makes me depressed. I wonder if living in the countryside could heal some of these broken souls.
true. not only do these people ruin their own lives, they make their families and friends miserable, they as you state, most of the time end up in crime after some time. And those that end on the streets, bring a peril to even more people. Having a garden and countryside also might help, living in concrete blocks makes me depressed. I wonder if living in the countryside could heal some of these broken souls.
Blessings to you Sharyl this Christmas,
Great article. My son started off with alcohol and marijuna in 10th grade. He was a very smart kid with a great personality. He over came his marijuna addiction but never beat the alcophol addiction. At age 49 it killed him.
My wife and I spent tons of money and years of heart ache trying to help him. It almost destroyed us. You are 100% correct. Drugs and alcohol effect many more than just the user.
The good news is : He loved our Lord Jesus and I know he is in Heaven where the divine healer fixed him.
Billy
Blessings to you Sharyl this Christmas,
Great article. My son started off with alcohol and marijuna in 10th grade. He was a very smart kid with a great personality. He over came his marijuna addiction but never beat the alcophol addiction. At age 49 it killed him.
My wife and I spent tons of money and years of heart ache trying to help him. It almost destroyed us. You are 100% correct. Drugs and alcohol effect many more than just the user.
The good news is : He loved our Lord Jesus and I know he is in Heaven where the divine healer fixed him.
Billy
Sharyl and Full Measure Team,
The world’s FOREMOST victimized
race : White-Civil-Society-type
Caucasians !, as all the world wishes
to tap into that heritable talent (( why
black men prefer white girls/women;
and, beginning in the Eighties, charged
them with racism if not agreeing to
date )) :
More (( G E N O C I D A L ))
Forced Integration
—to give minority
men access to
white
girls/women
(( the underlying purpose
of
Brown v. Board of Education )) :
https://www.independentsentinel.com/democrats-from-biden-to-hochul-are-targeting-suburban-homeowners/
-Rick
Sharyl and Full Measure Team,
The world’s FOREMOST victimized
race : White-Civil-Society-type
Caucasians !, as all the world wishes
to tap into that heritable talent (( why
black men prefer white girls/women;
and, beginning in the Eighties, charged
them with racism if not agreeing to
date )) :
More (( G E N O C I D A L ))
Forced Integration
—to give minority
men access to
white
girls/women
(( the underlying purpose
of
Brown v. Board of Education )) :
https://www.independentsentinel.com/democrats-from-biden-to-hochul-are-targeting-suburban-homeowners/
-Rick
This is what happens after years/decades of biopharma cartel indoctrination from the womb to the tomb. Keep believing in chemistry for a healthier life, brought to you by Pfizer and the cartels.
This is what happens after years/decades of biopharma cartel indoctrination from the womb to the tomb. Keep believing in chemistry for a healthier life, brought to you by Pfizer and the cartels.
At the risk of being blunt, DUH. When you are a parent, teacher, cop or social worker, you quickly see how condoning lesser bad behaviors enables worse. I think Barbara said it well. It basically comes down to people thinking they are greater than God and the lack of discernment of good vs evil filters down from that. The social justice warriors do not think things through. Building up oneself in good character traits such as honesty, hard work, discipline, empathy, responsibility, etc makes society function better and the individual more joyful and satisfied too. The Democrat party’s actions of doing the opposite has proven to be destructive to society.
xNYorker,
Root Cause of Whites’ High-Culture Decline :
Hollywood’s Formula for Destruction :
https://sharylattkisson.com/2023/05/report-un-says-confidence-in-childhood-vaccines-down-over-40-worldwide/#comment-169356
-Rick
xNYorker,
Root Cause of Whites’ High-Culture Decline :
Hollywood’s Formula for Destruction :
https://sharylattkisson.com/2023/05/report-un-says-confidence-in-childhood-vaccines-down-over-40-worldwide/#comment-169356
-Rick
At the risk of being blunt, DUH. When you are a parent, teacher, cop or social worker, you quickly see how condoning lesser bad behaviors enables worse. I think Barbara said it well. It basically comes down to people thinking they are greater than God and the lack of discernment of good vs evil filters down from that. The social justice warriors do not think things through. Building up oneself in good character traits such as honesty, hard work, discipline, empathy, responsibility, etc makes society function better and the individual more joyful and satisfied too. The Democrat party’s actions of doing the opposite has proven to be destructive to society.
The “Broken Window Theory” is a perfect way to think about the end result of taking personal drugs. I have seen the legal making and marketing of personal drugs in Canada, starting to tear what little was left of any Canadian culture and identity down, and maybe the causes of problematic issues seen in the younger generations with excess anxiety and depression. It’s a sad way to lead a perfectly good country down a very dangerous road. Please don’t let the USA follow!
