Crime Scene Investigator

Star Trek has followers known as Trekkies and Rush Limbaugh has ditto heads, but I"m not sure if there is a name for me and my obsession; if it is an obsession.

I guess my problem began at the first BONG in the lead opening music to Law & Order. It is recognized by all. I watched the original series and was one of those who tuned in to see what was happening in the lives of people on the streets.

My love for a good crime story was later fueled by the Steven Tyler like scream that followed the red-haired man as he put his trademark shades on in the hit show CSI:Miami. The late night comedians would have their fill of making jokes about the red-haired man who promised to find the killer. The t.v. show's high ratings proved we believed his promises to find the killer and the audience held on to the end until he delivered.

I would graduate from just FINDING a killer with random bits of DNA left behind to profiling the killer by looking at the victim's positions at their time of death or the material the potential killer read or music he listened to. I fell in love with Criminal Minds. The best profiling show ever.

These shows began to infiltrate my life. I found myself wanting to seek justice for the people who cried victim in my everyday circle. I walked into places and took note of areas that would be great potentials for harvesting DNA. Oh, yeah, doorknobs were the first thing I noticed when entering and exiting buildings. Careless people left behind cups next to chairs which would definitely send someone up river fast. Later, I began to notice people's mannerisms wondering what kind of childhood trauma they had suffered and what kind of people they would probably kill.

I became the number one investigator in my home. If my husband lost his keys, I would almost seal off a crime scene, look for witnesses to question, and go through, retracing his daily habits. When I ventured outside for exercise, I looked at tire tracks and insect markings trying to determine who-what-when the perp had been in the vicinity.

I honed these skills telling my family how valuable or unvaluable THEY would be if there was a war or some kind of natural dissaster. I believe my crime solving skills will be valuable for foraging for food or for supplies to survive. I also think my hightened knowledge of criminals will help me know who to trust and who will cut off my head for a candy bar if the times called for it.

For all of you thinking I have lost touch with reality, let me assure you this post is just in fun and is intended to pay homage to the great crime shows; which I do love.

Television has allowed us to step into places and careers we only dare dream about. The DOWNFALL is when we really believe we are qualified to inform and assist others in these fields when we do not have the proper training. I can speak the lingo of an investigator and impress maybe a handful of people, but I know that is as far as I can go and want to go in a field that deal with criminals.

As with politics, many of us have become ARMCHAIR politicians and sad to say we think we have expertise in many other fields as well. But just as I have acknowledged my lack of qualifications as a CSI agent, hopefully we give politicians a break, ministers a break, and others who have chosen a career we all believe we can do better or are quickly to give advice about. We are always greater in our OWN mind when it comes to others area of expertise.

Hopefully our access to information on the television and on computers will be used wisely making us smarter but not dumb enough to lead us to believe we can know everything.

Social media is filled with people who know know than the average person. It allows individuals to stick their nose and two cents in areas they would normally have no access to. Social media allows individuals to have supporters of some of the wildest conspiracies imaginable where tryth and facts are secondary to excitement and be one of the few who "know the real truth." Social media has made us 'armchair' everything. The number of beauty advisors, fashion advisors, mental health advisors, religious advisors, political advisors, gardening advisors, health advisors, etc., is off the charts. There is an advisor for any and everything under the moon without the credentials to back them up. 

A great and necessary skill to have when dealing with social media has become being a crime scene investigator to make sure what you are believing and supporting is true. Is there concrete evidence to back it up? How does the person relaying information or advice carry themselves? Where do they draw their material and facts from. What trial of evidence proves they are dealing with reliable verifyable sources of information? Why do they consider themselves a person qualified to be an expert on the subject matter? And who are their victim - I mean target audience or consumer they want to influence? 

Many criminals have a Mode of Operation or M.O. The criminal playbook rarely changes. It just becomes tweeked as crime solvers find out how they operate. Criminal activity is usually benificial to the criminal and not the victim. They do not care about the victim and crimes are not victimless. People who use social media as an opportunity to sway or have influence over people in a harmful manner are in a way committing a crime whether punishable legally or not. It is criminal because spreading lies creates victims. Many victims of false information or of conspiracy theories may go on to victimized others as we have seen done by mass shooters. 

Freedom of speech seems to cover the freedom of lying. In a nation which prides itself on being a Christian nation, many Christian foundational teachings are ignored. One such commandment of the Bible is,“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This Commandment is recorded in Exodus 20:19 and Deuteronomy 5:20. It is typically understood as a command not to tell lies. This is clearly something not held in high regard by many adherents to the faith. This was an important commandment, not to lie, by saying I am witnessing to the truth of what I am saying, because it caused grave harm. During the writing of this commandment, many offenses were punishable by death so a witness had to come forth to say, yes, I witnessed of what is being stated or accused. A man's word was his bond and what a person said was held as truth. We no longer live in an age where a man's word is his bond and we could have assurity he would be protective of putting his word in doubt by lying.

It's all fun and games sitting in your favorite armchair or couch, tuned into your favorite crime show, being able to play detective or criminal expert for an hour. But becoming an expert is far more involved then wating several seasons of a crime show. So it is with other areas we come to believe we are more than capable of delving into, claiming expertise, and affecting and influincing others. Degrees in certain career fields also come with responsibility. The armchair professional usually do not have the responsibility of their CHOOSEN field which allows them not to adhere to ethical or legal codes. 

No matter how many crime shows I watch, I maybe be good at solving cases, but I don't have the training which allows me to go beyond the set up scenario of the hour-long television show or movie. I can speak the lingo, and can probably impress listeners, but knowing the language does not allow me to be a prfessional. The one thing we all should learn from crime shows is that criminals will always be in search of a victim. Social media has made it easier for those with 'bad' intentions, whether consciously or not, create victims on a large scale. The victims never see it coming, but the audience always does.