The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #58993   Message #937116
Posted By: Amos
21-Apr-03 - 11:09 AM
Thread Name: Violence is the American Way?
Subject: RE: Violence is the American Way?
Damn tab key....

...From a broader point of view it is obvious that an individual -- any individual -- can fall into a band of insanity where violence is the dominant emotional state. It is a desperate condition wherein one perceives oneself to be at great risk and out of options. This is not usually a true perception, except in cases of war or street-fights or confronting savage beasts, but it is perfectly real in the seeming. It's more sane than complete apathy but less sane than communicating and organizing, by a long shot.

But this is a human mechanism and is just as likely to show up in the back alleys of Kyoto or Mogadishu as it is in the back alleys of Fort Worth. Alcohol tends to magnify it, which is why bars are often the site of violence. It has little to do with American culture.

An equally valid and statistically sound argument could be made for the case that Americans are mother-worshipers.

A