Normalised Violence: Victorious or Victimising?
Whether physical, financial, or psychological, violence is a force that has rooted itself in the complexities of humanity since the beginning of civilisation. Yet is it necessary - should it be censored or accepted in daily life?
The BBC, Guardian and Times are a few of the news broadcasters supplying us with daily depictions of the current savagery in the world. Showing the harsh realities of countries ravaged by war, torn apart by the grief of countless fatalities, and shaken deeply by intense political instability, it seems that violence is more prevalent today than ever before; yet it also acts as a searing indictment of the human urge for battle and bloodshed over compromise.
Desensitisation is a rapidly occurring effect of constant exposure to mainstream savagery, now materialising through unmonitored forms of entertainment social media provides for children. With over 7.21 billion users worldwide, violence manifests differently throughout generations as it continues to shape our minds. Through varying forms, it creates a difference in opinion - uniquely addressing everyone and creating diverse moral definitions of right and wrong through isolated experiences.
‘People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.’ Figures like George Orwell, Pierre Corneille and Charlie Kirk advocate for the necessity of violence, raising the idea that if it is inevitable, perhaps it is also necessary in maintaining society's fragile equilibrium, creating stronger generations with a deeper understanding of the horrors of the world, allowing them to recognise dangerous behaviour and distance themselves from it as quickly as possible. By obscuring this understanding, we leave them defenceless later in life, implicating ourselves in the crime at hand.
Violence is intrinsically weaved into the fabrics of our lives, whether we choose it or not. By censoring it, we also censor ourselves to the knowledge and understanding it grants us as we are forced to cope with the consequences.
Amelia L Warwick
Sources:
What we know about fatal shooting of conservative US activist Charlie Kirk - BBC News
