Social Views In The 1920's

In the early 1920's, there were many norms that people had to follow in society whether it was placed by the government or by society itself. It was not until "The Crime of the Century" took place that people started to see through these norms. This crime was when two teenagers who came from wealthy families and were both highly intelligent in their own ways, killed and mutilated a 14-year old boy. These teenagers were Nathan Leopold and Albert Loeb. Both graduated from prestigious colleges and had accomplished many impressive feats. They decided to carry out this "perfect murder" (dubbed by them) just for thrills. Back then, many people thought that juveniles had below average intelligence and that they were neglected by their parents. Furthermore, the idea of violent juveniles emphasized the idea of the lack of basic necessities for the them. These claims were pointing fingers towards the parents as if it were their fault. The crime committed by Leopold and Loeb challenged these views by showing that any parent could have raised two juveniles. I believe that these social norms, which are stereotypical ideas in disguise, are still present today and seem to still be alive. It will keep going until there will be a major real life counterexample that will denounce the stereotype as seen with the Leopold and Loeb case that took the life of 14-year old boy to disprove a "social norm" popular in the 1920's.