I resonate with much of what Redog has said here and I will add my 2 Centrs to the thread:RedDog wrote:I think it's a mix of reasons:
1. Men are pushed to the bottom or the social order, essentially emasculating them, and putting bitchy women on top, socially
2. The laws are ridiculously tough and frequently biased against men, often presuming men are guilty, before a trial
3. The prisons are full of "criminals" for very minor offenses, which would never call for prison time in other countries
4. Once in prison, even light offenders find themselves in a downward spiral: often they also have monetary fines to pay off in addition to the time behind bars, in order to be released, but not earning any money, they can't pay the fine off; also prisons are so overcrowded and violent that generally mild people eventually turn into animals in order to survive, thereby sealing their own fate as "hardened criminals".
5. Once out of prison, men can't find decent jobs, since they're "damaged goods" and no one will hire them.
6. In order to feed themselves and their families, these men often turn back to crime, since they can't work, and being in prison has taught them how to fight the system, and get around the law.
Basically, once you're in a US prison, for whatever the offense may be, you're royally screwed for life. One of my greatest fears after returning to the US (FROM RUSSIA OF ALL PLACES!!), was that I would commit some minor offense and either get sued by some idiot or end up locked in some shithole prison.
There are many factors, but the biggest factor of all is this: Isolation, mistrust, over independence, extremely cliquish social tendencies, exclusionary social tendecies where rejection and frigid energy os commonplace, people living in a tiny social bubble, and people feeling unable a to be authentic and open about theiur needs of companionship, or their own inner struggles... these factorsd in the social dynamic and way of life int n the society causes tremendous internal conflict, lonliness, and angst in the individuals and hence, in the population. This results in alarmingly highj rates of mental illness, suicide, drug an acohol addiciton, emotional eating, and so on, especially for men who struggle in the isolation even worse than women, who by nature are somewhat more social and suportive with one antoher than men are. People who suffer with all of these things are of course also vastly more likely to fall into crimes, sometimes even taking extreme forms like mass murder. In most instances, I attribute the broken and loathsome American social paradigm to be largely responsible.
Well intended, decent men who actually care about how they treat others and actually just want good and wholesome things in life for themselves and others, suffer the most, persistently waiting and trying desperately to make something good happen in their own lives and perpetually feeling like thye are swimming up stream as they continue to be lacking in friendfships, friendless, significant other, and community despite their best intentions and best efforts.
Not to say thathumanity outside of the US is free from all this loathsome crime and misery, or even lonliness and addiction.... far from it!!! I am just saying that this is whay it is much worse in the US. And yes I am grateful yet again to be where I am now, where a woamn just said to me last night "when someine says they are stuggling with some issue, depression, or life struggle, or whatever, YOU should listen to them and help them, not tell them thye need to go see a therapist. That is what friends are for here."
In the US, a person who has any sort of issue is ostractized and shuned and referred to a therapist. It is taboo to admit openly to a friend that you were lonley last nightj ior that you wish you jyst hjad someone to eat dinner with, and thi staboo takes an alreadty serious problem of isolation and lonlines and and turns it into a social crisis where peopleloathe themselve dna ssume they are sick or something siowrong with them becaus etey want someine to share dinner with or to be in a normal supportive friendhsip with.
She spoke exactly how I have thought of it and percievd it since I was a teenager. One of those conversations that brings it home that America is SOOOOOOOOOOOO sick.