H2O Man Survey #39

[F4lconF16]

14. I think there's quite a few reasons.

I don't really have the time tonight to assess which are the stronger factors, but a few thoughts ran through my head. Here they are, in no particular order:

--our economic and societal structure

The individualism inherent to and encouraged by capitalism pits people against each other on a daily basis. We fight each other for food, for jobs, for attention. We are scared to death of losing what little we have, and we are constantly on the defensive, looking for ways to. Our economy depends on growth, expansion, and exploitation. We are embroiled in constant war. And it is all done in order to consolidate power (which often means wealth and capital) for a select few that grow more select each year.

In short, we trivialize human life with the manner in which we run our society.

Colin Quinn did a bit in "Long Story Short" that I liked that described this conflict pretty well (start at 3:41, go to around 5:00--I can't get DU to do it automatically. The whole bit, starting at around 1:52, is worth watching.)

--sports

Tribalism. Extreme tribalism. I've had people threaten to hurt me for not liking their team, for not enjoying the sheer bloodthirstiness of much of American sports. The world in general has a lot of issues relating to sports, but America is particularly intense in the way it venerates sports, teams, and the individuals within them. This isn't to say sports are bad, but that we approach them in an all-too-often violent mindset. As with other things in this list, it may be a result rather than a cause, but also like many of those other things, it is self-perpetuating and feeds on itself.

--education system and authoritarianism

We teach a constant submissiveness to authority, with little attention to teaching empathy, understanding, and perspective. Our education system is often not about education, but control and societal norms.

--gender inequality

Gender inequality creates violence through the process of dehumanization. There's a lot, lot more to go into on this topic, but I'll just mention it for now.

--racial hatred

We can't escape history. Our treatment of PoC is beyond abhorrent. The causes of racial hatred are complex (not undefinable, though), but suffice it to say that violence rather easily stems from that history. I shouldn't have to dig too deeply into why for this audience.

--religion

I believe religion often helps to create violence by establishing an unchanging, unprovable "truth". Since it does not require evidence, we are free to create our own versions of that truth. Unfortunately, religion is such an ingrained and important part of our lives that to disagree with another's truth is an affront, and often is taken as an attack, resulting in often violent retaliation. I would guess most atheists understand this point to some extent. I'd also argue that religion prevents us from fully realizing our humanity and understanding our place in the universe, and in doing so, prevents us from empathy.

--biology and our environment

Due to many of these other factors, we do not sleep and eat enough. Stress kills; sadly, this takes on many literal meanings. There is also much else about living in crowded cities, limited water/resources, etc., that causes conflict.

On edit:

holy crap, I forgot to add the criminal justice system. What a fucking mess that is. If there is one thing that embodies the problems with violence in our country, it is that. Oppressive, dehumanizing, racially biased, strict gender roles, lack of physical and mental care--I could go on. It's absolutely insane, and perhaps the greatest cause of direct violence in the US. It may be a result of capitalism and our societal structure, but it is a cause in it's own right (as are some other things I've mentioned).

There are more, but I am tired and hungry. Hopefully this made some sense. I appreciated the question--I will be thinking on this in greater depth tonight and tomorrow. As usual, your words are welcome and well stated. Thank you.