Wednesday; June 15

One of the most often asked questions these days is why people are so violent? While we tend to focus a lot of attention interrupting harmful actions, what would happen if we were able to intervene earlier? Sure, there is value in discussing the control of dangerous weapons, but we certainly need to make sure we also search for ways to derail the feelings that lead to the actions?
I am sure that there are millions of reasons people act out in violence, but one that probably ranks high on the list is a feeling of being disrespected. Whether as an individual or as part of a larger culture, one of the reasons some people react aggressively is because they don’t feel like others care about them or their feelings. Whether it is a feeling of being bullied, oppressed or marginalized; there are people who act out because they don’t feel like they are getting the respect they deserve. In their own rationale, they figure that in some way acts of violence level the playing field.

Please don’t misunderstand me – I am not defending their opinion or justifying their actions – but what I am doing is wondering if we would have less acts of violence if we showed more respect to people? Again, the point isn’t to overlook bad choices or illegal actions, but if we made it a point to value each other has human beings rather than labeling others in one way or another, maybe we could curb the violence.

Let’s do our best to treat everyone with respect. Who knows, the smile and kind word we share today just might be the thing that defuses an act of violence tomorrow!

Think About It!

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