Nurture vs Nature

Have you ever heard about nurture vs nature? It is basically learned behaviors and behavior or traits you are born with. The pendulum swings both ways. There are certain things that you are born with. Mental illnesses, tendency to be addicted to alcohol, things you don't choose. I think that those people have to work extra hard to become a positive member of society.  I believe that nurture has a lot to do with how someone acts or behaves. This can be about anything really. If your child is spoiled and throws tantrums until they get their way, this is a learned behavior. Your child wasn't born with a bad case of the gimmies. You bought them a lot of toys. Now Noah is pretty spoiled, but he doesn't have huge tantrums. Does he cry when he doesn't get his way? Absolutely sometimes he does, I let him cry a little and then life moves on.

Hatred and prejudice is also a learned behavior. Children do not see skin color, they see friends. Race doesn't matter to them. There is nothing wrong with being different. It's what makes us uniquely us.  Friends can like different things and still be the same. I know my best friend and I are into different things. We love each other anyways.

A persons environment also has a huge impact on behavior. If you are raised in a home where there are crimes committed and are around criminals you are more likely to repeat those behaviors. I also believe that where you grow up and who your peers are have a part in it too.  If your friends are doing bad things you are more likely to do them too. Maybe to fit in or because you also think it is ok. When you watch your parents do something then it becomes almost acceptable in your mind when you look up to the parent. I also know economical factors play in to behavior. I am not saying that all people that come from low income families will turn to crime. I am saying it is more likely. They are predisposed to it. They can not afford things easily so some tend to turn to crime to get it. Drugs are more available.  When you want something you can not afford, some choose to turn to theft to get it.  I know that more people in prisons come from low income areas.

There are many people who are in low income high crime areas that overcome their environment and become productive member of society like Judge Mathis for example. It isn't a stamp that you are given on your forehead that says no future, you control that your self. You can overcome your challenges with doing the right things.

It is easier to do the right thing in a good environment. 

This is a common theme on Law and Order and Law and Order SVU. They always talk about if someone is born bad. Did they get a bad seed? The Bad Seed is one of my favorite movies. It is about a little girl who murders a bunch of people and the mother wonders if her daughter is the bad seed after finding out information about her past.  The Defense in criminal trials try and use both nature and nurture as a defense depending on the circumstances.

Just because your parent was bad doesn't mean the sins of the father are going to be the sins of the son.  There is no criminal gene or bad seed gene.

Just because you were mistreated as a child or abused doesn't make your crimes a act of nurture. There comes a point when you have to accept responsibility for your actions and overcome whatever happened to you.