Well, I presented a scenario and, indeed, the guy was also a criminal. People I know recently did indeed leave their door unlocked and a man came in and stole a purse. Was I wrong to say “You have to lock your doors.”? I don’t think so. Was that statement a way of passing judgment or blaming the victims?
Sometimes, like in the event you recounted, an action (smoking pot somewhere) has no direct connection to the subsequent act (getting shot). I remember the “post hoc, ergo propter hoc” fallacy quite well from my college philosophy classes.
Other times, isn’t there a cause and effect connection?
Yes, at times, we are responsible to varying degrees. Someone could have no fault whatsoever to having basically “asked for it”.
I used to have a friend of mine who would insist on leaving his car unlocked and apartment. Then, when he would have stuff missing, he would say his stuff was missing. act surprised!
I had tried to persuade him to be prudent, lock his doors, but I think he felt we had to trust our fellow man.
Once, I think he left his watch hanging from his rearview mirror, in his unlocked car, that we all KNEW he left unlocked. Seems to me I remember it disappearing. Another time (we were both volunteers at a home for children…sometimes would have over 100 at one time). Anyway, the kids were VERY creative. I think there was a problem with my lock, or the key, one time, and they knew how to get in without a key!
So, I knew enough about the kids not to leave stuff deliberately unlocked to deliberately tempt them. It would have been bad enough to forget, do it accidentally. However, my friend got robbed over and over and over. In a case like his, I would actually describe it almost like a kind of self sabotage where he refused to take reasonable, and prudent, precaution or ever learn from his mistakes.
I remember talking about leaving doors unlocked to a mutual friend, at the time, and he said, “Trust in God, but** TIE** your camel!”
When we hang out with the wrong crowd, are imprudent, we CAN ask for it, share at least part of the blame for tempting fate.
It would be sort of like someone who, got drunk and/or high, had a prostitute over, late at night, agreed to be bound, and she took his wallet. He would be more responsible than, say, a woman who was walking from her locked car, during the day, in a safe neighborhood, who wasn’t drunk or high, who was robbed, etc.
Robbery, at times, is a crime of opportunity.
Other crimes happen more when we are imprudent in some way, or perhaps, gullible.
We are more likely to be victimized if we walk around late at night, especially in a dangerous neighborhood.
Yes, I think we can share some responsibility in a crime for our lack of good judgement, prudence, etc.
