> > Dane Archer's actually done some interesting archival research on
> > this. During the 20th century, murder rates are significantly
> > higher when a country is at war or immediately following wartime.
...
> > Archer's argument is that
> > the legitimate violence conducted by the state provides a
> > ubiquitous role model for aggression in everyday life.
I think you would have to look at the Katrina disaster in New Orleans also as another example of "a war-like aggression in everyday life," when looking at the increase in violent crime. The violence of the flooding and the dehumanizing aftermath turned New Orleans into something resembling a war zone or third world country.
Houston's murder rate went up a staggering 23%, due in large part to gang related murders between displaced Katrina evacuees, acts of desperation by evacuees or evacuees being victimized themselves by opportunistic locals. The problem is centralized to two specific areas of the city, and while law enforcement promises swift remedy, a miraculous turnaround seems doubtful.
- Deborah