The Violence Within Essay

How does this program differ from the types of punishment that are typically used for violent criminals?

“The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world” (Arendt pg 80). Violence is contagious, like a disease, which will destroy nations and our morals as human beings. Each individual has his or her own definition of violence and when it is acceptable or ethical to use it. Martin Luther King Jr., Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt are among the many that wrote about the different facets of violence, in what cases it is ethical, the role we as individuals play in this violent society and the political aspects behind our violence.

My operational definition of violence is any kind of physical action where the intention is to hurt, damage or kill someone or something. There is the question of whether violence is a part of human nature or simply some people way of interacting with the world around us, were we always violent or is it a more pronounced feature of the modern era? I believe that violence is a key part of human nature and has contributed to our survival and evolution on many occasions, however it can also a major drawback and has led to some of humanities most devastating mortality rates, wars and atrocities. It is widely accepted that violence is present in at least some humans, and so where does this violence originate from? The nature vs nurture debate explores whether people are born with this violent gene or are raised by their parents or guardians to act in a violent way but are not born with it. The nature vs nurture debate is a key part of violences origins in humanity and so will be explored in this essay.

If human beings are a part of nature, it can be assumed that they too have violent tendencies; in that respect, violence is a natural and innate response. Though we pride ourselves on being able to control these urges, they are always lurking somewhere beneath the surface of our most serene and civilized moments.

Violence is one of the most exaggerated forms of physical aggression and it can exist for a series of reasons. It involves a person or a group of persons acting against another person or groups of persons with the purpose to achieve one or several diverse goals. In many cases violence results from individuals perceiving the acts of other people as hostile and thus wanting to act against these people before it is too late. Depending on the situation, more or less individuals might get involved in an act of violence, especially when they consider that it would be essential for them to do so.

Over the last thirty years, significant scholars of American (particularly southern) lynching such as George C. Wright, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Stewart E. Tolnay and E. M. Beck, Christopher Waldrep, William D. Carrigan, Amy Louise Wood, and Manfred Berg have written at length about the social structure and cultural context of the collective violence, much of it racially motivated, that plagued the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century United States. With the exception of Wright's and Waldrep's work, lynching scholarship (including my own) has tended to focus more on the structure and context of lynching violence than on its impact on African American communities. Focusing on the violence itself as well as those who perpetrated it, scholars

Violence is one of the most necessary elements to life. It can be as vital as water, and as regenerating as a long deserved sleep. It is the ultimate balance to the human life. Violence is possibly one of the most perverted and tainted virtues that exists today. Like all values, there is a time and place for them. The hardest part of any virtue is its proper administration.

Although violence is one of the unfavourable social behaviours that is surely involved with a individual. Over 70 % of violence in the United States plays a very strong role in daily lives. Today the rate of violence is increasing faster than ever; the more people realize the truth the more they are becoming aware of what is happening around them. Our best example would be Syria: not having any knowledge on what is happening and then getting involved makes it hard for me to handle the truth in how much violence humans are facing over. Violence has only one way stop and that is for our social group to understand what matters the most.

Violence has never helped anyone but instead it has taken away the lives of people. In the essay, Jones says, “…the

Violence throughout our time has been evident ever since the beginning of our human species. From verbal to physical, one will not go through his/her lifetime without understanding the violent nature of other people. Richard Wilkinson brought up a point that “More unequal societies tend to be more violent” (Wilkinson 2). Wilkinson shows that there is a prominent correlation between income and homicide. Lower incomes shows higher rates of homicide. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens shows how violence can flourish due to the inequality seen in the lower classes. Dickens uses violence to portray that a society filled with inequalities can lead to violence.

Violence has been a common behavior that has existed among the human race for as long as we have existed. It has swept across nations and has left desolation in its path. It has also caused the rise of countries, creating a rebirth of freedom and independence. Violence is a weapon that is wielded in both hands by too much power or too little. As said by Edward Bond, a playwright, “violence shapes and obsesses our society, and if we do not stop being violent we have no future.” In the culture of men, it is something that has to exist if masculinity is desired. In the culture of the world, violence exists to create change. While Fight Club and First Blood involve violence in unique and fluctuating forms, all the books and movies use it as a means for change.

The books Child of the Dark by Carolina Maria de Jesus and Testimony by Victor Montejo describes the lives of two individuals from different societies. In both of these societies there was much hardship and violence. The two main characters who wrote these books describe life through their point of view and explains the hardship and challenges they had living in a society filled with violence.

The film “Battle for Algiers” can be analyzed thoroughly through Frantz Fanon’s and Hannah Arendt’s polar opposite theories on violence. The implication of both theories is represented in the film that has captured the understanding of both insightful phenomena. Fanon’s views on violence are it unifies individuals into forming a complex unit organism that works together, rinses, in addition it is presented as an effective and productive mean that support the process of decolonization. In contract, Arendt’s theory detaches the concept of violence from power and emphasizes that the driven reasons for violence is anti-political. Both philosophers present distinctive theories upon the use of violence; Fanon elucidates his philosophy on

Violence is something that will always be there, whether it be right up in your face, on a battlefield, or creeping in the darkness, sowing the seeds of despair and resentment in humanity’s hearts, forever changing the landscape of your life to come. Violence has vigorously torn apart relationships that have lasted centuries, all because of a single gunshot, which has led to massive bloodshed, and the loss of many loved ones. Violence is a part of a cycle that is necessary in life, but would rather be avoided, which is why I am here, to help diminish that cycle of hatred, through the power of prevention through education, and self control.

Violence is a direct result of cultures colliding. In one of our readings we read about John Steinbecks own The Pearl. In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino is faced with many tough choices that he handles with violence. For instance when someone jumped Kino to steal his pearl he immediately pulled out his knife and this happened, “ He heard the rush, got his knife out and lunged it at one of the dark figures and felt his knife go home.” Which means he stabbed and killed a man and left his wife with a awful countenance. The reason this ties back to cultures colliding is when people like the conquistadors came and tried to take over there land they had to learn to fight for there own safety. So when they did come the could rupture the spanish army.