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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2006 > March > 14 > Entry
Ugly criminals and Yanni
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tom Feran of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote a column exploring the claim that criminals tend to be uglier than non-criminals. He hit on something I believe is just the tip of the iceberg.
Feran wrote about a distinct correlation showing ugly people are more prone to commit criminal acts. As one man told the police after his arrest for bank robbery, “I’m too ugly to get a job.”
Two economists recently published a paper on “ugly criminals,” citing studies and a survey of 15,000 high school students who were asked, among other things, to rate the appearance of students on a five-point scale from “very attractive” to “very unattractive.” About 82% were in the “average” range. 7% were in the “unattractive” or “very unattractive” range. 4% were categorized as “butt-ugly,” 5% were labeled “Dude, that’s hideous.” (The final 2% couldn’t count to five on that day.)
The point is that ugly people are more prone to commit crimes. It would make sense to say that their rejection would drive them to crime.
How do we gauge this? Are just “slightly ugly” people more prone to committing only misdemeanors while the “really ugly” are prone to commit more serious felonies and hideous crimes?
There are exceptions. Ted Bundy was a serial killer, but considered a handsome person with fabulous hair.
Look at Ted Bundy now. His appearance during the trial compared to what he looks like now show a big difference. One reason is, well, he’s dead now, but show me a dead guy who isn’t ugly!
We can’t definitely say that ugly people commit more crimes or even are prone to commit more crimes because we don’t have the evidence — probably because we can’t look at them that long. They could be getting away with a lot of stuff simply by taking advantage of the fact that nobody can focus on them very long because it’s awkward.
I think the two economists, H. Naci Mocan and Erdal Tekin, hit on a great point. Let’s take it further and look at this possibility: The more crimes you commit, the uglier you get. What a great crime prevention tool.
If we cannot appeal to the moral responsibility, or even the guilt or fear of the consequences for criminal behavior, we could strike a direct hit with the mother of all consequences of criminal activity:
Be honest or be ugly.
If we could show that those people, now ugly because they have turned to a life of crime, would become less ugly if they choose to live an honest life, we could create a brand new and very effective campaign against crime.
Take that Yanni guy.
Yanni, whose real name was Joe Yanni or Yanni Smith (whatever) was beyond handsome. He was what we call “man-pretty.” He was so man-pretty that Linda Evans married him. They lived in peace and happiness for many years until their divorce. (Yanni caught her using his hair dryer.)
Yanni, who was recently arrested for domestic violence, was booked and photographed. The results support my claim. He is now not as man-pretty as he was. Granted, he is man-prettier than most, but not as man-pretty as he once was.
For instance, his once perfectly horizontal moustache is now gray stubble and anything but symmetrical.
We all have a hot button, and if our vanity is the key to reducing crime then so be it. Like other things, I’m sure it will be abused in due time.
At some point when you’re having a nice dinner at a restaurant, you’ll hear some nice lady tell her children, “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’re going to be ugly and that officer over there will take you to jail.”
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By nzee
March 14, 2006 8:27 AM | Link to this
Steve, I love you man, but you are on dangerous ground when you start dissing Yanni. First-get your facts straight - Yanni never married Linda Evans. I know this for a fact because I am the quintessential Yanni fan. He’s not a criminal. Any time some bimbo says she was pushed by a guy everyone assumes the guy is an abusive person. I think if Yanni were abusive, Linda Evans would have kicked his @ss by now and we’d have all heard about it.
To put Ted Bundy and Yanni in the same column, well, that’s just wrong! It would be like me putting Jimmy Buffett and KISS together-apples and oranges, my friend. You’re a great guy, Steve, but lay off the Y-man!
By kendo
March 14, 2006 9:39 AM | Link to this
Could it be that ugly criminals are just more likely to be caught?