The “Broken Window Theory” is a perfect way to think about the end result of taking personal drugs. I have seen the legal making and marketing of personal drugs in Canada, starting to tear what little was left of any Canadian culture and identity down, and maybe the causes of problematic issues seen in the younger generations with excess anxiety and depression. It’s a sad way to lead a perfectly good country down a very dangerous road. Please don’t let the USA follow!
LIKE ALL THE TIME= YOUR RIGHT TRUTH ANGLE
LIKE ALL THE TIME= YOUR RIGHT TRUTH ANGLE
I agree, Ms. Attkisson. I add to your examples, pornography. The old excuse, “everyone does it” has become even more true – school kids younger than eight are accessing hardcore pornography via the internet. Boys are sexually assaulting and raping girls, even at school. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, child pornography, and the seldom spoken of, Ill treatment, dehumanization, objectification of women and girls in western societies. Many of us older women are horrified by the changes, and have read many accounts of young men with (extreme sexual expectations) whilst having (functional challenges). The divide between the sexes is growing exponentially.
I agree, Ms. Attkisson. I add to your examples, pornography. The old excuse, “everyone does it” has become even more true – school kids younger than eight are accessing hardcore pornography via the internet. Boys are sexually assaulting and raping girls, even at school. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, child pornography, and the seldom spoken of, Ill treatment, dehumanization, objectification of women and girls in western societies. Many of us older women are horrified by the changes, and have read many accounts of young men with (extreme sexual expectations) whilst having (functional challenges). The divide between the sexes is growing exponentially.
Agree 100%
Agree 100%
Completely agree.
‘Victimless crimes’ is a ruse pushed by those segments of society which have – to put it ridiculously politely – a deficient understanding of the concept of responsibility.
Completely agree.
‘Victimless crimes’ is a ruse pushed by those segments of society which have – to put it ridiculously politely – a deficient understanding of the concept of responsibility.
You make some great points, but there’s also another side of this argument. You address personal choices and their consequences that are part of an overall harmful social structure. But what about the personal and responsible individual choice, for example, to consume pot from legal sources in various states? The joke goes: If 5 guys get together and drink alcohol, they’ll start a fight. If 5 guys get together and smoke pot, they’ll start a band.
There’s also the casual wine or beer or cocktail drinkers who never harm anyone, either in the supply chain or in the consumption of those products.
If you consider all personal choices in light of the most extreme and destructive manifestation of them, you are asking for prohibition…and we all know how that turned out.
I have friends who have painful autoimmune conditions who no longer can get drugs strong enough to manage their pain now because some people have promoted and abused opioids. My late husband was dying of cancer and his doctor refused to replace his morphine drip when it ran out…because there’s a risk of addiction! And a relative in hospice care who was recently dying of cancer, screaming “Help me!” in agonizing pain, could not get the Fentanyl patch… that 15 years ago gave my mom comfort when she was dying of cancer…simply because today Fentanyl is trafficked and abused.
It’s a slippery slope to criticize something that has both positive and negative applications and potentials….because that criticism becomes judgment, which can lead to limitation…and finally prohibition. I urge us all to consider the bigger picture and think critically.
Different people have different experiences with marijuana. One must be able to play music or sing to start a band. If you have only resentment and lies in your head there’s nothing positive about being high.
You make some great points, but there’s also another side of this argument. You address personal choices and their consequences that are part of an overall harmful social structure. But what about the personal and responsible individual choice, for example, to consume pot from legal sources in various states? The joke goes: If 5 guys get together and drink alcohol, they’ll start a fight. If 5 guys get together and smoke pot, they’ll start a band.
There’s also the casual wine or beer or cocktail drinkers who never harm anyone, either in the supply chain or in the consumption of those products.
If you consider all personal choices in light of the most extreme and destructive manifestation of them, you are asking for prohibition…and we all know how that turned out.
I have friends who have painful autoimmune conditions who no longer can get drugs strong enough to manage their pain now because some people have promoted and abused opioids. My late husband was dying of cancer and his doctor refused to replace his morphine drip when it ran out…because there’s a risk of addiction! And a relative in hospice care who was recently dying of cancer, screaming “Help me!” in agonizing pain, could not get the Fentanyl patch… that 15 years ago gave my mom comfort when she was dying of cancer…simply because today Fentanyl is trafficked and abused.
It’s a slippery slope to criticize something that has both positive and negative applications and potentials….because that criticism becomes judgment, which can lead to limitation…and finally prohibition. I urge us all to consider the bigger picture and think critically.