Yesterday morning, the first thing my mom told me was about a 4 year old boy who got his head cut off. It turns out, it was actually a 3 year old girl or so the News have been reporting. My mom told me that the mom and the child was just out of the subway going to visit the little girl's grandfather when the mom felt like her kid was yanked from her. Then the man pinned the little girl down and began to chopped off her head. Right now, I think the story is still varying. Some of the news are reporting that the little girl was on her bicycle and the mom thought the man was going to help her child.
I was shocked and disgusted, yet at the same time, I wasn't surprised. There are a lot of crimes that happens in Taiwan, and most of the time it happens, all the public say is psychopath. It's almost as if every time these things happen, it's almost always end up with the psychologist or psychiatrist diagnosing the perpetrator as psychopath. This then cause the parents to be even more paranoid than ever.
I think there are underlying issues that are causing people like these to commit crimes. I don't think it does justice to the family to just called the perpetrator as psychopath and move on. There must be a reason why there are so many cases where the ex-boyfriend murders his ex-girlfriend soon after she breaks up with him. Personally, I think it's due to different reasons such as education, family tension & expectations, societal norms, and the competitiveness set up by the culture itself.
Most of us cannot sit through seven periods of class. In Taiwan, school last about 9.5 hours; from 7:30 am to 5pm. When I was in first grade, school lasted from 7:15 am to around 4:30 pm, not counting after school activity and supplementary class that last up to 10 pm. Supplementary class is part of the culture and almost all of the students go to one; Imagine doing SAT or ACT prep starting from 1st grade or even younger. There are always family tension and high expectations being put on you. Parents love to compare their kids to one another there, because to them and traditional Chinese beliefs, you (as their kid) are a reflection of them (your parents).
Many Taiwanese are "zhong nan qing nu" which means pro-male. Females are expected to be an obedient housewife and should never speak out against her husband or bring anything that will tarnish her husband's reputation. If you are a female and you are dating a guy, you are not supposed to speak out too much against him or else his friends will make fun of him and then he'll take his anger out on you. Of course, this doesn't happen all the time, but it is what commonly happens. As a girl, you have so much yet so little power at the same time.
Relating to cases like these, I think the guys who usually commit these crimes (killing-spree, murdering ex's or even parents) do this because they have finally cracked. After years of being wear down by the education and having their parents constantly telling them that they are not good enough or that their effort is not good enough. It can cause a lot of hate and bitterness. Not to mention, mental illness and therapy is not socially and culturally acceptable there. Without seeking help for these inner thoughts, conflict, and problems, it is not a surprise to me that these things occur.
What do you guys think? Do you think that our environment play a big role as to why these crimes occur?
I do think that some institutions in some countries have pretty high expectations. It can also be in the culture as well. I know some students that like the pressure and those who cannot stand it. He at LAHS i feel like the pressure is quite moderate. You have everyone going to different universities from Foothill to Berkeley. Many students all have different goals. But i do feel that intense pressure to the degree you are talking about could possibly lead to acts like you mentioned. At one point, you have to crack open and for some it's depression and some anger. If this is the case for this young man described, he must have been put through intense pressure ever since he was tiny. It's a problem in many countries.
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