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I'm not sure I understand how we can simultaneously be resorting to violence too quickly and also swinging too far in the other direction. I could be mistaken,

I'm not sure I understand how we can simultaneously be resorting to violence too quickly and also swinging too far in the other direction. I could be mistaken, but the former sure seems like the more pressing problem in practice. Are there advocates of taking it too far in the other direction? Of course, but there are advocates of just about everything. I would tend to save my worries regarding those advocates until the problem of resorting to violence too quickly recedes some, and the opposite problem becomes more prevalent outside of mere advocacy.

LyndsySimon 13y ago
> I'm not sure I understand how we can simultaneously be resorting to violence too quickly and also swinging too far in the other direction. A generation ago, many conflicts in elementary through high school - especially between boys - were solved by physical confrontation. Two generations ago, it wouldn't have been uncommon for young adult men to come to blows. In neither of these cases would law enforcement have even been considered. During my own time in public school, I saw the attitude change from "don't start a fight" to "if you get into a fight, both parties will be punished". > I could be mistaken, but the former sure seems like the more pressing problem in practice. Aggressive personalities are being shunned in our culture. Being "Alpha" is being construed as a negative thing, as a deficiency in some set of social skills that are presumably teachable. > Are there advocates of taking it too far in the other direction? Of course, but there are advocates of just about everything. I would tend to save my worries regarding those advocates until the problem of resorting to violence too quickly recedes some, and the opposite problem becomes more prevalent outside of mere advocacy. We're teaching our children that using violence represents a failure. I strongly believe the employing violence in defense of self or of a third party is entirely appropriate and in some cases the only morally coherent response to the violent aggression of others. Instead, we should be showing our children how to form a rational basis for their actions and to consider their emotional responses in light of that.

LyndsySimon 13y ago

> I'm not sure I understand how we can simultaneously be resorting to violence too quickly and also swinging too far in the other direction. A generation ago, many conflicts in elementary through high school - especially between boys - were solved by physical confrontation. Two generations ago, it wouldn't have been uncommon for young adult men to come to blows. In neither of these cases would law enforcement have even been considered. During my own time in public school, I saw the attitude change from "don't start a fight" to "if you get into a fight, both parties will be punished". > I could be mistaken, but the former sure seems like the more pressing problem in practice. Aggressive personalities are being shunned in our culture. Being "Alpha" is being construed as a negative thing, as a deficiency in some set of social skills that are presumably teachable. > Are there advocates of taking it too far in the other direction? Of course, but there are advocates of just about everything. I would tend to save my worries regarding those advocates until the problem of resorting to violence too quickly recedes some, and the opposite problem becomes more prevalent outside of mere advocacy. We're teaching our children that using violence represents a failure. I strongly believe the employing violence in defense of self or of a third party is entirely appropriate and in some cases the only morally coherent response to the violent aggression of others. Instead, we should be showing our children how to form a rational basis for their actions and to consider their emotional responses in light of that.