So the first definitive structure we want to look at is a historical perspective of the victim. It's important to note that if you look at history, the word victim is derived from the Latin term victima. And the term originally contained the concept of sacrifice. If you study back in history, which I want you to do throughout this process, is look for the origins of the term victim.
At what point do we actually... actually start using the term victim with regard to the current meaning that we have today. Much of our English language comes from Latin, so it stands to reason then that the Latin sources would be very helpful in understanding when that transition made.
So, victima and victim originally contained the concept of sacrifice. And so, when you look at, for example, some chapters and scriptures of the Bible, you see that there is a sense of an offering. to a temple or to a deity that is considered to be a sacrifice. Also, if you look at some cultures throughout history, you'll find also that the term sacrifice has been used to rationalize the actual predatory nature of victimization, sort of various forms, like, for example, homicide, assault, battery, cutting off of limbs, et cetera, et cetera, things that we have definite legislative... structure to and doctrines to today implying these as criminal behaviors, throughout history these acts have been considered the norm and therefore just part of society.
And so instead of looking at individuals who were sacrificed as victims, they would look as individuals who were offerings to a god, to a deity, to make it rain, to make the sun shine, and therefore carried no connotation of predatory nature. nature at all. It is also interesting to note that when you look historically in the world of Christendom in the Bible, where you find much of this insistence on sacrificing, the word victim is not found anywhere in the Bible. But there is the concept of someone suffering from a certain act which has been committed by an aggressor. That concept is there.
For example, if you look at the case of the first murder. murder, which is found in the Bible and it involves Adam and Eve's first and second born sons, Cain and Abel. And what the story reflects is an ancient rivalry between the farmer and the nomadic shepherd, as well as extreme sibling rivalry.
However, the theoretical significance of the story is that first, sibling rivalry is the primary issue here. Second, for the first time, we see the concept of suffering. of a victim and how it is acknowledged. For example, when you read the text or the scriptures that talk about the brother's blood cries out, ask yourself, what does that mean in terms of suffering and in terms of the issue of homicide itself and how it's being adjudicated in the actual storyline itself. And third, Cain, who was the offender, well, this is the first time time that we see then particular characteristic of the offender where Cain denies the act of murder which he's committed upon his brother and where the act itself is actually countered by the forensic facts and the understanding that the heinous nature of the act itself is punished by exile ask yourself these questions then what are the forensic facts and how does Cain's denial of the act stand in relationship to the actual evidence itself.
But then also I want you to think about the nature of the act, the predatory nature of the act, and the actual punishment that was given for the crime itself. How significant is the punishment and how does that then give us an understanding of what crime is within the context of modern day definitions. And then last Lastly, the ancient rivalry between the farmer and the nomadic shepherd is developed. And what that implies is a much more broader emphasis than on the evolution of a system of capital, the exchange of capital in a free market society where there's conflict and friction between holders of the land and individuals who actually then do animal husbandry from the land as well.
The problem being... of course is that the farmer needs water for irrigation. The farmer needs land itself. The land has to be healthy in order to grow certain crops.
The shepherd however has flocks of animal that also need to feed and more often than not they're going to feed on the land that the farmer is trying to produce a living from nature and so therefore you have then this economic conflict developed. How does that rivalry then play? play out within modern day society then and how can that be examined within the context of crime and victimology then. Those are some things I want you to think about and explore and talk about this week and perhaps throughout the semester.