Leadhead 3 of 3

       The Aging Leadhead Hypothesis

          In earlier posts I hypothesized that the endless pointless violence in Israel/Palestine can be at least partly explained by early-childhood brain damage from leaded petrol. I quoted Kevin Drum:

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline

          His thesis; whenever leaded petrol is introduced into a country, two decades later street-crime rates spike, and so does teen pregnancy. Also, when leaded petrol is banned from a country, two decades later both street crime and teen pregnancy plummets, and does not rise again. This correlation has been demonstrated in many different countries.

          The connection is not just statistical; it is backed by neurology. Lead is a neurotoxin, it targets the frontal lobes of the young, its effects last decades, and those effects include decreased IQ, increased aggressiveness, and increased impulsivity: a recipe for criminality. The early 20s are when young men and women are most at risk for antisocial or self-destructive behavior; hence the two-decade lag.

          But it occurs to me that those lead-heads do not vanish when they pass their 20s. Nor do they get much better; the disability is developmental, recovery takes decades. So what happens to lead-heads after their 20s?

          They enter adulthood, and take on adult responsibilities. Some join the police force; others become stockbrokers or CEOs. Leaded petrol was banned in the USA in the mid-1970s; by now peak lead-heads are in their 40s. And what do middle-aged lead-heads do with their adult responsibilities? Abuse them.

          This, I submit, explains at least part of the police-crime wave we have been witnessing lately; and also the suite-crime wave. And these crime waves do need explanations.

          Lately shootings of police are at a multi-decade low, but shootings by police are at a multi-decade high. The kids are alright, but the cops are messed up. The killer-cop who gunned down Michael Brown testified that his victim seemed to him like ‘a supernatural demon’; clear evidence of mental disorder. The lead-head effect upon our nation’s police forces is worsened by two factors; indoor shooting ranges, and police departments’ notorious hiring bias against the intelligent.

          Let there be no controversy about present-day crime in the suites! The irrational criminality of high finance is a matter of record. It is worsened by institutional high-finance bias towards sociopathy.

          I predict that as the decades pass, street cop-crime will decrease as police lead-heads age out of patrol work into desk work, where they will pursue vicious and irrational prosecutions. Meanwhile, up in the suites, middle management will re-civilize, but the owners of the owners will continue their descent into barbarism.

          In short the kids are all right, middle-management is ill but will soon get better, but the elders are insane and getting worse.

          I recommend that you plan accordingly.