Emilia Reyes

Within the context of the recent Louvre heist, many followers of the incident have expressed opinions of support, surprise and anger.

On Oct. 19, a heist occurred at the Louvre–a renowned national art museum located in Paris, France. A group of thieves disguised as construction workers snuck into the museum and subsequently stole eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels, valued at a total of €88 million, amounting to over 100 million in USD. The heist has garnered a lot of attention online, with a vast amount of people rooting for the criminals involved in the situation. However, there are those who condemn the criminals, and who begin to ask: Why would someone side with a criminal in the first place? BVH sociology teacher, Laura Lowery, shares her initial reactions to the incident, as well as a suggestion as to why the public seems inclined to support the criminals.

“I heard about [the heist] on the news the day it happened. I thought it was interesting. I watched a documentary about another heist and it reminded me of that. I think some people find it fun to see what they can get away with and have been curious about that. Also, I think that [the public’s reaction] might be a backlash to extreme wealth and the disproportionate gap we see,” Lowery said. 

Lowery’s conclusion is not far-fetched in the slightest, as a new Oxfam study reported on by Forbes claims that the richest 1% of households in the U.S. have almost 1,000 times more wealth than the poorest 20%. With the rising wealth gap, the average American might not care about robbery when it occurs to the wealthy. This is especially true with the recent cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which left millions of Americans without food assistance. This reasoning tackles the real-life root of the working class’ apathy towards heists similar to the recent one at the Louvre, but media plays a role in these feelings as well. Freshman Ariana Larena explains how she believes that media can affect people’s perceptions of crime. 

“The Media [has] shaped the perception of criminals to a more personal view. It makes us more sympathetic towards people that we would normally criticize. [For example], Anakin Skywalker. He commits genocide, kills his lover and changes to the dark side. But many–including me–say that he is not entirely wrong. They say that there is always a backstory to criminals and how they are made. No one is born with thoughts of stealing–they are taught and learned,” Larena said. 

Larena offers a more sympathetic perspective towards criminals. Fiction, whether it be through a book, movie or television show, is one of the main ways lessons are learned and emotions are shared. Since childhood, the media we consume is what dictates our beliefs, values and views. These perceptions of the world can cross through to real-life situations, causing the public to think harder behind the reasons people turn to crime. In the case of the Louvre, many online have claimed to not care, since those jewels were stolen in the first place. Senior Harper Bledsoe provides a different perspective to this argument, explaining why the crime is still something that matters. 

“I think we should still care. I do not know who the Louvre stole those jewels from but they are probably dead, and the Louvre has been around for how many years? So, at this point it belongs to the Louvre. Preservation is the most important thing, especially because the people who stole [the items] are not stealing [them] to preserve. They are stealing it to get rich or to have these precious artifacts. The Louvre, on the other hand, is there to preserve it, but these people want to make money,” Bledsoe said.

Regardless of the general population’s opinion on the ethical implications of the extremely wealthy class existing, preservation is an act that most can agree is important to a certain extent. In BVH history classes, students learn about a plethora of topics, including conflicts involving the United States as well as other events around the world. This accumulation of knowledge is only possible due to previous acts of preservation. With these various perspectives in mind, the question of why the general public tends to side with criminals is posed again. 

“People tend to side with criminals because of the motives behind their actions as well as having an understanding as to why they did what they did, despite disagreeing with the crime or not. There is an extent–mass murderers and rapists do not deserve that sympathy, at least in my eyes. I believe that having sympathy for anyone is good, regardless of who–criminal or not–because everyone is human. Even though you may not agree with what they did, what their view points are or what crimes were committed, they are still human,” Larena said.