By Jo
March 14, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this
Actually, I think the more unnattractive a defendant is, the more likely the judge & jury will convict him/her. It’s a FACT that discrimination against the physically ugly is the last acceptable prejudice. Even the most so-called “enlightened” people hate the ugly
By Jessica Leigh
March 14, 2006 10:38 AM | Link to this
Maybe they’re ugly AND stupid. Yanni is anything but ugly. The mug shot is just about 3 decades older than the other. He was not married to Linda Evans.
By Totally Pauly
March 14, 2006 12:12 PM | Link to this
Well it’s only going to be a matter of time now where an “ugly” person is rescued by another liberal ACLU cause. “Ugly” is in the eye of the beholder and cannot be measured, whereas something like “fat” is definitive.
But leave it to the never-ending bedwetting liberal cause for “justice” in everything to figure out how to come up with protecting the “ugly” out there. Here’s an idea: just tell them to not reproduce.
By Jean Hughes
March 14, 2006 1:09 PM | Link to this
Oh come on. That is a crock of bleep. It is the media who keep that kind of baloney going on. You will do ANYTHING to make less than really attractive feeling really bad about themselves. Just as I was TRYING to like myself as I was/am, 20/20 came out with this survey that says Kids trust pretty people more, that good looking people get better jobs and make more money. Is that true or is it the media who keep saying it over and over to support your sponsors and keep them in the money. I don’t trust this. I don’t Want to trust it and I am tired of feeling like I ought to kill myself because of all these ads and stupid surveys. Media helps create all these urban legends and beauty products. When people and I include myself in this, grow up, we will realize that beauty IS only skin deep unless the beauty queen or kind has grown up and learned REAL values. I hope some day I do and stop holding mysefelf accountable to all these surface lies.
By Florence Greeson
March 14, 2006 2:07 PM | Link to this
OK now you are treading on dangerous territory. Yanni is anything but ugly. I think you have run out of subjects to talk about, or you need to get a life.
Yanni was never married to Linda Evans, you need to get your facts straight before you write an article. Apparently you have never been to a Yanni concert. He is one of the most soft spoken people you will have the pleasure of meeting. Anyone can only be pushed so far. Who’s to say this person is correct anyway.
Just back off Yanni.
By Cindy
March 14, 2006 3:03 PM | Link to this
Oh puhleeze! Yanni, Yanni, Yanni.
Back off of Steve. It’s his column, and an entertaining one at that. When you get your own column, write about your ideal topic. Until then, if you don’t like Steve’s, click on to other things that better suit your preferences. Somebody’s always going to complain.
By anonymous
March 14, 2006 3:28 PM | Link to this
Go have a look in the mirror.
By fk
March 14, 2006 4:38 PM | Link to this
I laughed when I read this. My late father-in-law always referenced Ted Bundy whenever the topic of hot dating prospects came up. “Judging a book by its cover” was one of his favorite conversations. He always said that at first glance, Ted Bundy looked like quite the “catch”…a young and handsome professional. Never in a million years would he have thought someone who looked like Bundy, with an education, would’ve been a serial killer. He was truly shocked!
This conversation came up often, like at holiday dinner tables. He would continue that since Bundy looked like such a nice, good-looking and successful guy, he would have “allowed” my husband’s sister to date “Ted”. My sister-in-law fell for the bait every time.
She went right back at Dad. He could never dictate who she would date…at 22 she would date whomever she pleased, regardless of what her father had to say. Afterall, she was a bright, single, working independent woman! Yes…all that, but still living at home…so, not exactly independent. We always laughed. She never got it.
Actually, I think Yanni’s picture looked pretty good as far as an impromtu photo op goes. Imagine much better he would’ve looked had he had the time to primp?!
By Angela
March 14, 2006 4:55 PM | Link to this
Too funny
By meme
March 14, 2006 7:18 PM | Link to this
It is ashame that some of you folks have no sense of humor. Steve, I don’t believe I have ever seen a good looking mug shot. Thanks for the laugh.
