You know, I came back to this thread because I just finished looking at some of the media coverage for the upcoming Soulforce Freedom Ride, and I was reading the exerpts from the Lynchburg, VA, paper, and the responses by readers of the article/event. I came back to this thread, because some of the comments posted by those that read the article would definitely be considered violence in my mind. I am wondering as I remember what was on your list, that violence can be a physical or verbal act in and of itself (like a parent that pulls a child from the street or a surgeon cutting open a person) without consideration of the intent of the violence. If the intent is ill-willed (?) then does that then increase the intensity of the violence? I am not sure what I think about that, because the surgery you listed in and of itself is a violent act, but yet with the best of intentions. I am thinking of the violence of the act of Christ's whipping, dragging a cross and then being nailed to it for hours- if God made that to be that way for Jesus out of the best of intentions, does that make the violence of it justified? I have always thought especially since seeing the visual depiction in the Passion of the Christ, that the violence of it is so hard to think about and bear, but God's intent was for Christ to then rise from the dead to be there for us all- it happened for us. The verbal violence in the Lynchburg paper- although not limited to Lynchburg I know- is so disheartening to me, because the words hurt, and it goes beyond someone believing different from you and me- these persons want to hurt others with their words of violence. These people could just express their frustration without making derogatory comments and disrespect. Rev. Fred Phelps is committing violence every time he visits a funeral, now he and his followers are visiting soldiers funerals, rejoicing every time a soldier is "blown to bits" he said on CNN. Because his country condones homosexuality. Again, that feels like violence with malicious, vicious intent. Does any of this make sense? Let me know your thoughts or anyone else out there. Peace, Vanessa
