If you live long enough, you’ve probably been hit by crime at some point. Though I don’t remember why, for some reason that thought came to me while on our morning walk with the dog: most of us have been victims of some sort of crime, and how have we reacted to those incidents.
As I worked through that concept, it made me first consider listing the times you remember being on that short end of the stick. So, here goes. I’m not writing down lesser situations, ones where I’ve been threatened or someone “tried” to start a physical altercation with me.
It also makes you try and wrap your hand around the perpetrators. Who does these kinds of things? Why?
Quick conclusions are crimes are mostly about opportunity. When someone stupid or daring enough chooses to break the law, with the potential retribution from our system of justice, they think they can get away with something or they don’t think at all. Youth plays a role, as I would imagine it’s not 62-year-old cranky men taking advantage, but more likely a 16-19-year-old juiced up on adrenaline. And, for the sake of stereotyping, I would imagine most of these crimes were initiated by the male of our species.
Finally, there is that residual sense of how it affected you. In the aftermath, anger kicks in immediately. The thought, “if you could put your criminal instincts and creativity into something productive, our society would be so much better,” is the first that comes to mind. You wonder why people steal, what motivates them, how did they head down that path, and, of course, why did they select you, your car, your bicycle.
Then there are the residuals -- an understanding of trauma and how PTSD affects others from far more serious situations than mine. My older brother has had his home broken into multiple times. I often wonder how he and his wife continue to feel safe in their home.
I do know this. Since our car was stolen, and that was more than 10 years ago, my wife and I always find a lighted parking space as close to the front door of the hotel when we travel these days. And, when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is part the windows and look down to see if the car is still there.
That tells you a bit about how we process these emotions. And I can only sympathize with others in this world (like Ukraine, the Middle East, Venezuela and Haiti, as four easy, quick examples that come to mind) who have to process far more horrible and traumatic events in their lives and move on as best they can. I find it very important to do my best to put things in perspective.
As I worked through that concept, it made me first consider listing the times you remember being on that short end of the stick. So, here goes. I’m not writing down lesser situations, ones where I’ve been threatened or someone “tried” to start a physical altercation with me.
- My red stingray three-speed bicycle was stolen when our family moved to Kankakee, IL from New Jersey after my first football practice. Police found and retrieved it from the front porch of a teammate later that week.
- While in college at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, the storage unit of my apartment building was ripped open from its hinges and all my stuff thrown around, and my bicycle stolen.
- My car was vandalized inside (probably by drunken college students) while at the University of Illinois.
- Another bicycle was stolen in Washington, D.C., and three other times my front or rear wheel tire was removed, once right in front of the guards at the U.S. Department of Energy.
- Two other times my car has been broken into while living in D.C. and Maryland. Once, the window was broken and the thieves took a pair of John Lennon-like sunglasses, leaving my awesome baseball glove and a 1.5 liter bottle of vodka alone in the back seat. Go figure. An attempt was made to rip out the radio the other time (right in front of our house).
- Our minivan was stolen while my wife and I were sleeping at a hotel in Topeka, KS. It was then used in a crime and left torched on the highway.
It also makes you try and wrap your hand around the perpetrators. Who does these kinds of things? Why?
Quick conclusions are crimes are mostly about opportunity. When someone stupid or daring enough chooses to break the law, with the potential retribution from our system of justice, they think they can get away with something or they don’t think at all. Youth plays a role, as I would imagine it’s not 62-year-old cranky men taking advantage, but more likely a 16-19-year-old juiced up on adrenaline. And, for the sake of stereotyping, I would imagine most of these crimes were initiated by the male of our species.
Finally, there is that residual sense of how it affected you. In the aftermath, anger kicks in immediately. The thought, “if you could put your criminal instincts and creativity into something productive, our society would be so much better,” is the first that comes to mind. You wonder why people steal, what motivates them, how did they head down that path, and, of course, why did they select you, your car, your bicycle.
Then there are the residuals -- an understanding of trauma and how PTSD affects others from far more serious situations than mine. My older brother has had his home broken into multiple times. I often wonder how he and his wife continue to feel safe in their home.
I do know this. Since our car was stolen, and that was more than 10 years ago, my wife and I always find a lighted parking space as close to the front door of the hotel when we travel these days. And, when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is part the windows and look down to see if the car is still there.
That tells you a bit about how we process these emotions. And I can only sympathize with others in this world (like Ukraine, the Middle East, Venezuela and Haiti, as four easy, quick examples that come to mind) who have to process far more horrible and traumatic events in their lives and move on as best they can. I find it very important to do my best to put things in perspective.