| From: | shadowrn@*********.com (Hahns Shin) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | [OT] Violence (was Re: in defense of the devil) |
| Date: | Fri Sep 14 12:50:15 2001 |
route.
> Ever consider why the boyfriend was knocking his girlfriend about?
His own
> personal demons? Ever consider he ALREADY knew what it was like? No
course
> not, rather than help him you beat the shit out of him. Way to go.
Violence
> solved a problem alright.
I would not condemn your beliefs, for they try to reach a level of
idealism which I strive to attain myself, as a medical student and
eventual doctor. But saying that violence is the "easy way" seems to
be more of an emotional reaction rather than a rationally thought-out
response. Violence is, on the whole, neither popular nor easy. It can
be either or both in times of strife and anger (as we see in response
to recent events). But saying that "violence is (de facto) wrong",
merely because the application of violence sometimes goes against
shared ideals, is not sound judgment. The one time I encountered
racism in high school, I had to defend myself in a violent manner.
After a few racist classmates made several racial comments, they
attacked me (no teachers were around, and the only other people were
students who were afraid of them). I applied what little self-defense
training I had at the time to immobilize my opponents. By the time the
teachers came, I was the only one standing, holding two of them to the
ground in makeshift locks (btw, it helps to be double-jointed). None
of them were hurt badly, except for a few bruises and some flush in
the face from their anger, while I was unscratched. Unfortunately, to
the teachers, it looked like I was the "winner" and therefore the
"bully". I was nearly suspended from school until eyewitness reports
from my peers stated that I acted only in self-defense and that the
attack was racially motivated. I'll never forget that day in my life.
They wanted to hurt me, and they could have if I let them. I won that
battle, and in the process, won every future battle, at least in
school. The racists never picked a fight with me again.
Did I like using violence? No. Was I given a choice? Perhaps. Violence
used in anger between two parties can lead to more violence. But
sometimes violence is the correct choice. I'm not justifying or
comdemning an attack by the US against those parties who caused this
tragedy, but I just want to expose a certain facet of the application
of violence... that violence is not inherently wrong simply by being a
violent act, but the motives behind it can be.
I sense and predict that there could be a response to this post. I
would appreciate it if replies were made personally to the e-mail
address above, so I can know that the response is personal and not a
public soapbox to incite an explosive thread. It is not my intent to
start a thread with this, but I felt that I needed to comment. Again,
I abhor violence, mostly as a professional code of ethics... after
all, how can one claim to preserve life while taking life?
Hahns Shin, MS II
Budding cybersurgeon
