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> Things like denying healthcare, shutting down companies and laying off people to benefit private equity investors, forcing people into bankruptcy, losing thei
by bigstrat2003 2y ago
> Things like denying healthcare, shutting down companies and laying off people to benefit private equity investors, forcing people into bankruptcy, losing their homes, charging overdraft fees, etc.
These things are objectively not violence. Violence isn't a word for "things that harm people", it very specifically means direct, purposeful physical harm. Don't distort the meaning of words for rhetorical flair.
- Philpax 2y agoDefinition 3: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/violence https://www.dictionary.com/browse/violence
- jl6 2y agoDistorting the meaning of words is how these people justify their actions. Not giving them what they want? That’s violence now! Thus justifying retaliatory - or even pre-emptive - violence.
- oneeyedpigeon 2y agoThis is the same 'get out clause' that the antagonist in the Saw films uses: "I didn't harm those people directly, I only created the conditions under which they would be harmed." The WHO defines four types of violence: a) physical, b) sexual, c) psychological, and d) deprivation. Denying healthcare feels incredibly close to d) and — semi-indirectly — involves a bit of c) and a) too. > These things are objectively not violence. Semantics cannot possibly be 'objective'.
- _Algernon_ 2y agoStructural violence[1] and institutional violence has been concepts in academia for ages, even if you don't like it. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence By your strict definition of violence (direct harm) Hitler would walk free because he didn't personally gass the jews. Luckily we had trials[2] to determine that we still hold indirect perpetrators responsible. [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials