violence and its consequence

[xris]

The subject of violence and if it solves anything is something we all have had to confront,we may act violently but is it right?
I was delivering an antique chair to a customer and found him out.Knowing a friend lived next door, i knocked on her door to ask her to accept it for him.She arrived at the door badly beaten,bruised and limping.Her husband i knew beat her on occassions, was sitting just inside the door.I asked him if he had done this to her,he replied" she deserved it,she should keep her mouth shut."I nearly killed him, i have no regrets,am i wrong.

[validity]

Violence wont end if I am violent.

Either that or natural selection will see this idea end and it wont mean squat

What do you mean specifically by "I nearly killed him"?

[Didymos Thomas]

I'm sure beating the heck out of that fellow gave you a great deal of satisfaction. But was your satisfaction a solution to her problem?

Recall the scene from Don Quixote - our hero comes across a young man being beaten by his master. Don Quixote intervenes, but afterward the young lad subjected to an even greater beating. Don Quixote was satisfied by his work, but his work proved counter productive.

Violence begets violence. Power of moral example is very real.By responding with violence you assert violence as a solution and in the process produce further violence. Notice how that jack-ass's violence caused your own violence. Gotta break the cycle. Gotta try some peace.

[xris]

Originally Posted by validity

Violence wont end if I am violent.

Either that or natural selection will see this idea end and it wont mean squat

What do you mean specifically by "I nearly killed him"?

exactly that, he nearly died by my action.His violence to her was constant uptil then but it stopped afterwards.

---------- Post added at 09:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Didymos Thomas

I'm sure beating the heck out of that fellow gave you a great deal of satisfaction. But was your satisfaction a solution to her problem?

Recall the scene from Don Quixote - our hero comes across a young man being beaten by his master. Don Quixote intervenes, but afterward the young lad subjected to an even greater beating. Don Quixote was satisfied by his work, but his work proved counter productive.

Violence begets violence. Power of moral example is very real.By responding with violence you assert violence as a solution and in the process produce further violence. Notice how that jack-ass's violence caused your own violence. Gotta break the cycle. Gotta try some peace.

i would not call it satisfying, it frightened me, my violence.If it had not resolved the problem i promised him i would return,it stopped.Was i right?

[Justin]

Originally Posted by xris

She arrived at the door badly beaten,bruised and limping.Her husband i knew beat her on occassions, was sitting just inside the door.I asked him if he had done this to her,he replied" she deserved it,she should keep her mouth shut."I nearly killed him, i have no regrets,am i wrong.

xris, I can honestly say I too would have had a hard time dealing with this situation without yanking this guy out of the house and beating him to near death... However, as I look back on the times where I have been violent I can see the downside to it.

Recently I walked into a mexican restaurant at 2:00pm to grab a quick meal and as soon as I walked in, I turned to see the owner at the bar slap a waitress. 5 years ago I would have reacted in violence which would have made things worse for all of us. Instead that same waitress came to the table and I asked, "are you OK?". She didn't answer because the embarrassment of just being slapped accross the face. Needless to say I simply got up and walked out before I did something irrational. Let me tell you, I had to use powers beyond my control to walk out without putting a hurt on this guy. Instead, I remembered Joey Korn's method of blessing and simply blessed them both and went somewhere else.

I used to be a loose cannnon when it came to violence returning violence. But, as I mature I easily see that Love conquers even the most evil and most violent of the all. It's not easy to love the unlovely or 'Kill them with kindness' but in the end, it promotes more positive change then violent reactions. Usually the violent people have been subject to violence in the past and when someone returns Love instead of violence it can be a life changing example and experience.

Originally Posted by Didymos Thomas

Violence begets violence. Power of moral example is very real.By responding with violence you assert violence as a solution and in the process produce further violence. Notice how that jack-ass's violence caused your own violence. Gotta break the cycle. Gotta try some peace.

Amen to that. In all seriousness, when violence occurs within the body, toxins are released. I had much trouble with this in my past and for some of it I didn't know how bad it's effect really was... Of course in my case it was far greater than typical violence, it was rage.

It completely drains your energy. Releases toxins within the body that are cancer causing or even worse. It's no good and there is nothing solved with violence and that's why I'm so against it today. I've been violent and been the subject of violence and damnit if I'm going to surround myself in such an atmosphere. There's something to be said about the power of love and balance especially when it radiates outward.

Violence attracts violence as we see in our world today and in history. Violence also attracts many other BAD things into ones life.

So, were you wrong?... I wouldn't say so. I would say though that this is an opportunity for you to learn and grow from your mistakes and go deep within yourself to find peace that no violence can shake. You'll find that once you can respond lovingly to violence, violence disappears.

[kennethamy]

Originally Posted by Didymos Thomas

I

Violence begets violence.

Have you anything other than anecdotal evidence for that view? I would suppose, off the top of my head, that is sometimes true. But, I would suppose that sometimes that is not true, and that sometimes, violence settles the issue once and for all. It would depend on the particular case.

[Khethil]

I don't think I can express a response without letting slip a very large contradiction:

• What you did was, by my set, ethically wrong.

• What you did was (likely) badly needed and I'll shake your hand for it.

In a broader sense, answering violence with violence hurts more than it helps and generally ends up self-defeating. This isn't just a cliche', it works. But what you're addressing isn't a perfect situation borne of considerate parties; where a courteous response is worth anything. I also believe there are times when in the midst of addressing an immoral act, one must choose the lesser of evils; a situation where acting is wrong and not-acting is unacceptable.

Tough one - and good post.

[xris]

Justin ,i cant walk away its not my nature, my weakness.I'm not big so im no bully,just cant help it,adrenaline runs, my body shakes and im not in control.Its too late for me to learn,i might die by the sword.I have regrets and on the odd occasion i have walked away i regret that to.I never act if its against me, just bullies who harm women or children.My wife is the only one who can stop me,bless her.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by xris

Justin ,i cant walk away its not my nature, my weakness.I'm not big so im no bully,just cant help it,adrenaline runs, my body shakes and im not in control.Its too late for me to learn,i might die by the sword.I have regrets and on the odd occasion i have walked away i regret that to.I never act if its against me, just bullies who harm women or children.My wife is the only one who can stop me,bless her.

Neither could I at one time and I still have a hard time walking away. I wont stand aside and watch as someone beats on another but I have to be careful because when I get pissed off or allow myself to get to a certain point, it's very easy to pass the point of no return so I must control myself... LOL. It's not really all the funny but dang if it isn't a very hard thing to do.

I go back to this... I cannot control people. I cannot control who wants to harm who and I cannot control the circumstances leading up to violence. The only thing I have complete control of is my perception of the incident and likewise my reflection, which would be my reaction to it. Once something controls you that you cannot control, it's dangerous. I've been there and the cost was a great one.

On the other hand, we learn from our mistakes and we evolve and mature to give us understanding for what we do. The most important thing is that we take each incident and do our best to learn from them and discover who we are through them.

Seriously, I could write a book about violence and have participated in much of it at one time and it's no good no matter what the temporary outcome may be. The long term effects are enormous and harmful. Again, I cannot control 'them' all I can control is my reaction to 'them' and hope emotions and ego doesn't get in the way.

The surest way to hurt ourselves is to hurt someone else. I cannot stress that enough.

[Elmud]

I hate violence. Makes me physically ill to see it, feel it, be exposed to it in any way. It is everywhere you look. Turn your head to avoid it, its in the opposite direction as well. Its like a plague. Forces its way into the lives of us all.