If we treated violence as a disease, would that help us find a cure?- cleveland.com
If we treated violence as a disease, would that help us find a cure?- cleveland.com
I was just getting ready to type - 'Violence, the disease without a cure'...(*snorts* yeah if I could only spell words right the FIRST time around...)
I have a lot to write/say about this - I will collect my thoughts and re-visit...meantime feel free to discuss amongst yourselves - leave you opinions.
Anyhow...
Lately, I've been depressed because of all the news I hear. Of people killing one another/abusing each other needlessly - perhaps to them there is some sort of need but to me there never seems to be - or not the RIGHT reason to ever use violence as a means to solve a problem...
It seems to me that man by his very nature is violent. I don't think this is something that is learned per se - I think it's something ingrained in us as humans. Man decided to kill that first animal in order to eat meat. Man probably killed animals in self defense as well.
Per the bible, murder took place amongst brothers.
Take into account that the Christian Bible gives us the ten commandments - one of those commandments is: 'Thou shalt not kill'
I had a friend - a dear friend - we are not friends anymore - aside from his hitting on me all the time, our friendship consisted of us discussing matters involving religion(s), politics, philosophy and law (he is Jewish and an Attorney). He was the first person who told me about Hillel's law - the most famous being: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it." ( Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat 31a). In other words do not do unto your neighbor that which you don't want done unto you - the reverse seems to be the Christian: 'DO unto others...' - semantics - I know...
We also discussed the 'point' that killing as a form of self defense is considered in Hebrew Law to be 'OK' - those of my friends out there who are scholars and/or Jewish can possibly offer some clarification on this matter, since my dealings with the Torah and the Talmud and limited at best.
What I am getting at here is that it would seem ASSUMED that man is violent - for otherwise why would we need such law/edicts? Was this something that even in ancient times was simply 'understood'?
I like to kid myself by saying that 'If women ruled the world - they would not bomb other women's children...' but I am not convinced. I suppose that if I thought my children were going to be killed then I would do everything in my power to protect them - even if that meant killing the purported perpetrator BEFORE they could harm my children...how does that make me any better?
I tell myself I am a pacifist and I want in my heart to believe that I don't condone war for any reason whatsoever - but I struggle because I believe Hitler needed to be stopped. So to me that justified WWII. Yet I abhor war.
This article is more focused on the youth and gang violence. You begin to start getting into discussions of white vs black, wealth vs poverty (which seems to be linked somehow to educated vs non-educated). So are white people less violent than blacks (or people of colour)? - not if you take into account how many people George's Bush's administration has killed since he entered office - sure it's not in the streets (of America) - just Iraq and Afghanistan (to name a few). Is violence ever OK? Is gang violence more heinous than war? Will man always have violence as part of his DNA? Is violence an epidemic?
How do we stop the violence against each other? Don't we have to start with ourselves? In my studies over the years I have come to believe that love, like charity, begins at home. I firmly believe that in order to embrace our brothers and sisters we have to fully love ourselves. Forgive ourselves. I know it's sounds 'hippie-ish' but you are talking to a girl who grew up watching Dan rather report the deaths in Vietnam on a nightly basis while we safely ate our meat and potatoes dinner. Today, I believe in not just teaching Yoga to exercise but in the principle of the ethics of Yoga - that of the Yamas (restraints) and the Niyamas (observances) - the number 1 'rule' being that of Ahimsa - non-harming behaviour - you are not allowed to harm anyone or anything - including yourself and others.
I did not witness violence in my home (that is unless you count the 'violence' of my father's alcoholism - I mean he was never 'violent' but his alcohol abuse was a disease that he visited on every member of our family whether we wanted it or not) - likewise, I had violent relationships in my past with men - how much of that am *I* to blame for - a man should never hit a woman - really? What if she provokes him to the point of violence? (I don't want to hear a peep from you feminists out there - I am one as well). The question is: does violence beget violence? Are we by nature violent creatures and is there an escape from our very nature? Can we teach peace?
What do we do? As a society? As a nation? As a global community? If indeed we raise children in a society that shuns violence would it make a difference? And where do we begin? In the inner city (in people's homes)? How about on TV? What about on the local, state and federal levels? Is violence really increasing or is it just that people in desperate situations act desperately? Would you move your family to Iraq to begin a peace process? How about into the inner city? Why not? What have you got to fear?
Take a look in the mirror.
