PrintJune 22, 2007
The application of violence
There is both the right application and the wrong application of violence. The media for the most part gets it wrong.
From Foxnews.com, a story about violence during Juneteenth celebrations. One incident in Austin, Texas, resulting from a car accidentally hitting a girl, the driver getting out to see if she was hurt, and subsequently being attacked. The passenger got out of the car to help the driver and was beaten to death. Another incident, according to the article,
"In Milwaukee, police responded in riot gear to disperse the crowd at that city's celebration on Tuesday after a man was pulled from a car and beaten and an officer was injured trying to break up a fight."
If one does not know what Juneteenth is - and I didn't before yesterday - then one supposes there is a high probability that race has nothing to do with either of these incidents. In fact, it does. I believe that these two incidents reflect an inclination toward senseless, "respect" driven, any-reason-will-do violence. Those who perpetrate this violence are a minority group of a minority group. But to ignore their existence and their harm is to ignore reality
On the other end of the spectrum of violence, this time violence with a purpose, the Royal Australian Navy's successful repelling of an Iranian kidnapping attempt in the Persian Gulf prior to the successful kidnapping of the British forces.
The RAN folks saved themselves from sharing the fate of the RN personnel by being prepared to use violence against an aggressor. Their appropriate use of, or threat to use, violence is under-reported in the media. Or worse, the appropriate use of violence is sometimes chided against in the media... "How could the (fill in the blank here) use such force to protect/defend (insert truly deserving entity here)?"
Through not understanding violence and the appropriate and inappropriate applications thereof, there is a high probability in today's media to justify the inappropriate and show contempt toward the appropriate. There must be a greater understanding of why, where and how appropriate violence is exercised. In defining these times, places and methods, the spotlight can then shift to the inappropriate use of violence and condemnation can fall where it should.
Bob Myer is proprietor of http://mindofflapjack.blogspot.com/
