[revtj]

What is Violence?

Given the following real-life scenarios, which of these circumstances represents violence to you? This exercise is not meant to produce right or wrong answers but to stimulate a deeper consideration of how violence is enscribed into cultural norms.

1. A senator addresses the governing body of the nation and proclaims that having six months salary in a savings account is a basic rule of personal finance. He therefore concludes that victims of a hurricane who could not afford to relocate deserved what happened to them.

2. A parent is walking on the sidewalks of a busy city street with a 3 year old child when they come to an intersection where they will cross the street. The child jumps off the curb and is about to proceed in front of traffic when the parent seizes the child, yanks him back beside her, and slaps the child, frantically explaining how to safely cross the street.

3. Homer Simpson chokes his son Bart while the boys’ tongue protrudes and wiggles comically.

4. A surviving family member addresses a convicted killer and says, “I hope your rot in hell. I hope you are raped in prison.”

5. A speeding car passes you at more than twice the speed limit on the highway. You honk and curse.

6. A preacher tells the kindergarten Sunday School class, “There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.”

7. A world leader announces in a major speech during a time of war, “You are either for us or against us.”

8. A surgeon splits open the chest of a patient with a saw and, using a scalpel and other instruments, performs a successful heart transplant adding 20 years to the patient’s life.

9. An infant is born with serious defects to a poor couple. Although there are extraordinary surgeries and other treatments which have saved the lives of infants born with similar conditions, this family has no insurance. The hospital wraps the baby in a blanket, calls the chaplain, and allows the mother to hold the baby while it slowly passes away.

10. A dementia patient is admitted to a psych ward. The patient is unruly and uncooperative with staff. The patient is heavily medicated and strapped to a chair.