8060: Question about violence SECOND TRY (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Darian and Veronika <bezdomovci@earthlink.net>

I am having an ongoing discussion about two recent incidents in Haiti that
resulted in the deaths of U.S. citizens.  The focus of this discussion is to
determine why they were killed.  The first case involved a young woman who
was mugged and shot while coming out of a bank; the other a man fatally
wounded while escaping from an attempted car-jacking.  Before continuing, I
apologize if this issue has already been addressed in this forum, and I
admit that my only source of information about either case has been
newspaper reports, so I probably don't have all the relevant facts.  The
young woman was killed when she repeatedly told her assailant she had no
money to give.  My assumption is she was shot because the gunman simply
didn't believe her.  His frustration and annoyance peaked in a violent act.
The situation with the vehicle driver appears similar in some respects.  His
get-away thwarted the criminals' efforts, and they shot at him in a
desperate attempt to get what they wanted, or perhaps because they too were
angry.  Both victims denied their attackers the object they sought.  The
question I have is whether these decisions to use a gun represent
viciousness or despair -- or maybe just ineptitude -- on the part of the
perpetrators.  Because I am on my way to live in Haiti, I have some
practical reasons for asking and answering this question.  If viciousness
(or hatred) is to blame, then calmly complying with someone's demands while
he waves a gun in my face may not guarantee I'll get to keep that which is
more precious to me.  On the other hand, if despair or impulsiveness is the
cause, then it may be better just to give a criminal what he wants and avoid
pushing him into a corner.  Does anyone have a sense for what might be
closest to the root of these two tragedies?