Various theories like the nature theory have been proposed in efforts to explain the occurrence of criminal and antisocial behavior. Behaviors, including criminal activity, are based on various factors such as the social environment, psychology, and biology, among others. According to the nature theory, criminal activity and deviance can be attributed to certain predetermined biological conditions, which increase the tendency to commit a crime. Therefore, this implies that involvement in the crime was a product of characteristics based on biology. Nature theories link biological functions such as hormone levels, neurophysiology conditions like having disabilities, and genetically inherited conditions that are uniquely identifiable, to locate the abnormalities present in individuals who commit a crime. Besides this, the nature theory explores processes of the kind such as decision making, moral reasoning, emotion regulation, and impulse control, among others, which influence criminal behavior. The nature theory differs from sociological theories in that the latter looks at how society influences or perpetuates criminal behavior.
Topic 2: Merits and Demerits of Capital Punishment
In simple terms, capital punishment refers to an instance where the punishment for criminal behavior is death. It is the death penalty while having both merits and demerits in the society. To all, irrespective of culture and background, the concept of death is fearful, making the death penalty the most significant deterrent to crime. Punishment is meant to cause deterrent, so death means to prevent criminals from crimes that are considered as grave in society. Besides this, the penalty protects individuals from criminals who have no capability to reform and integrate peacefully back into society. This eliminates serious offenders from society. On the other hand, capital punishment is a sin according to major religions since murder is considered a sin. Capital punishment is an injustice when taking into account people who have been framed for their crimes. Besides this, the concept of death is still unexplored as opponents argue that death is just a perception and may not be as bad as we think it is. As an alternative, life imprisonment is recommended to make criminals atone for their crimes while they are still alive.
PART 2
Video 1A:
In the video, The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie highlights dangers arising from the society perpetuating stereotypes of specific people around the world. Adichie TED talk purpose is not to rebuke the audience on their ignorance on people in other places of the world and their lives, but rather, she emphasizes how these misconceptions exist in all societies (Adichie, 2009). The use of personal narratives in the talk presents concepts of social imagination in the global context, which tries to link personal experiences to the greater society. At a young age, most of her stories and illustrations are based on British characters with white and blue eyes, ate apples, and played in the snow despite her being Nigerian (Adichie, 2009). This perception had been determined by the foreign nature of the books she had read. However, her perception of society changes when she starts to read African books, which made her notice and write about the things she recognized. In this aspect, Adichie’s talk shows the danger of how stereotypes shape the lives of individuals based on incomplete single stories.
Video 2:
The video How to Tell Someone They Sound Racist by Jay Smooth focuses on essential aspects of racism. Modern societies have always been plagued with issues of race, influencing the relations and interactions between different people. Irrespective of the context, the speaker emphasizes the correct way to approach individuals who we perceive to be racist (Smooth, 2008). He asserts that one needs to have a plan on their approach, and they need to recognize the difference between the “what they did” and the “what they are” conversations. This is paramount because the first is determined majorly by the individual actions taken to show that the people are racist. Unlike this perspective, the latter focuses n the nature of the person to determine their racist nature. According to Smooth (2008), this is the wrong kind of conversation to have since it is wholly based on speculations of their intentions to the actions taken. The video is helpful in that it confrontations on racism need to be grounded on facts in making the people take accountability for their racist actions.
Video 3:
Racism and its depictions manifest themselves in subtle ways in society. The video Police Call Over the Mundane Criminalize “Living While Black” | MSNBC starts with this illustration (MSNBC, 2018). Everyday racism in American society is illustrated by Darren Martin’s story, where his white neighbor called the police on him with accusations that he was carrying a weapon and was banging on the doors (MSNBC, 2018). His narrative sets the foundation for the video, which examines instances when it is right to call the police. The documentary “The Whiteness Project” is introduced to explore the perspectives white people have on crime, murder, and drugs. The show later establishes the perception that the media perpetuates the treatment of black by all, where most interaction leads to the formation of implicit biasness with about forty-five percent of people believing that race relations are getting worse (MSNBC, 2018). In this light, the video aims to show how racism is critical in race relations talks and how the various ways it presents itself in society. Further, it tries to explain the basis of racist views in America.
Video 4
Explanations of crime, its various definition, and its origins have been explored widely. “What is the Cause of Crime?” by Jan Helfeld is a video exploring the sources of what leads to criminal activity (Helfeld, 2009). The video begins by providing several suggestions leading to crime. According to the interviewer, it is the belief of many people that reducing poverty will lead to the reduction of crime, implying that poverty, in some way, contributes to criminal activity (Helfeld, 2009). In response, the basis of the causes and the roots of crime on increased drugs in society. To support his argument, he proposes that fifty years ago, America had less crime since there was no drug problem in the country (Helfeld, 2009). Further, he asserts that since America has the most guns per capita than any other country, it has contributed to the crime problem. The most critical point of the video in solving crime is on understanding the various cause of crime. The interviewee presents the idea that he is misinformed since most of the information he presents is based on his personal perspectives and not grounded on facts.