Rankings based on state violence, population in jail

The rankings are in, and Loui­siana grabs the number one spot; however, it’s not a list one would like to be number one on.

The Institute for Economics and Peace recently ranked Louisi the “least peaceful” state in America.

Debates were ignited, and stu­dents didn’t have a problem join­ing in.

Junior general business major from Shreveport David Richard­son agrees with the ranking.

“Well, I believe ‘most violent’ is well deserving.”

Sophomore undeclared major from Shreveport Jeff Charles part­ly blames the education system.

“If we had a better education system, it wouldn’t be that way. Dumb people do dumb things,” Charles said in regards to the ranking.

The United States Peace Index, which defines peace as the “absence of vi­olence,” deter­mined the rank­ings by consid­ering factors such as violent crimes, homi­cide rates and the percentage of the population in jail. It was also noted that peace was significant­ly related to education, economic opportunities and health.

To some, the ranking came as a shock, considering the fact that Louisiana was just ranked number one, by Businessweek.com, as the laziest state in America.

“So we’re both lazy and violent? Doesn’t violence require some type of action,” said Charles.

As far as being ranked the lazi­est state, Richardson believes it’s an unfair label.

“As for laziest, I don’t know the statistics; but I do know there are lazy people everywhere, not just Louisiana, but to each his own,” said Richardson.

Charles still believes that edu­cation plays a role.

“Some people think they have no choice but to be lazy. They can’t find a job because of their lack of education,” said Charles.

But when said to be “lazy,” Busi­ness Week is not referring to a lack of work ethics.

Rather the measurement of time spent doing physical activi­ties versus ones that don’t require much.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average time Louisiana residents spend working is two hours and 41 min­utes, which is lower than any oth­er state, yet the average time spent sleeping is eight hours and 44 minutes and three hours and five minutes for watching television.