People Who Do Crazy Things Are Not Necessarily Crazy
Every human being faces at least one affliction in his or her life that leads him or her to behave in an unusual manner. While some people obtain support from others and learn how to handle situations correctly, others fight their battles alone and find themselves committing unthinkable acts. One taking a dispositional view would allegedly reach the conclusion that those who perform these unthinkable acts must suffer from insanity. With an opposing outlook, social psychologists observe how certain individuals react to difficult circumstances and determine why particular escapades occur as a result of distinct settings. They understand that “occasionally, these natural situations …show more content…
Instead, it was the unpleasant situation that instigated Eric Smith to act in a crazy way. Certainly he remains guilty; though, if the conditions at his school had been different, he would not have committed that terrifying crime.
An even more shocking murder case than that of Eric Smith’s is the one known as “The Beltway Sniper Attacks,” which involves the juvenile known as John Lee Malvo. Fatherless throughout life, Malvo felt a strong connection at age fourteen to a man he and his mother met, John Allen Muhammad. Malvo’s mother left him with Muhammad for a long period of time until she was able to smuggle him over to Miami with her, but only as an illegal alien. Border Patrol caught them both and brought them into jail. After about a month, young Malvo was released on bail. Naturally, he longed to be in the care of the only other person he trusted: Muhammad. John Muhammad gave Malvo purpose and he even enlisted Malvo into school as his son.
When Muhammad’s ex-wife, Mildred, was granted full custody of their three daughters Muhammad went berserk. Knowing that the death of his ex-wife would gain him guardianship, he thought out a plan to murder Mildred with no one suspecting him as being involved. The arrangement consisted of a killing spree that had no connection between any of the victims. This way, when the shooting of Mildred would occur, she would just be another random victim of the unknown mass murderer. Muhammad invited Malvo to participate