Tales of a coffee-holic: A face in the crowd

It’s human nature to feel more sympathy when unpleasant things happen to those we know as opposed to when something bad happens to a stranger.

There was an outpouring of sympathy and support on Facebook for the accused perpetrator of a recent back robbery in Sidney. The woman who allegedly committed the crime reportedly had mental health issues, and many of those in the community felt sorry for her. There’s nothing wrong with hoping that someone you know and like who’s battling mental illness seeks treatment and feels better. Those with mental illness who commit crimes deserve treatment and some amount of understanding when it comes to incarceration. Despite this, I purport that if a man who no one knew came to Sidney and robbed a bank, with a visible weapon, would not receive the same concern—even if he had mental health issues.

In fall of 2013, the Wall Street Journal surveyed all 50 states asking for information about inmates with mental health issues in prison populations. Twenty-three states responded with detailed reports.

“The mental-health patient ratios ranged from one in 10 inmates to one in two,” the report stated. “Inmates in all 23 responding states account for 55% of the prisoners in the U.S. under state jurisdiction.”

This study demonstrates that a significant number of criminals have some sort of mental issue that perhaps contributed to their criminal behavior.

Not all crimes can be equated with one another. But it makes one wonder where we should draw the line. Some of us are probably incapable of sympathizing with society’s worst criminals. Anyone who shoots a large crowd of people and then kills themselves, in my opinion must suffer from some sort of mental problem, but most probably don’t feel much compassion for these people.

Those who feel badly for acquaintances or friends with mental issues who commit crimes might not feel the same sympathy toward drug addicts or the homeless. Many health experts argue that addiction is a disease, that should be treated as such. Drug addicts and the homeless—or, even worse, homeless drug addicts—are seen as the lowest of the low by many in our society. Do those who feel sympathy for a bank robber with mental issues feel the same way toward homeless drug addicts who were abused as children?

Usually when we think about criminals, we lump them together as a whole “bad” group of people and attempt to forget the individual stories wrapped around each person. Sure, one can feel badly when listening to an individual’s tragic tale, but it’s hard to feel sympathy for a faceless person. It’s easier to think them lazy, wanting nothing more than to get high all day.

We tend to generalize whole populations and forget that they’re individual people. All Muslims are terrorists, all criminals are worthless human beings, all feminists are obnoxious. When we do this we lose sight that every person has a different story and motivation for his or her actions. Sure, there are some criminals who deserve no sympathy. It’s true that some of those locked away in the prison system are just terrible human beings.

I would also argue that our experiences, to a degree, make up who we are. People with some mental illnesses cannot control their own brain chemistry. Do you feel badly for a child molester who feels a compulsion he can’t control and acts on it? Do you feel the same way about a man who steals food to feed his family as you would about a man who steals to feed his drug addiction fueled by a traumatic childhood he can’t stand to remember? How do you feel toward a schizophrenic who attacks someone because a voice in his head ordered him to do so? Sympathy is not easy.

I don’t claim to have the answer to what’s right and wrong when it comes to feeling sympathy for anyone who commits a crime, mentally ill or not. There probably isn’t a right or wrong answer, but I think we should all step away from our biases for a minute and think about why we feel more sympathy for perpetrators of crimes who have a familiar face. It’s a good place to start.