I think there are many cases where state of mind is a factor in judging a crime. In fact intention alone is a crime in some cases. Certainly anyone who watched cops shows knows that the DA hasn't got a case without a "motive"!

Crimes of passion are recognized. Premeditated murder is considered different from a murder of impulse. Temporary insanity? Has a person who commits deliberate murder with a car committed the same crime as someone who loses control of the car and happens to perform the same physical act? If you just looked at a video of each you'd see exactly the same thing - the only difference is what they're thinking at the time, right?

Now if you're uncomfortable with the current process of trying to decide what a criminal's state of mind was at the time of the crime, you got a much better argument there - unless they clearly state what they were thinking, trying to peer inside their head has got to be more art than science at this point...

 

I wonder if it's illegal for insurance companies to keep a database of what ethnicity people are? And if it wasn't - what might it reveal as regards people of various backgrounds being statistically more inclined to good or poor judgement?

My gut feeling is that there would be some trends showing a greater tendency to be responsible in some groups as compared to others, but that those groups are not what we might think they are.

 

Thanks for stirring up my grey matter all! Good stuff.

Just my couple peso's worth. Going back to the original post by Dan. He saw where he went on auto judge by events in his past. Realized it real quick and shut it out. I did the same sort of thing some years back while at the Air Force NCO Academy up in Albuquerque. I was goofing off in a little junk store one afternoon and a man and his family came walking in. White guy (same as me) all covered in paint or drywall mud. In my mind I said "man, why don't you get cleaned up before you come out". Just instantly slammed this guy for no good reason.

In that little junk store was a junk piano, partially held up by a stack of books under one leg. That guy sat down to that piano and played some of the most beautiful piano music I have ever heard. I seriously had tears in my eyes. Probably both from feeling bad for making a rash judgement on him and from the music he was playing. I was willing to pay him to play more. From that moment on, and it's been better than 10 years, I swore to myself and to God, that I would never judge anyone based on their looks again.

I grew up believing everyone is equal. It was just in me to feel that way. Our town was 100 percent white. Our schools where near 100 percent white. When I went to Basic Training, I met people from everywhere and every danged color under the sun. Nothing changed for me.

I have stated in previous posts that what really burns my britches are those who feel that they are owed because of whatever. "You owe me this because of this..." Or have those attitudes that I would guess most of us are familiar with.

All that being said, there sure is a lot of ignorance out there. I'll share two stories. One kinda comical, one that hurts. My first trip home on leave after tech school, my Grandma asked me if I had trouble with the black people. Of course I had to give her a hard time and said "oooh Grandma they is bad". She didn't care for my answer and of course I felt I needed to tell her the actual truth which was that no I had no trouble with the black people and that I had indeed made a number of friends. If I remember right, she believed black people had tails too.

Second story, and apologies for going long. My wife is Hispanic. Hottern than a two dollar pistol when I first met her and still pretty danged toasty after all these years. Anywho, when our son was born I made the standard phone calls telling everyone they either had a nephew or a grandson. When I called a very close relative on the white side, the first question I got was "what color is he"? Not, "how is he, what did you name him, how is Yvonne", etc. But I was asked "what color is he"?

Yup, pretty hurtful but you claim it in the name of ignorance and press on.

Dan, I am a Gulf War vet too. I can relate to what you are saying even though I wasn't as far north as you. If you recall seeing any A-10's flying overhead, chances are pretty danged good I had something to do with the munitions on it. Thanks for opening this up. Oh, and by the way, I have never told anyone, not even my wife, that story about that close relative asking what color our son was...

Rich

 

Got to thinking about how I said this and wanted to make sure no one thought I was just tootin' my own horn. It should have read: "It's a wonderful thing for us all to be able to disagree without being disagreeable."

 

Every bit of college paperwork we've filled out, and every professional licensure app we've filled out asks about ethnic origin. "White" or "caucasian" isn't at the top of the list. (not that I think it should be. In fact, I'd like to see the paperwork do away with those questions altogether).

We tell students to avoid any references to race or ethnicity when documenting patient care. It has no bearing on anything we do for them.

We do have to make statistical allowances for pulmonary function testing, though; the normal predicted values are lower for african-americans. It's simply physiologic, nothing more.

 

Great post Rich. I have had to deal with ignorance in my family before but nothing quite that bad. My monster-in-law came close though. When my wife and I told her mother that we had gotten engaged her first words were "well, mixed marriages usually don't work out". We've been together 18 years, been married over 15 and it is still working okay.

Oh yeah, the mixed part? She's Catholic, I was raised Protestant.

 

It'll never work.

 

Guess I forgot to add that part in too. My wife grew up Catholic, I grew up Luthern (Protestant). It's been a rough ride, but it's been working so far. It'll be lets see 86 minus 2007 equals 7 take away 2 plus 4 and carry three plus twelve...smidge over 21 years so far. We'll see how long she puts up with me Or how long the beer fridge and engine stand stays on the back patio. Or how long I can let the honey do list remain open.

Rich

 

We are of a mixed marriage as well. An "A /A" marriage....Angel / A$$Hole..... ...Doesn't take much to figure out which one I am.

Just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary 2 weeks ago.
Celebrating our honeymoon was pretty much fun, too...

 

Angel?