Violence, American Tradition, Thio, Taylor, and Schwartz
Thio, Taylor, and Schwartz (2012) considers violence to be of types which include assault, serial and mass murder, terrorism, genocide, hate-motivated violence, school violence. The authors argue that the poor are the most likely persons in the world to engage in violence, specifically homicide. The poor resort to violence as a way addressing interpersonal conflict. This is why Thio et al. (2012) explain that although the poor or the less privileged in society the most likely to commit violence, most of the murder/homicide or violence that they commit are towards other poor people and not on those privileged. Most homicides amongst the poor are intra-racial not interracial.
They apparently consider violence as a means of getting respect; it is considered as a symbol of masculinity and toughness. This is a view also expressed in the Home box Office video, Violence-An American Tradition, by Kunhardt and Kunhardt (1996), which explains that violence began with considering others as being lesser human beings whose pain was of less value or less important. This explains why male supremacy and white supremacy were used as excuses for violence against blacks.
[...] This led to the hunting of black men who were tortured, beaten, or lynched and killed by white mobs, such as what happened in Omaha in 1919. Historic Amnesia & Romanticize the Past Historic Amnesia refers to the tendency of forgetting or ignoring history; those who are not able to memorize the earlier period are bound to go over it. Apparently, Americans are too prone to historic amnesia especially when it concerns violence. Kunhardt and Kunhardt (1996) explains that the reason why American us the leader in violent incidences such as homicides amongst industrialized nations is attributed to its past. Various issues underscore this point. [...]
[...] Is Violence an American Tradition? Violence An American Tradition Application of Textbook's Analogy Thio, Taylor, and Schwartz (2012) considers violence to be of types which include assault, serial and mass murder, terrorism, genocide, hate- motivated violence, school violence. The authors argue that the poor are the most likely persons in the world to engage in violence, specifically homicide. The poor resort to violence as a way addressing interpersonal conflict. This is why Thio et al. (2012) explain that although the poor or the less privileged in society the most likely to commit violence, most of the murder/homicide or violence that they commit are towards other poor people and not on those privileged. [...]
[...] Romanticizing the past refers to glamourizing of past events or representing the past in a romantic manner that encourages imitating. Americans, especially American media, are also notorious of this. Thio et al. (2012) for instance, argues that some state in America publicized executions hoping that it would deter violent killings, instead it indirectly encouraged potential killers to kill; it diminished the respect or value of human life. In the 19th and 20th Century America, as well as today, the media continues to glamourize violence by portraying violent personality especially serial/mass murderers as heroes (Kunhardt and Kunhardt 1996). [...]
[...] This breeds a culture and subculture of violence, which encourages copycat violent crimes. References Kunhardt, Peter W., and Philip B. Kunhardt “Violence - An American Tradition.” Thio, Alex, Jim D. Taylor, and Martin D. Schwartz “Physical Violence.” Pp. 56–83 in Deviant Behavior. New York: Pearson Education Limited. [...]
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