By Ex-Northerner
March 14, 2006 7:20 PM | Link to this
I watched a very good friend of mine ruin her life with a seriously abusive jerk. She kept insisting that he was “too cute to be bad,” but I knew better. Several weeks later, he hit on me in a bar when she had gone off the restroom. I was so incensed that I left without saying goodbye to her. I struggled whether to tell her or not for the rest of the night, and then the next morning she called me, enraged because he had told her I hit on him. She refused to believe me when I tried to explain what really happened. Our friendship didn’t survive and years later, I learned that they had split because she caught him with another woman. I tried to contact her but she again refused to view me as anything other than one of his conquests. I am not ugly but he was certainly prettier and I think it definitely played a part in her refusal to see the real him.
On the other hand, I had a friend in college who was anything but physically attractive, according to the magazine standards. She was, however, one of the most popular girls on campus and it wasn’t because she provided “favors” either. I watched her in action and her personality was like a magnet. The guys just flocked to her, so it isn’t always facial or physical beauty that is attractive. Some personalities transcend the physical.
By ronny
March 14, 2006 8:12 PM | Link to this
people can’t help being ugly, but they could at least stay out of the public’s view.
By dave
March 15, 2006 1:18 AM | Link to this
Michael Jackson’s about as hideously ugly as one person could possibly be and he was never convicted of anything? Maybe you’d have to add broke to the equation.
By Atl Pearl Girl
March 15, 2006 9:30 AM | Link to this
I think the handsome/pretty criminals just don’t get caught. There may be something to the beautiful always rise above the rest.
By Bill Mangum
March 15, 2006 9:35 AM | Link to this
Maybe it’s true that “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes slap to the bone”. This would account for the ugly criminals, they’re baaad to the bone. Or maybe, their mama was so ugly their daddy wouldn’t leave home so he wouldn’t have to kiss her goodbye. Or maybe his daddy was so ugly that the elephant man paid to see him. Or maybe he was so ugly that his parents had to feed him with a sling-shot. Or she was so ugly that when she looked in the mirror, her reflection ducked. All of these make as much sense as assuming criminals are only ugly people. Look at John Gotti, Ted Bundy, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and some of the black widows we see on Crime TV. Bill Mangum
By IB
March 15, 2006 10:34 AM | Link to this
Because of a female making a stated she was pushed by a guy everyone assumes the guy is an abusive person. And therefore that make him ugly. Well if she passes the first punch what was he to do just stand there?
Yanni is human and have feeling also. Just back off Yanni.
By Captain Freedom
March 15, 2006 12:21 PM | Link to this
If Yanni were human with feelings, he would never have foisted his music upon an innocent world.
Throw him under the jail.
By Candy
March 15, 2006 12:43 PM | Link to this
Ok, this one’s easy:
It’s also easy to make a pretty person ugly. All you have to do is: stop the tooth brushing, let some acne grow, etc. Paris Hilton could be ugly if she grew up in a trailer park, was abused, ate poorly, didn’t have good health/dental car. But, she’s rich, and in many ways wealth can buy beauty (hair stylists, facials, chic diets, etc) just as it buys opportunities and connections that propel youth into mainstream society as opposed to criminal culture.
As a caveat, has anyone evaluated the so called “beauty” of white collar criminals - they probably are a bit more educated than the typical criminal and therefore, may have better teeth.
Human beings can be very immature and foolish - I have witnessed even well-educated adults treating unattractive children poorly, alienating them at a young age because they have scrappy clothes, crooked teeth and matted hair. As an intern, I remember this incredibly sweet teenager that always got patronized and cold-shouldered by the school administrators because of her huge tooth gap - they simply couldn’t see beyond that. Yet, you don’t have to watch a make-over show to know that it is quite simple to turn an ugly duckling into a swam - 90% of the time. We should think about that next time we as adults mistreat a child who we feel is unattractive, or the next time we allow our children to do that. Who knows what kind of rage and anger we could be unleashing upon the world, or what the flip side of the coin could be if that child goes down a positive life path. He or she just may be able to afford an orthodontist someday.
