Violence in America

(Revised 7-2-2008)

America has one of the highest rates of violence in the world. And I’m not talking about the kind of violence we see in certain other countries where it is caused by war or by large organized militias or groups using deadly weapons against people of other races or religions, or against other militias or groups.

I’m talking about violence that has been growing in America for a long time, especially since the early 1960s and increasingly in the last 7 years. It has had a horrible impact, not only on growing numbers of individuals, but on targeted groups, and occasionally even on indiscriminate groups of people.

We have to realize why there is so much violence, because it has gotten so bad that American school girls are beating each other up, and their friends are video taping it and putting it on the Internet as entertainment!

Of course, one of the worst things is that we have ugly gangsters and thugs fighting and killing each other in neighborhood turf wars. Gangs intimidate, bully and assault people to gain power and establish their turf, and then fight other gangs to maintain it. They even resort to cowardly "drive-by" shootings to kill rival gang members, and often kill innocent people inadvertently. It’s like the "collateral damage" caused by government-sanctioned killing.

We also have increasing incidents of violence due to "road rage," increasing incidents of domestic violence, and increasing incidents of rape. We have parents fist-fighting at their children's sports events. We have professional athletes fist-fighting in sports arenas, providing horrible examples to our children and youth. There has been an increase in interest in so-called "professional wrestling," "ultimate fighting," and even in dog fighting and cock fighting, all of which are disgusting and appeal to the worst in people. And those are just some of the indicators of what I’m talking about.

Don’t get me wrong. There is far more good in the nation and in the world than bad, and there are far more good people than bad. My writings emphasize that fact because we should always keep that in mind. However, the bad is increasing and getting worse, and it wasn’t always this way. I think it reached this point gradually, and the violence has evolved.

In my view, violence began to increase in America in the early 1960s, and I believe there was a pivotal event that triggered the increase. It was in the early 1960s when the newly elected Governor of California, Ronald Reagan, reacted intolerantly and with brutal violent force to the student Free Speech Movement in Berkeley at the University of California. That is very significant, because in doing that he set the tone for the violent right-wing reactionary confrontations that swept across America in the 1960s to try to suppress dissent and protest --- first in reaction to the Free Speech Movement, and then in reaction to the Civil Rights and Anti-War demonstrations and marches all across the country. (See the pages on Little Known American History, and Reagan’s Legacy.)

As Governor of California Reagan also started the trend of turning mental patients in state institutions out on the street to save money and reduce taxes for the wealthy, and that trend caught on with many right-wing politicians across the country. Consequently, most state government policies now dictate that no matter how mentally ill patients are, as long as they can somehow be deemed "no harm to themselves or to society" they can no longer be cared for in a public hospital or state institution. That’s because Reaganites have claimed we "can't afford" to care for them, and they’ve been able to get away with it. That's why we see so many mentally ill people on the street, homeless. That's also why we have seen the increasing criminalization of the mentally ill, because many communities find that throwing them in jail is the easiest way to get them off the street.

I bring that up because in the long run, the Reaganite folly has been even more costly to us in many ways, not only because of the impact of the mentally ill who become violent, but also because of the cost of arresting and incarcerating those who cause public disturbance or harm. In the final analysis, it would be better for society and the mentally ill if we cared for them as we should, in proper facilities staffed by qualified professionals.

You see, most people deny or forget or don’t know that Reagan had a mean streak, and that is also evident in the "anti-crime" initiatives he pushed as president, because his ideological world view about crime politicized criminal law issues. The result was unforgiving legislation known as the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, which ushered in both procedural and substantive laws that are terribly unfair and continue to haunt the administration of federal criminal justice. It severely restricts the discretion of judges, and results in terribly unfair prescribed minimum sentences, which creates more crime perpetrated by those wronged and treated unfairly by the criminal justice system.

Over the last 27 years since Reaganism began impacting our society, there has been an erosion of affirmative action; a drastic reduction in affordable housing programs; racial profiling; disproportionate targeting and unfair treatment by police; racially skewed charging and plea bargaining decisions of prosecutors; discriminatory sentencing practices; and terrible failure of judges, elected officials and other criminal justice policy-makers to redress the inequities.

