Violence Begets Violence - If We Let It!

Like most Canadian kids I grew up with a pair of skates and a hockey stick in  my hand. In the winter we went to Lily Lake in Saint John N.B. where the city maintained a number of 'hockey pads', small rinks where the snow had been removed from the ice by horse drawn ploughs.  We played the game every day after school till darkness made it impossible. Then we removed our skates and put on our cold boots (the goal posts!) and trudged home, skates hanging over our shoulders and stick draping down in the front. Of course, the weekends were two long days of shinny. Over the years I continued to play hockey in one league or another in such places as Montreal, Sudbury and even in Dayton, Ohio. Needless to say I loved the game and consider it one of the greatest pleasures in my life.

The latest battle between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins (the first American team to join what is now the NHL), was an example of what the game has become in the hands of big business. The current league grew out of the National Hockey Association, which was suspended around 1919, and the NHL was born in Montreal. When I first played hockey in Dayton  I was surprised as to how different it was from my experience in Canada. Yes, hockey is fast and rough, it is the very nature of the game. But in my Dayton days I thought the Americans had somehow confused it with football! Skating skills, clever stick handling, playing the puck, and  speed are still evident. But playing the man first (body checking is part of the game, but cross-checking, charging, boarding and elbows would elicit a penalty!) especially with today's huge players and quick changes, have turned the rink into a Roman forum. Professional  hockey players have become gladiators and the music, jerseys, waving towels and hype ratchet the spectators  into a frenzy.

Hence, it was no surprise to me to see the violence in the streets of Vancouver that ensued after the game. The energy built up in the arena, like the inside of a pressure cooker, exploded outward. Hype, excitement,  joy or disappointment are part of being human. Indeed, some high pitched sports events often bring us together in a way that religious events did in the past. But when the participants abandon reason and control, the violent lessons learned from the gladiators on the ice is projected onto the streets.

Years ago (1963) a professor at Yale, Stanley Milgram, wondered why so many million accomplices during WW11 were willing to perform actions that normally would go against their deepest moral beliefs. He found through his research that it was a blind obedience to perceived authority. In Vancouver that perceived authority was the mob.

In this blog we have talked about our being in the world, that we are, or should be the authority over our own lives and not the victims of others. Yet, hundreds of fellow Canadians  in Vancouver last week abandoned that responsibility, and simply obeyed the crowd. As one young man said, "For reasons I can't explain, I went from being a spectator to becoming part of the mob mentality.."(Toronto Star June 20, 2011)

As long as adults are willing to be led, even when it is an affront to their own moral beliefs, our world will remain violent. It is always difficult to be true to oneself, but by abandoning that responsibility, we abandon who and what we could become.

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