Violence - Why is there so much of it today?

The last story about Grumpy Old Men has put me in mind of waxing lyrical about some of the more offensive things that I see about me on a daily basis. I wonder how many of you, dear readers, either share my views or find them totally at odds with your own? I would be pleased to hear about it.

Let's see, we have already discussed body piercing and we have already spoken about the insecurity of males who find it difficult to do what comes naturally in the current politically correct environment.

Let's now discuss another aspect of life that seems to be endemic. Violence.

I find it it intolerable to see so much violence in our society today. I keep wondering why it is there. My own musings on the subject seem to centre around something that I observed when I was growing up, the relationships between anger and frustration, anger and boredom, anger and anomie.

I know that if I am to be really honest with myself, then each of the times that I get angry there is a close association between the flash of anger and at least one of the three other elements, frustration, boredom or anomie.

I wonder if it is the same with others? I suspect it must be since we all seem to share some common characteristics as human beings.

Assuming that this may be the truth let's examine the behaviour of people who we see being violent.

The children that were on the streets the other day rioting in the western suburbs of Sydney for example. Were they frustrated by their socio economic conditions? They do after all live in a ghetto of people who were placed together in suburbs which were created by the housing authorities as a way of providing housing to those who for one reason or another could not afford their own. Were they bored? Were they simply lacking any sense of a moral and social code?

Food for thought there.

Let's look further afield. In Iraq it would be fair to say that there are people there who have been suppressed for a considerable number of years by the secret police and the political repression under Saddam Hussein. Equally there are people there who enjoyed the largess that was bestowed upon them by being part of the oppressive minority who now no longer have what they regarded as their just deserts. Do either of these conditions produce frustration? I think so. Sure enough what do we have just along side of this? Violence.

Indeed we could look at almost every situation on the face of the globe and see something similar. Whether it is fair to draw the conclusion that anger is almost always associated with frustration, boredom or anomie is still moot. Personally I know that my experience has taught me to look for these signs and when I see them to get the hell out of the way of the person who is manifesting them because they are dangerous.

As individuals who are able to observe and to then react to change our environment, what is there about today's society that creates so many violent people? Assuming that my hypothesis is correct, we should be looking at the causes of frustration, boredom and anomie and seeking to redress them in some way so that people are no longer placed in the position where the natural reaction takes place. Maybe this would be a more efficient way of spending money than incarcerating people.

What do you think?