As I stated in my second book, this situation has grown steadily worse ever since the policies initiated by then-president Richard Nixon began targeting black people, and particularly since then-president Ronald Reagan rendered the Civil Rights Commission impotent and ineffective, and virtually opened the doors wide open for institutionalized racism once again.

The impact of Reaganite folly has increasingly impacted our people. In fact, according to a recent study by the non-partisan Pew Research Center, more than one out of every hundred adults in the United States is now in jail or prison. That is an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion a year and the federal government $5 billion more. And, with more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the U.S. leads the world in both the number and percentage of its citizens in prison, far more than China, which is a distant second, and far more than Russia.

The growth in the prison population is largely because of tougher state and federal sentencing imposed since the mid-1980s by Reagan’s policies and his Comprehensive Crime Control Act. Minorities have been particularly affected, since one out of every nine black men ages 20 to 34 is behind bars, and rates for Latinos is nearly as high. Many of them, along with many white people are locked up for mandatory minimum sentences for victimless crimes, to the point where there is a lot of overcrowding in prisons. And it’s very costly, because over the past two decades, state spending on corrections (adjusted for inflation) increased 127 percent, as compared to spending on higher education, which rose only 21 percent.

All these things are clear indicators of how counterproductive Reaganite "law and order" policies have been with regard to the criminal justice system. But, the rising crimes and incarceration rates are caused also by Reaganism-turned-Bushism with regard to its terrible lack of social and economic justice, its built-in inequity, and its redistribution of wealth to those who were already wealthy, at the expense of all the rest of us.

That is because, as president, Reagan also increased the trend of cutting taxes for the wealthy, claiming there would be a "trickle-down" effect that would ultimately benefit all citizens. He also started the Reaganite (and later Bushite) trend of trying to whittle down and destroy President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs (like Social Security and Medicare), and all other social and human services programs, claiming that people should be "self-reliant" and "not depend on government." But that only shows how they mislead people, and it is their way of ignoring the advice of the Christ Jesus, who said we should care for the poor and the least of our brethren.

Since then, Reaganites and Bushites have not only continued to cut taxes for the the wealthiest one percent (the wealthiest three million Americans), falsely claiming that it will ultimately benefit everyone. They’ve also continued to cut funding and decrease investment in human services and proven prevention and intervention programs.

That is relevant, because it has proved disastrous on many different levels, not only with increases in poverty, hunger and homelessness, but with increases in crime and violence.

Reaganites and Bushites are blind to the utter foolishness of their policies, and to the fact that their policies for more than two and a half decades have caused most of the problems that we have today. They don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes, and yet they create greater need for greater revenue to pay for greater police forces and larger prisons and greater military forces, all of which are the most costly to our government and to the average American taxpayers who must bear the burden.

Is this not sheer insanity caused by greed and lust for money? Do they really serve "God and Country" as they claim? Or do they really serve Mammon and their own self interests? (And that's a rhetorical question, because the truth is self-evident to anyone who just looks at the facts.)

We simply must invest sufficiently in proven and effective prevention and intervention programs, because they will help solve many of our problems, including those caused by violence. Moreover, for every dollar invested in prevention and intervention programs, four dollars are saved and don’t have to be spent on law enforcement and punishment.

We must also ensure that police forces and the criminal justice systems focus on serious crimes of murder, rape, violence, assault and battery, domestic violence; spouse abuse, elder abuse, child abuse, sex abuse, robbery, theft, fraud, and trafficking and use of harmful, addictive drugs like meth, crack and heroin.

But we have to realize that in order to focus on serious crimes, the police and prosecutors should stop spending so much time trying to deal with victimless crimes like prostitution and the use of fairly harmless substances like Marijuana. (And by the way, I do not say that lightly or unadvisedly. In fact, I know the religious and scientific facts about it, and if you are interested, read the page on The Plant of Renown. Better yet, read Chapter 10. On The War on Marijuana in my second book. It reveals exactly how and why the U.S. Government’s policies and laws against Marijuana ever since 1937 have been based on denial and blatant ignorance of truth and facts, including facts revealed in official government reports and research. It explains how and why over ten million Americans were arrested on Marijuana charges between 1972 and 2002, and that folly has continued. In fact, about one Marijuana smoker is arrested every 45 seconds in America, and many are put in prison, wasting the time of police and the courts, and taking up prison space that should be reserved for larcenous and violent criminals who really ought to be there. Consequently, prisons are overcrowded, and many serious offenders are given early release.)

