We see the power of violence in domestic violence, gang violence, drug violence, prison violence, in all forms of power struggles. The news is full of small and large forms of violence, from road rage to police overkill, drone strikes to full scale attacks, gang shootings to drug wars, school shootings, murder-suicides, and amateur bombings. It all blends together until there is no longer a solution to stop it. When I watched PBS, I thought of America, and how violence is increasing here. Abusers look for the easiest victims, and we have a lot of good people that are quickly becoming the victims of violent people within our borders.
Once the power of violence is discovered, it doesn't like to go back into its cage.
EVERYONE suffers because of it. Its perpetrators simply escalate.
What is violence?
Is it only a physical attack? or does it include verbal abuse?
What about cyber bullying? Name calling? Threatening?
Does violence only happen when it involves guns? knives? sticks? and other weapons?
How about a push, shove, fistfight, or other physical act?
Is violence throwing the first stone? or when someone throws it back?
In the age of technology, is violence a cyber attack?
If someone uses the internet to hurt, purposely, is that violence?
If office personnel congregate and make one person their victim, is that violence?
We have seen people can be attacked through their medical equipment.
Manufacturing plants have been attacked through the internet.
Maybe some of our crashing planes (or trains) have been taken over by internet hackers.
Street lights are ordered by computer, I think. Can they be manipulated and cause accidents?
Our stock exchanges are becoming more computer dependent, and have threatened to crash our entire economy in just a few minutes.
Vulnerable points in our communities are waiting for violent people to discover them
We can't count on good people being in the majority anymore...violent people want to make their mark, get in the news, hurt as they have been hurt, get into a gang family, see how it feels, and many other very sad reasons for causing violence and hurting innocent people.
As the world evolves into a global community, and establishes global enforcement options, there might be some way to contain the ones that can be caught. But we have to live in this world, this community, this country. How will we protect ourselves as individuals and families and neighborhoods?
We better start thinking about different strategies. I don't think prisons and police are going to be the answer.
