Law, Crime & Justice

» aemontague - ritualised violence and rites of passage

I find your views insightful and have checked out your article. Here is my response:

Generally, I’m in agreement with your article on ritualized violence and rites of passage. However, rather than use the term violence, I prefer the broader term aggression, of which violence is a part, an option if you will.

Early migratory hunting societies had to be aggressive to survive. Warriors were as esteemed as a tribe’s best hunters, perhaps much the way we esteem our generals and our giants of industry. Then, as now, there were winners and losers. This suggests the good old days were about the same as contemporary times, except the geographic areas were very small, whereas now they are global.

So what makes those early times (and societies) so different and, for many, so appealing?

I believe the answer can be found in man’s changed relationship to nature, the natural order. In early times, humans considered themselves a part of nature, an order in which aggression is integral. Now, we see ourselves not only as separate from, but as the masters of nature. What we cannot control, we seek to destroy--aggression.

What has this to do with youth violence, most of which is directed toward other youth? On one hand for youth is the need to strut one’s stuff, but on the other is the authority of the state and adults. Other youths are vulnerable.

Unfortunately, a combination of factors is resulting in the violence becoming more deadly. The kids practice swarming; their authority figures practice genocide. Drive-by shootings kill innocents; authorities shrug off collateral damage. Like it or not, contemporary society still has ritualized violence, and just as in early societies, we are teaching our children well.

-- posted by aemontague