Anyway, getting back to the problem of violence, it cannot be solved solely by reforming the law enforcement and criminal justice systems. We have to consider the root causes, the biggest of which is poverty. (See the page on Poverty in America for causes and solutions.) But there are many other causes, and some of the worst are all the bad examples that influence us, and especially our children and youth.

In my view, the worst examples who do the most harm are bigoted, hypocritical, unfair and divisive right-wing conservative politicians, especially those on the Reaganite/Bushite New Right, or the Neo-Conservative ("Neo-Con") Movement in America. After all, for the last twenty-seven years it has had tremendous political influence by claiming to tout "family values" and "Christian values," when it has actually created a culture of "Me First," and "It's everyone for himself." They of course claim they are merely against "big government" and for "self-reliance," but that's just a smoke screen. In fact, it's all a lie, and their policies have created terrible financial hardship for many working poor people.

The Neo-Cons (Reaganites and Bushites) really like big government if and when it suits their purposes. They especially like a big conventional police forces and a big conventional military, and even a big covert military force, so they can impose their will anywhere in the world. They just want to do away with government programs and services that help people who need help, just so they can pay far less than their fair share of taxes. But, by cutting taxes even further for the wealthiest few, Bush has plunged the nation deep into debt and deprived many people of the help they desperately need.

Reaganites and Bushites have also been successful at creating laws that enable the very wealthy few to get even more and more wealthy, while the majority of us continually becomes less well off, the middle class shrinks and more and more people fall into the working poor population. In other words, even though the Reaganite Neo-Cons claim and pretend to serve God and humanity, they actually serve Mammon and their own selves, at the expense of all the rest of us, and at the expense of our environment. And all this has had a profoundly negative impact on many families in the middle income and working poor populations, and on our society in general, and it has exacerbated the problems of violence and crime.

But the Reaganites and Bushites are certainly not the only other bad examples.

On television we see police committing unnecessary and illegal acts of violence, and we see professional athletes in sports arenas slugging it out in disgusting and sickening displays of aggravated violence. Unfortunately, it seems that fair play, proper restraint and good sportsmanship are becoming less and less important, and it is apparent that they are taught less and less by those who should be teaching it and demanding it. So we must draw the line. We are being far too enabling and permissive of the really bad examples.

As it is now, we see all kinds of violence on television. Some of it is intentionally produced and legally sanctioned, and some of it is displayed on the news when perpetrated by people blatantly breaking the law and disturbing the peace. On television news programs the sports commentators apparently love to show the fights and bad behavior as highlights. But, while the entertainment industry and news media can freely choose subject matter and decide what is newsworthy and what is not, I question the decisions they've been making. I question the necessity or usefulness of producing or broadcasting demonstrations of violence, because I think in most cases it has no value whatsoever. It is, I believe, contagious and fosters more violence. I think we need to realize what impact words and images have, and use more discretion.

I suspect that television producers operate on the idea that violence sells, because it does appeal to our lowest, beastly nature. In fact, it appeals to that contagious spirit that has attracted ugly lynch mobs, and it attracts crowds who gather around to watch people fighting. It really should sicken and repel us, but, in the culture we've created, it excites and fascinates many people. It has become entertainment, as it was in the corrupted ancient Roman Empire before its inevitable demise, and its influence has gotten so bad and so pervasive that it could be said we now have a "kick butt" culture.

Unfortunately, there are even worse indicators of that, and worse indicators of our moral decline. As I said, we have disgusting thugs and gangsters killing each other in turf wars in many of our neighborhoods and communities. We also have thugs and gangsters on some of our big city police forces, who are corrupted by the idea that might makes right. We even have thugs and gangsters at the highest level of some governments, who are corrupted by the same idea, who fight and kill their enemies in turf wars in different places in the world. And, along with that and as a result of that, we have thugs and gangsters who regard themselves as guerrilla "freedom fighters," even though they are actually criminal terrorists committing evil indiscriminate mass murder.

