Have any of you ever noticed how many people “get in with the wrong crowd“?
Well, I have! I should probably tell you I watch several ID (Investigation Discovery) channel true crime shows. (I should probably also tell you that this is an entry that has nothing to do with mystery books, Cozy, or non…)
It seems like more and more I hear the culprits on these shows described as something like “He was a wonderful boy. He helped aged ladies across the street, he rescued cats from high tree branches, he knit blankets for the cold, but then he … got in with the wrong crowd.
It’s at this point that the television show lets us see our previously described Eagle Scout joining in with the wrong crowd as they smoke their cigarettes, drink their booze, and sit around all day tripping aged ladies as they cross the street.
Recently, every time I hear about the wrong crowd, I find myself wondering who the first person in this wrong crowd was. I mean, who established this wrong crowd? Why is it that the previously described Eagle Scout wasn’t the first member of this wrong crowd? Why does the TV show imply that had it not been for these other wrong crowd members, our upstanding guy would never have thought to massacre five people in his neighborhood, as well as the cat he had previously saved from the tree branch?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to continue watching my true crime shows, but I do think it would be downright refreshing if just once I heard the guilty described as: He/she started the wrong crowd.
What do you think? Did the wrong crowd always exist before the criminal joined it, or did the criminal actually start the wrong crowd?
Deahna says
Danna, it’s not only True Crime Shows, it’s newspaper articles and comments, too. And it has been upsetting me as well.
One thing first: I’m not talking about gangs of which I know next to nothing or those who really are a criminal crowd in the first place which is unlikely to attract our Eagle Scout.
I think the wrong crowd is about the same as the “they” in they say that… Who? It’s probably a question of definition as well. In the beginning people (again, nebulous) were mildly annoyed at the boozing boys; they could use their time to better effect. But it’s only chilling after all and as long as nobody gets hurt… Then somebody does get hurt and the boozing boys are found to blame. Someone remembers that one of them tripped up an old lady only last week (and it was probably only an accident) and another reports having heard that someone else has seen them setting fire to a wastebin (which may or may not be true). Suddenly all manner of bad things are remembered or invented and the boozing boys become the wrong crowd, a dare becomes a crime.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Deahna, I just find it odd that it’s always the crowd that was first bad, and apparently made the culprit (who is otherwise a wonderful person) into a bad person as well.
Barbara says
I don’t buy the wrong crowd excuse. People are going to do what they are predisposed to do and they don’t need a crowd to influence them. Maybe in some cases they are attracted to or gather up others who have the same mindset, but the individual is responsible for his/her own actions.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Barbara, I totally agree!
Donna Mc says
I agree with y’all, too! The perp has a choice, and makes the wrong one. He or she can always walk away from the crowd and find some good friends to hang with who aren’t a bad influence.
Some of the new crime shows seem to emphasize the gore and sensationalized aspects and don’t even delve into the person’s character (or lack thereof) or the grief and pain it causes others. I don’t watch those. I only watch the ones that explore the perp’s past, that is the part that interests me. There is always something that led up to the crime, and sadly, many times people may have been able to prevent it from happening if they had been aware of the situation.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, speaking of people knowing before-hand. I am shocked by how many times groups of people know about the crime before it takes place, and don’t think of calling the police to let them know.
Donna Mc says
A fascinating question, Danna. There could be a cozy mystery connection; after all, writers like Ruth Rendell and Charlotte Armstrong often wrote about such ideas and characters and posed this very question in their novels.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, good point about Ruth Rendell’s novels.
Wakar says
Yes, ‘the wrong crowd’ is almost as bad as ‘the loner’ label that people (the FBI included) use because they are too lazy to distinguish between loner and outcast. And, yes, being a loner and never having murdered anyone, it is my pet peeve. 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Wakar, I have a few “loners” in my family! I had never thought about it, but you are so correct about the loner VS outcast label one hears while watching true crime shows. None of my “loner” family members are menaces to society, either!
Tessa~ says
Interviews with “the neighbors,” always say this don’t they? No matter how horrendous the crime, the supposed perp was always “quiet, non demanding, nice neighbor, etc.”
So did the “wrong crowd” slip into his home at night, and compromise this Paragon of Virtue? -grin-
Tessa~
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tessa, I SO agree with your musings!
Ann says
Definitely something to ponder. I do think some “bad” people influence and attract others and someone who doesn’t fit in anywhere might do “bad” things to get in with the crowd that has grown around that person in order to feel part of a group even though it isn’t in that persons best interests.
Ann
Danna@Cozy-Mystery.Com says
Ann, this is an interesting comment. I was very lucky that the members of my family who are loners didn’t feel the need to fit in with the wrong crowd…
Joyce Ann says
This is definitely an interesting discussion–predisposition vs. peer pressure. We could go further–predestination vs. good works, genetics vs. nurture, etc. Lots of the writing in television crime shows is cliché, but they’re still fun to watch. I like the ones with humorous character interaction.
Danna@Cozy-Mystery.Com says
Joyce Ann, I’m trying to think of a true crime show with “humorous character interaction.” I guess Homicide Hunter with Lt. Joe Kenda is the closest, which by the way, is our favorite true crime show at the moment. (Although we do like the old City Confidential shows a lot.)
Marja says
I think “the wrong crowd” started as a bad boy.
“He was fine until he started hanging around with that bad boy. Soon there was a crowd ….”
Then here I am, a quiet cat lady, nice, polite, read a lot, quiet, keep to myself …..
“KIND OF A LONER”
ohhhhh nooooo!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marja, hmmm… I don’t know why I immediately thought of one particular “bad boy” I knew when I first started college. He definitely had the charisma of creating a crowd around him. Good thing I didn’t have an “I-want-to-reform-him” mindset like so many others did!
Laurel says
I’d be starting the “wrong crowd”. 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Goodness, Laurel, you surprised me!