Converging Accessible Violence

I remember playing hockey in the Commercial League in Sudbury many years ago. It was not uncommon for fights to break out, at least a few times a game. It was a tough league and it's not hard to remember the player who tripped you the last time the teams met.  When a fisticuffs broke out there was usually a convergence of  players to defend their team mates. You have seen the scene on TV - gloves flying off, sticks dropped and a pile-up in the corner of the rink. For some reason I managed to stay out of the frays and peacefully skated around the arena during the brawl until the referees managed to get the game under control. In the early part of the season I would get a few cat calls from the spectators, but later in the season I usually garnered occasional clapping as I skated near the boards. After all, bystanders came to watch hockey, not prolonged boondoggles!

I must confess I don't get angry often. Most irritants are picayune anyway. I probably get more irritated at myself than angry with others!

Unfortunately, human anger often degenerates into violence and I have always wondered why there is so much violence in the world. Is violence innate to our nature? Is it something we learn? If so from where, or from whom? Can we identify the conditions that generate violence? In other words, is the human race a bunch of "bad asses" that can't be kept in line? "My 'genes' made me do it!"

Perhaps there is some truth to that expression. A common opinion today is that violence has strong evolutionary roots found in our genes and culture.  Fighting about resources for example. (Think current election propaganda and Trans-Pacific Partnerships!). As social animals we are influenced by the behaviour we observe around us. Other animals don't seem to learn from experience but simply respond from stimuli...a kind of behavioural algorithms.  At the same time evolution also required cooperation and peace for survival. 

Some like to say that today's violence comes from our exposure to our many media devices.  Watching a lot of violence cause us to be aggressive they say.  But after years of study the jury is still out and it is believed there is a very weak link between exposure to violent programs and aggressive behaviours. Probably the violence we are exposed to on our converging devices, desensitizes us and may even lead us to believe that the world is a dangerous place.  But Canada is still a very peaceful country and let's keep it that way!

Google Images

Violence has always been with us. Early Greek dramas and even Shakespeare included violence, torture, rape and revenge in their stories. And yes, violence on our devices is a huge business and it sells because it's easy to produce,

there is more action than dialogue, it does not require good writing or deep plots and everyone understands what's going on.

Anger and violence are not the same thing. Anger is an emotion and violence is a behaviour. It is normal to be angry from time to time and it makes sense not to let it build up. Take some time out and change the situation. Just hold on to your hockey stick and gloves and do a few circles around the rink before you get back in the game.

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week

Did You Know?  Netflix has produced its own movie called 'Beasts of No Nation'. It is a violent story about an African warlord. Some theatres are not going to screen it!