By Charles Farley
March 15, 2006 2:14 PM | Link to this
This borders on moronic. We have ugly crooks sure, and ugly politicians, and ugly engineers and ugly bank tellers, and ugly cops even. Didn’t the Nazis have something to say about this very idea?
By Julia
March 15, 2006 5:41 PM | Link to this
Have you ever heard the saying that “Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone”? This is not talking about physically ugly, but an ugly attitude. Also we’ve heard that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I’m sure a lot of people look beyond the superfical physical attraction of a person and see the truly beautiful inner spirit. I happen to be a Yanni fan and I’ve seen him in concert twice. He has a very sweet spirit and is not afraid to showcase the many talented musicians who perform with him. You can also see his supporting attitude on the monitors as they play their solos. I have no personal knowledge of this incident, only what was written in the papers, so I will withhold any judgement toward either party. If it is true, I hope both individuals cut their losses and go their separate ways and live in peace in the future. Now for the spirit of the article, I think it’s distasteful and am sorry that people have to endure more media abuse for being less that perfect in the eyes of the public. Some of these so called “ugly” people have the most beautiful spirit and attitudes of anyone around.
IMHO
Julia ~ Tucker,GA
By Julia
March 15, 2006 5:43 PM | Link to this
@ Totally Pauly
Have you ever hear the saying ” I may be fat, but you’re ugly and I can diet?”
By Kathryn-Stockbridge
March 16, 2006 8:05 AM | Link to this
Interesting arfticle - certainly somewhat tongue-in-cheek- but what a hail of mail you have provoked! I suspect that our society’s penchant for good appearance has more to do with identifying criminals through their ‘ugliness’. We do tend to be prejudiced in favour of those who meet an appearance ideal and appalled when these beauties turn out to have horrific characters or have committed horrendous crimes. Two more high-profile ‘beautiful’ criminals include the notorious Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka of Ontario, Canada whose sexual exploitation and murder of a number of teen-aged girls horrified the world. They are both still very ‘beautiful’ on the outside - but that obviously, isn’t what counts.
By georgia bee
March 19, 2006 7:47 PM | Link to this
Have you ever seen anyone with a good mugshot? I think they train those officers to get the worse possible picture they can. They get the brightest lights and make them hold that sign and stand in front of a white wall with height marks, of course it ill come out awful. Even brad Pitt would look bad in a mugshot.
By Sherry
March 24, 2006 3:04 PM | Link to this
Boy Steve, You are asking for it when you take on Yanni - you know us southern women and the men we idolize — we can get pretty ugly ourselves…good luck with the responses, you are going to need it!
Ted Bundy — he is my prime example to my “dating friends.” Ted was a nice looking guy — all nice looking guys are NOT safe.
By nuke
March 26, 2006 6:42 PM | Link to this
nzee, a “quintessential Yanni fan”? Give me a break. That’s like saying you adore “Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute”.
By Jennifer
March 27, 2006 4:25 PM | Link to this
Has anyone ever looked good for a mug shot?
But if it is true that the more mean-spirited people are the uglier they get then that certainly helps me understand my ex-b***-in-law!
By Jeannie
April 3, 2006 12:26 AM | Link to this
Perhaps Linda Evans and Yanni didn’t have such a peaceful life together. Break-ups don’t happen overnight usually without some friction. If that relationship allegedly contained violence we would be the last to know about it. Many powerful women are victims of domestic violence. In fact, I’ve read where statistically one in four women are victims of domestic violence. Abusers can be charismatic, handsome, man-pretty, or butt ugly. They come in all shapes and sizes. They all do have low self-esteem and a need for power and control. It’s all a mute point in this case, however, since Yanni was not found guilty of a crime with his latest girlfriend since charges were not pursued.