Jeffrey wrote: >I guess the major run up in crime rates that occurred in the mid-1960s must >have been caused by the outlawing of legalized abortion in the 1940s! ... I think that the authors of this study assume that people (especially men) of about age 18-25 are more likely to commit crimes. But their study assumes a lot of other things. Among other things, it ignores the role of the draft. Back in the late 1960s, the US had a very large "selective service" program, one that is more likely to draft those of the working and poor classes (and, of course, minorities, who are disproportionately represented in those classes), who are more likely to commit "blue-collar" crimes. Thus, instead of committing violent crimes at home, many were sent to Vietnam and elsewhere to do so to foreigners. As the draft was phased out and then ended in the 1970s, many found their ability to terrorize foreigners blocked and so turned to domestic targets. (In addition, the shrinking of the number of soldiers in the 1970s let loose a large number of soldiers who were trained in violence, encouraging domestic violence, as Alex Cockburn likes to point out.) I'd also like to know how the authors define "crime." Does it include white-collar crime? Does it include organized crime, like the CIA or the Air Force? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html