I was just getting ready to type - 'Violence, the disease without a cure'...(*snorts* yeah if I could only spell words right the FIRST time around...)
I have a lot to write/say about this - I will collect my thoughts and re-visit...meantime feel free to discuss amongst yourselves - leave you opinions.
Anyhow...
Lately, I've been depressed because of all the news I hear. Of people killing one another/abusing each other needlessly - perhaps to them there is some sort of need but to me there never seems to be - or not the RIGHT reason to ever use violence as a means to solve a problem...
It seems to me that man by his very nature is violent. I don't think this is something that is learned per se - I think it's something ingrained in us as humans. Man decided to kill that first animal in order to eat meat. Man probably killed animals in self defense as well.
Per the bible, murder took place amongst brothers.
Take into account that the Christian Bible gives us the ten commandments - one of those commandments is: 'Thou shalt not kill'
I had a friend - a dear friend - we are not friends anymore - aside from his hitting on me all the time, our friendship consisted of us discussing matters involving religion(s), politics, philosophy and law (he is Jewish and an Attorney). He was the first person who told me about Hillel's law - the most famous being: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it." ( Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat 31a). In other words do not do unto your neighbor that which you don't want done unto you - the reverse seems to be the Christian: 'DO unto others...' - semantics - I know...
We also discussed the 'point' that killing as a form of self defense is considered in Hebrew Law to be 'OK' - those of my friends out there who are scholars and/or Jewish can possibly offer some clarification on this matter, since my dealings with the Torah and the Talmud and limited at best.
What I am getting at here is that it would seem ASSUMED that man is violent - for otherwise why would we need such law/edicts? Was this something that even in ancient times was simply 'understood'?
I like to kid myself by saying that 'If women ruled the world - they would not bomb other women's children...' but I am not convinced. I suppose that if I thought my children were going to be killed then I would do everything in my power to protect them - even if that meant killing the purported perpetrator BEFORE they could harm my children...how does that make me any better?
I tell myself I am a pacifist and I want in my heart to believe that I don't condone war for any reason whatsoever - but I struggle because I believe Hitler needed to be stopped. So to me that justified WWII. Yet I abhor war.
This article is more focused on the youth and gang violence. You begin to start getting into discussions of white vs black, wealth vs poverty (which seems to be linked somehow to educated vs non-educated). So are white people less violent than blacks (or people of colour)? - not if you take into account how many people George's Bush's administration has killed since he entered office - sure it's not in the streets (of America) - just Iraq and Afghanistan (to name a few). Is violence ever OK? Is gang violence more heinous than war? Will man always have violence as part of his DNA? Is violence an epidemic?
How do we stop the violence against each other? Don't we have to start with ourselves? In my studies over the years I have come to believe that love, like charity, begins at home. I firmly believe that in order to embrace our brothers and sisters we have to fully love ourselves. Forgive ourselves. I know it's sounds 'hippie-ish' but you are talking to a girl who grew up watching Dan rather report the deaths in Vietnam on a nightly basis while we safely ate our meat and potatoes dinner. Today, I believe in not just teaching Yoga to exercise but in the principle of the ethics of Yoga - that of the Yamas (restraints) and the Niyamas (observances) - the number 1 'rule' being that of Ahimsa - non-harming behaviour - you are not allowed to harm anyone or anything - including yourself and others.
I did not witness violence in my home (that is unless you count the 'violence' of my father's alcoholism - I mean he was never 'violent' but his alcohol abuse was a disease that he visited on every member of our family whether we wanted it or not) - likewise, I had violent relationships in my past with men - how much of that am *I* to blame for - a man should never hit a woman - really? What if she provokes him to the point of violence? (I don't want to hear a peep from you feminists out there - I am one as well). The question is: does violence beget violence? Are we by nature violent creatures and is there an escape from our very nature? Can we teach peace?
What do we do? As a society? As a nation? As a global community? If indeed we raise children in a society that shuns violence would it make a difference? And where do we begin? In the inner city (in people's homes)? How about on TV? What about on the local, state and federal levels? Is violence really increasing or is it just that people in desperate situations act desperately? Would you move your family to Iraq to begin a peace process? How about into the inner city? Why not? What have you got to fear?
Take a look in the mirror.
Labels: Observations, Peace, Psychology, Society
posted by Colette at 7:21 AM
10 Comments:
I would post a comment on this.. but it would be way long, and probably offend most of your readers.
