Thread: The Use of Force

Originally Posted by Noogah

I don't agree with the attitude towards violence here. In fact, I think it's very silly. Taosaur, you're making violence sound like a tornado. A random force that is unpredictable. You go on talking of mad men that go about killing each other, and bombs that you seem to believe are thrown left and right without any thought to where they land.

Anyways, that's what it sounds like to me.

There is such thing as controlled violence.

But what percentage of the world's population do you think is capable of clearing their heads in the heat of the moment? I would argue that the vast majority are prone to impulsive and rash behavior, behavior they are inevitably going to regret. For most people, violence is unpredictable and it is uncontrollable, like a tornado. I'm sure we've all experienced an anger that completely engulfed our senses and literally took over our bodies. There were times when I was playing football where I felt like an animal, like I was thirsty for blood and there wasn't anything anybody could do to stop me. All it takes is a trigger and you enter into that mode. Then you get that fire in your eyes and the rest is history. There are certain factors that amplify that feeling as well, like crowds of people or a girlfriend close by. That's why you always see fights around crowds of people. People act like idiots in crowds.

I think we would all like to believe that at least our nation's governments don't behave in this way when waging war, but when you really analyze historical wars, you'll find that nations tend to act a lot like primordial man; driven almost entirely by instinct. Sure, the actual war plan and execution of said plan is highly controlled and calculated, but the forces which drive nations into war with each other are as unpredicatable as a man who has just found out his wife cheated on him with his best friend.