Myths from TV and Movies - Part 2

1.       The justice system provides justice.
This partly depends on what you mean by justice. For some, going to jail for more than 10 years for any reason is justice so a rapist who goes to jail for 15 years and gets out in 10, justice would have been served.  The common belief  is that criminals will do an appropriate amount of jail time for their crime.  However, depending on your source of information the average jail time for murder is 10 to 15 years.  Crime victims are routinely appalled at how little the criminal gets when their lives have been devastated.
2.       The justice system will move quickly in trial and prosecution.
Again, crime victims are stunned and dismayed to find out their case may take years to resolve.  Thanks to TV the belief is where the criminal is caught today and by next week he’s in prison for 20 years. 
3.       Defensive use of a gun is rare.
Regarding our previous PA governor :  “Rendell said that, as a city prosecutor, he had never seen a defensive gun use, and that as far as he was concerned, he had never heard of a defensive gun use. He said that he didn’t believe they occurred.” – John Lott relaying a confrontation with Rendell in 1999”. Defensive gun use is when a gun is used to stop a crime from happening whether by shooting it or simply by showing it.  Defensive use of a gun is very high approaching 1 ½ million times a year depending on the sources you look at.  You don’t hear about  these very often and in many cases simply showing the gun to scare off the bad guys is not reported.
4.       All criminals are hardened gang members that just want to kill you, your family and your little dog too.
This is not a point about how we should feel bad for the criminal because they are people too but a diet of TV and movie violence can give the impression that all criminals are really hardened and nasty. Not true.  Criminal behavior can be viewed as on a sliding scale in regards to the person behind it. I’ve read numerous crime reports of criminals being talked out of doing something bad or returning something they stole or apologizing or running away when they were confronted.
5.       Once one person goes to the ground the fight is over.
Another common myth pulled from movies and TV where one fighter goes the ground and the other pauses and lets them get up to continue the dramatic fight.  Nonsense.  If you fall to the ground the other guy is most likely going to stomp your face and kick your ribs. Watch some YouTube videos of real fight scenes.
6.        Military personnel are trained killers who have no conscience and personified by Sargent Barnes in Platoon.
Yeah, the Toys for Tots campaign is a plot to clean up the image of the vicious Marines.  Soldiers are trained to kill people and break things but that doesn’t speak to their personalities. It’s their job to be a soldier and if it were true they are vicious, trained killers how come we don’t hear more of rampant murdering soldiers when they come home or get out of the military? This is a horrible stereotype perpetrated by those who dislike the military.
7.    Almost any internet “ Have you heard this…?” crime story going through your Inbox. Gang members driving without their lights on; baby crying on the front porch to lure people out; hiding under a car and cutting a persons ankles;  And one of the worst was an anti-rape advice email that gave such horrible advice as the #1 thing rapist look for is hairstyle and the #2 is clothing specifically overalls. http://www.snopes.com/ has an entire section on de-bunking these myths. One might be wise to verify a story with them before sending it out. It could actually get someone hurt.

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