Crime Hunch: Recent Episodes
Mil Williams
“Let’s do some ideation on a subject that is bound to terrify.
Does me.
First, an assumption. I don’t think this was deliberate, but a pandemic was inevitable sooner or later.
Second, because it was inevitable, certain people and organisations made contingency plans to advantage themselves, as soon as one happened.
Third, on the basis of the psychological and behavioural data now being generated massively, it will become a template of future events - minimum for zemiology, but almost as easily re full-on crime.
So let’s say the government runs out of money six months from today. Don’t know if will. Just positing.”
It’s true that people with huge and unimaginable levels of wealth will never - as per #foucault - give up on their exerting of its power. But they don’t need to create disruption, ever. They don’t need to invent a virus to benefit from its appearance.
Today at Crime Hunch, we discuss how a universal basic income - a guaranteed income for all citizens whatever their circumstances or moment in life - could help now and into the future with all kinds of public health and national security challenges. The question I ask at the end is the following: if the arguments in favour are currently so strong, what or who might be stopping us?
“Let’s imagine my concept of #neocrime is useful. I define #neocrime as crime which cannot be predicted on the basis of past experiences and previous events.
Motive, means, and opportunity are unhelpful in contexts where rational behaviours are obviated.
Similarly, those behaviours judged by #criminaljustice to be irrational are equally misguided: and thus we reserve the right as a society to damn to hell an act and actor when the very least we know about their reasoning, precisely because of our lack of understanding.”
Some decades ago I was pointed in the direction of a book called “The Primal Scream”. A therapy for neurosis, it involved being cooped up without normal distraction strategies - reading books, watching TV, speaking to people, physical contact - until, when, and if the primal scream in question emerged half-strangulating from the host’s body and released the victim of all mental infirmity.
The corona virus we are currently being assailed by, Covid-19, could open the door to the very best humanity can witness, or the very worst. Yesterday evening, from young people out to enjoy themselves cruelly, I saw the very worst. I hope it’s not a taste of things to come.