We'd have lots of laboratories in which animals and humans would be subjected to violence to see if the "cure" prevented future violence.
Subjects would be placed in violent situations to see if the "medicine" prevented then from being affect by violence. This of course leads to the Typhoid Mary syndrome of violence in which apparently random people would become violent after being in contact with said person.
Worse case scenario of course is which violence becomes more virulent or more resistant to protect itself from the inoculation. Perhaps something like "Fundamentalist Violence" would grow out of it, or you'd end up with something like out of the movie Serenity.
Just my $.02 worth.
hmmm. Come to think of it, we already have "Fundamentalist Violence" in the city gangs.vagsrm
i would have to say that alot of our violence problems remains in how we as a whole react to it. For instance, if my son smacks his siter in the face.. do i just ignore it? do i say oh seth that was bad pretty please do not do that again? NO. I get up, i disapline him for hitting not only a girl but another person in general. And then I explain ( sometimes i do this first with him) that hitting ppl is bad, and that he has no need to hit anyone... but he is 4. I am to protect my son, if someone attacked my son, you had better believe that I in turn will attack that person with a wrath of a mother.
so the question is, how do you handle a 16 yr old grown boy? or even a 22 or 25 yr old grown man? you cant pull them over your knee and spank them, and as my son, there is someone always watching to see how you deal with him.. in my sons case, it is his siblings.
I know what I am about to say will go against alot of ppl and seem very very wrong. But here it goes. I dont think we need prisons, at all.. jails are ok till a hearing is taken place.. but I agree with the biblical way to deal with the un lawful. I say, if a man is found raping a woman, take him to court, if he is found guilty, hang him. How many ppl you think gunna go out rapeing innocent girls after that happens? If you are found guilty of child abuse, sexual or physical, you ought to be punished, depending on its severity, if you are abusive to your kids per say, depending how bad physically, maybe you just deserve a good beating yourself, and to have you kids taken away. but I would have to say if your sexually abusing a child, you out to get hung.. or worse, thats just sick! And since we stopped doing such things, now look at our world, I mean come on, we have a HUGE problem with child pornography! We are finding men that are impriosining children all the time, and using them as sex slaves.. and those are the ones we find!
so you may say, well what of ppl that steal.. NO do not cut their hands off.. teach them why stealing is bad, for instance.. th moment i catch any of my children stealing, depending on their age, they will first get "disciplined" and then, to make sure it sticks in their minds, they will have to do something to learn that stealing is wrong and not needed. For instance, say my son is 8 yrs old, and decided to steal something ,cause his buddies tell him its the cool thing to do. Well that next 3 weeks my son will be working at a soup kitchen, to see what the poor is really all about! You can not send a boy/man to a prison for 15 yrs, or 20 years, and then expect him to be normal when he comes out... have you seen our prisons? and plus, half the time you send a guy in, and he comes out more of a criminal then when you sent him in! ok i think thats all im gunna say on the topic, sorry for spamming your blog ;)
(*smack*) "We don't hit people."
Ummm??? Violence to solve violence? The whole point is to stop violence. Can you come up with a non-violent situation to correct your son's behavior?
hmm lets see erin if your 2 yr old touches the burning hot stove... are u going to just say , " ohh hunny dont touch its hot," and leave it at that?!?! I am never violent with my children! I discipline them with love, because I know if I dont they could possibly hurt themselves or each other! Due to the lack of discipline in this world today, is how you get rejects and crazy ppl, like my mothers Ex Husband, and so forth! So you may go ahead and believe that disciplining is bad all you want, but when the ax murder comes and kidnaps your kids and tourchers them, ask his parents why they didnt do a better job!
Rissa...
For your information the reason my ex was such a mess was because he was sexually abused and his parents were little or no help NOT because his parents didn't spank or discipline him.
I have a question - what if your child is learning disabled or mentally ill and acts up - are you still going to discipline them the same as you would a child who 'should know better'?
Just curious.
I guess it would depend on the capacity of my child's ability to understand...
Good answer sweetheart...
Now I have one more - not question more of an observation...
You never seem to comment on the positive posts on my blog - why is that?
I love you baby - hope you are doing well.
Mom
that not true silly, i have made several good comments on your blog ;) you just dont read them :P
love you too, and hope your plans are not becoming too much of a strain!
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