Monday, July 14, 2008

Genetic Link to Violence and Delinquency

Through Yahoo News I came up a story by Maggie Fox of Health and Science that cites a study that supports the idea that there is a genetic link to violence and delinquency. My first impression was that it is one thing to discover a link, but it's another thing to lean toward generalizations. For example, one statement in the story caught my eye: "Three genes may play a strong role in determining why some young men raised in rough neighborhoods or deprived families become violent criminals, while others do not," I'm extremely sensitive to the point that violence and delinquency is nearly always highlighted in "rough neighborhoods." What about mass killings by juveniles from middle class and wealthy neighborhoods? Violence and delinquency in upscale neighborhoods would be a good, unique study

Moreover, at what point do we start identifying children who are may commit violence or become a delinquent? Do we start in kindergarten, elementary school, or even prior to birth? Will we get the point of addressing "pre-crime" as presented in one of Tom Cruise's movies (Minority Report) and arrest people before they commit crimes.

I guess I'm saying that I don't trust our society to handle genetic information morally. Call me a pessimist, but I see greed and power overrunning morality time and time again.

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