Why would anyone attack the homeless?
A journalist asks:
“What sort of mindset leads young people to attack the homeless? We had an incident in Aurora, Colo., last week where police say seven teens beat and stabbed a homeless man.”
Disgusting, isn’t it? As usual, alcoholism is the best explanation for the grotesque.
Alcoholism explains (but does not excuse) 85% of domestic violence and overall crime. There’s no reason to think that attacks on the homeless are any different.
What’s confusing is the attackers are teens. How could teenagers already be alcoholics (or other-drug addicts)? Because the typical addict in recovery tells us he or she triggered the addiction during the first drinking episode, average age 13.
But why would alcoholism or other-drug addiction result in such attacks? Because alcoholism causes egomania, which requires that the addict wield power over others. One easy way by which to do so is to attack the defenseless. The homeless, the wife, the kids or the dog are excellent targets for the alcoholic egomaniac.