Criminal acts

Criminal acts

A parent with a criminal past lays down a story, one that other children would find alien. Some envisage that they will not be so stupid so won’t get caught. Or it can spark a desire to live a more virtuous life. Few criminals begin at the ‘top’; most will start with petty activities like stealing low value items from shops before progressing to more damaging activities. Rich people from well to do backgrounds have robbed a thing or two simply for the thrill of it. They have absolutely no need for the item they have stolen. The idea of having some excitement in their life along with the notion of being a little deviant is formed in their present fretwork.

At any time, we can choose to change but it is about our predisposition. Most folk walking down a street will be thinking, humming maybe, reflecting on the day ahead. Whereas a burglar will notice all the open windows, the opportunities to gain easy entry and flee afterwards, unchallenged. They will always be on the lookout for such chances as their fretwork contains so much knowledge relating to these acts. Gardeners clock the flowers, you and I might be identifying the breed of a dog or noticing the colour of the cats. Burglars will see animals giving off tell-tale signs of whether someone is at home or not. They are not predetermined to carry out the illegal action but care little about the victim, understand nothing of what it is like for those to suffer, and weigh the option of giving into temptation against the risk of getting caught. Any punishment and humiliation will alter the probability of committing further offences. More connections in the fretwork. The memory of being held down during arrest, hours in a prison cell and the loss of liberty and so on.

Some may propose that free will provides us with the means to act at random. In theory yes, but in practice we tend to start with the seed then build on it before proceeding. We can throw a dart upon a map and journey to where it lands. We can change our mind at any point but this itself is inspired by earlier dealings in life. For the most part we are moving about fairly autonomously with little real regard for ultimate reasons. The power and capacity of free will is not exercised as much as one might like to think.

Our will to be free is challenged by chemical imbalances, being intoxicated by too much alcohol or due to inhalation of industrial substances inadvertently. Provocation and poisons taken in unconsciously makes the ethics wrangle unanswerable. We can be equally stressed by disorders of the mind and damage inflicted in accidents. Being drunk may give rise to uncontrolled less coordinated behaviour but sober people can act very dangerously as well, wanting to show off without any need for dis-inhibitors like alcohol. People can defer responsibility to someone in charge. We are much more likely to hurt another when told to do so by someone in authority.

We can see red and begin lashing out acting wholeheartedly animalistic. Those accustomed to violence will use aggression with less forethought. It is less about focusing on a single incident and more about prior habits. It is automatic, as they will view it as justifiable. That is what they have done on past occasions. The lack of control today stems from the development of someone’s character over time. We can become more cautious if someone we take on turns out to be adept at fighting back. Once again, a link, this time to the pain we suffered last time altering the balance.

We might appear to be roving complex animals with determination and individual freedom to do what we want. We like to think that we can easily change our mind and alter our plans, then alter again moments later for the sheer sake of it. The image of being nonconformist and contrary might seem endearing. Being inconsistent and seemingly random is a feature of the pattern of habits expressed before. We began doing so as a child. Doing things on the hop, if that is what we are familiar with, is what we continue to do. People do not change from a rigid way of life to become easy going free flowing wanderers overnight. It is a gradual shift. We do things that we are acquainted with and only embark on new ventures after learning about them in depth beforehand. You might have to ‘cross each bridge as you come to it’ but the crossing will be navigated by the knowledge you have.

We might want to break certain habits. We decide to quit drinking coffee. No particular reason, but that is what we want to do. We have one cup the minute we wake up and lots throughout the day. We associate doing something at a certain time of the day or with a particular place. The weaning off process entails gradual reduction. Rather than attempting to stop a habit altogether in one go, we can stop it bit by bit. Identify each time, place or trigger and choose one in turn to forgo. Tea instead of coffee at lunch time. Stick to it until it is embedded then move to the next. The fretwork then gets modified much more thoroughly.