#962 Criminal Element

I’m no sociologist. I consider myself nothing more than a lowly cultural humorist. But I have a theory about the criminal element. A lot of crime involves a touch of sociopathy—the lack of a desire to conform with the norms of society, and even the niceties therein.
When I hear some conservative commentators talk, they often bemoan the craven actions of the hoi polloi. They act as if poor people are little better than animals. They’ll steal the shirt of your back. Look at all the mongrels down there breeding more shoplifters, etc.
They seem to think that the sociopathic urge to commit crime stops when one’s income increases. That putting on a shirt and tie means you will suddenly be possessed of this great morality.
As Bernie Madoff and other Wall Street crooks have proven over the years, from Neal Bush and the S&L crisis to Enron to now, this is simply not true. Rich and poor both have the criminal element.
I call that element screwon.
The element screwon is the fundamental building block of the molecule screwthem, which is a vital component of the DNA of the sociopath. It is the desire to screw everyone else for you own benefit. The heck with laws, the heck with the golden rule, the heck with SEC regulations.
Screwthem leads people to go for the main chance, and most importantly, do what they can get away with. To the sociopath, it’s not a crime till you get caught. So what if there’s a simple moral code?
It’s no surprise a lot of upper class sociopaths use churches. Churches are accepting and vulnerable places. The sociopaths, loaded with screwon, wear the moral mantle of the churches like a fox in sheep’s clothing.
Jimmy Swaggert, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, these people should have been expected. They did what they could get away with. The sad fact is, criminals exist in every population, every income level.
That’s why they put regulations on Wall Street. And that’s why some people stopped enforcing those regulations. Even the population of enforcers contains sociopaths.
And when enforcers are loaded with screwon, when it comes to doing their job, they screw off.
America, ya gotta love it.