3 ms·
Having boxed for 2 years, and fought in the streets as a kid, I am not in denial about violence being a 'core' part of our current humanity. I think we can evol
by eggy 11y ago
Having boxed for 2 years, and fought in the streets as a kid, I am not in denial about violence being a 'core' part of our current humanity. I think we can evolve away from it. For the record, it is about the individual for me, no groups or groupthink or tribalism as hinted at by "our group is better than your group", which I think should only be a sentiment for when we are immature and do not know better. Now in my older age, I apologize for something more readily and sooner than when I was a teenager, even if I have not convinced myself I am at all wrong. Maturity, and in my case sobriety, help me greatly to try and grow, and redirect or solve my personal or interpersonal issues in a less violent, more creative and positive manner including eliminating abusive, berating, or condescending speech. I am not 'PC' by any means, but I am more human, I think by finding compassion and empathy where I once looked as might as a last resort in a failing intellectual argument. We poison ourselves and solve nothing with negative rage, or energy. Turning upset into a personal challenge. I am but a naive fifty-something hoping to one-up myself. Fortunately, my children are already more emotionally, and intellectually mature than when I was their age, and I am this in comparison to my father. This is my 'empirical' evidence of evolving away from violence without violent substitution.
- angersock 11y agoThank you for a good writeup. :) I don't meant to come across as supporting violence instead of more civilized ways of handling things; your point about getting older and being able to handle things nonviolently certain rings true to me. It's more, to me, that that violent stage is very much something that we all go through to one degree or another. Once we're past that stage, we see how silly it is, but if you never grow through and out of it, I think you can't reason about it as successfully. Policies which seek to remove that stage entirely (typically through medication, zero-tolerance policies, or what not) damage the socialization of young adults and children. I think we should provide a safe route to explore and then grow out of those tendencies, instead of trying to pretend they don't exist.