Malcolm X met with a firestorm of condemnation when he stated that "the chickens have come home to roost" in reference to the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Much of this public revulsion, I believe, wasn't based on the fact that what he said wasn't true, it was more that it struck a painful nerve. The majority simply didn't want to look in the mirror to admit that a nation that celebrates violence will often see that same violence turned inward.
I was thinking of Malcolm X's assessment yesterday in terms of the horrific shooting in Tucson. While the shooter's precise motivation has yet to be determined -- if it is ever determined -- I think there can be no question that a nation basted in militaristic conquest and violent rhetoric helps to facilitate acts of this nature.
Unlike many people, I'm not suggesting that this group or that person holds a heightened measure of responsibility. Violent phraseology (see this pdf) is not the purview of the left or the right; we all use it. It has insidiously crept into the English language and has become an everyday part of the American lexicon.
Even in the shadows of this recent event, the language utilized by pundits, bloggers and folks leaving comments on various news sites only underscores how violent our thinking and rhetoric has become. People simply don't disagree with one another -- they vehemently disagree and create a landscape of violent intolerance. If some of these folks were communicating with guns instead of keyboards, we would have daily bloodbaths.
While I'm sure that a lot of people -- both in and out of the government -- will suggest that we need to clamp down on society to lessen the chance of this kind of act ever taking place again, this strategy won't have the desired effect, in my opinion. More security measures are not the answer; moving away from violence in all facets of life will more readily lessen its allure as a remedy to excise personal demons or advance personal agendas.
I was thinking of Malcolm X's assessment yesterday in terms of the horrific shooting in Tucson. While the shooter's precise motivation has yet to be determined -- if it is ever determined -- I think there can be no question that a nation basted in militaristic conquest and violent rhetoric helps to facilitate acts of this nature.
Unlike many people, I'm not suggesting that this group or that person holds a heightened measure of responsibility. Violent phraseology (see this pdf) is not the purview of the left or the right; we all use it. It has insidiously crept into the English language and has become an everyday part of the American lexicon.
Even in the shadows of this recent event, the language utilized by pundits, bloggers and folks leaving comments on various news sites only underscores how violent our thinking and rhetoric has become. People simply don't disagree with one another -- they vehemently disagree and create a landscape of violent intolerance. If some of these folks were communicating with guns instead of keyboards, we would have daily bloodbaths.
While I'm sure that a lot of people -- both in and out of the government -- will suggest that we need to clamp down on society to lessen the chance of this kind of act ever taking place again, this strategy won't have the desired effect, in my opinion. More security measures are not the answer; moving away from violence in all facets of life will more readily lessen its allure as a remedy to excise personal demons or advance personal agendas.
Looks like we're on the same wavelength tonight my friend.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is a news junkie and in our tiny house I've been saturated with it the last 24 hours or so.
On the subject of our violence saturated society, it just occurred to me that not only was the shooter in this case bombarded with violence on TV and movies like my generation was, his generation grew up playing video "games" where the whole point is to leave a trail of bloody carnage in one's wake.
That has got to have a bad effect on the less stable members of society. Talk about desensitization!
Yeah, I hate it when this stuff happens, it's just an excuse for for more "security measures" which means control. Of course. But then I think, so is almost every other event they report.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Daily Show fan, and I gotta agree with John Stewart on this. the problem is no one discusses anymore. In the media, it's all soundbites and one liners, or shouted arguments. We've lost civil discourse somewhere along the way. We lose understanding and thus, polarize more and more. We listen to the news that fits our views, and ignore opposing arguments.
Add to this the violence of which you speak, and it's a recipe for disaster