I think I'll do a statistical collection on passive aggression in Canadian populations.

Seriously, daylia, I think the answer to your original question is "No". I have lived among Americans for four or five decades without any violence, although I have seen instances of aggression, petty theft, robbery. But statistically, the numbers you are choosing to make your case with, as far as I am concerned, are suspect. And I don't think you're addressing the questions being raised here.

But Hofstadter, whose overly-complex analsyes I have always respected mainly because I couldn't really understand them, makes a good point, except for one major flaw. The good point is that there is some disparity between our liberal pride in our national virtues, embracing liberty and free speech and all that, and the unwillingness to confront ugly situations which don't match that vision.

The big flaw is that you cannot anthropomorphize whole societies and hope to make accurate or useful statements.

Finally, I would offer that Hofstadter, Ira Leonard, and anyone else who cares to swim around in these overarching sociological generalities would find more gainful use of their time in proposing what they think should be done, rather than just waving their arms with large numbers -- or better still, doing it. Otherwise their just creating huge pictures of badness with no redeeming value in them.

A