They are all fighting and killing each other to gain power and domain, or to take revenge, and some of them even do it to gain worldly wealth. They are totally corrupt, and very dangerous. That's why there is so much violence, death and destruction in the world.

However, while the hatemongers and warmongers are the most dangerous and harmful bad examples, there are even more bad examples our children and youth are following, and it's high time we face it because these examples can directly and indirectly lead to crime and violence.

One notable example of those kinds of bad examples is how our children and youth are being influenced by "rap music," much of which incites them to develop bad attitudes and bad and even harmful behaviors. That's because many "rappers," in effect, represent sexist, racist, violent thugs and gangsters, and they are terrible examples and influences on our children and youth.

Granted, not all rappers are bad examples, because some are not so bad, and a few are even good. That must be said. But even so, many are terrible, because they exploit the appetites and desires of youth who are easily tempted, misled and corrupted, especially those who have a tendency to be disrespectful, rebellious and defiant of the authority of parents, teachers, etc.

Bad rappers have even made the attitude and culture of black ex-convicts popular. One notable example of that is the "stop snitching" campaign they've pushed on their records and videos. It has tragically enabled many black criminals and gangsters to get away with rape, murder, robbery, and many other crimes, because witnesses and victims have been led to believe that it's a bad thing to "snitch" or report crimes perpetrated by black criminals. It's considered being disloyal to their race. But that's not true. This is a terrible trend, initiated by black thugs and gangsters who think they are entitled to do whatever they want and use violence to intimidate and rule, and rappers are responsible for this trend being widespread. In fact, their influence is no doubt what led the "Jena 6" (the six young black students in Jena, Louisiana) to gang up on one white student and kick him while he was on the ground until he was unconscious.

Another notable, albeit less harmful example, can be easily seen in all the boys and young men in America who wear their pants so ridiculously low that they have to waddle when they walk to keep their pants from falling down, and they cannot run. Ironically, they don't realize that this fad was started by ex-convicts who had gotten used to ill-fitting prison pants that were too large. That's because before prisons sensibly switched to jump suits, they used to pass out pants to prisoners without caring if they were too big, so prisoners were forced to wear pants that were nearly falling down. Then, when they got out of prison, ex-convicts kept wearing pants that were ill-fitting and too big because they were used to it, and eventually this was, for some reason, considered "cool" by impressionable boys and young men. It baffles me that they do not realize how ridiculous they look.

The point is that certain "rap music" and "hip hop" records and videos have had and are having a bad influence on our children and youth. In fact, they've had a bad influence on society, because for some odd reason many people think some of that influence is "cool." Take, for instance, how certain slang words coined by rappers have been adopted by many people, like "Bling" for jewelry. I think part of the reason for this is that many white people bend over backwards to be accepting and approving of whatever black people do, just to prove they aren't racists. This, I think, has gone way too far, and we need to be aware of it.

Don't get me wrong, though. My feelings about "rap artists" are not at all racist. In fact, my writings condemn racism thoroughly, and fully explain how and why racism against blacks (African-Americans) deeply infects the whole political-economic-law enforcement-criminal justice system in America, as I explained above on this page.

However, racism and the injustice of the criminal justice system does not excuse the black thugs and gangsters, or the rappers who promote and try to glorify their attitude and culture. But unfortunately, those who operate and profit from the "hip hop" and "rap" record and video industry try to defend the it by claiming they are merely "pointing out what's wrong with society," but they should be ashamed. They conveniently ignore or deny the bad influence, reverse racism, bigotry, sleazy smut, "soft" pornography, sexism, and even violence that is presented or portrayed in many of the rap records and videos.

If all else fails, they try to take refuge in "free speech." And granted, we need real free speech to speak truth, voice dissent, criticize those in power and expose wrong doing. However, the rappers and the record industry should not be able to claim it is "free speech" to exploit and incite people, and sell and glamorize bad language and bad behavior as if it's "cool." It is not cool. Their influence has had a very terrible impact on many of our children and youth, and they've denigrated and debased the English language. So it's time we deal with it. After all, government of, by and for the people should have the right to act to deal appropriately with harmful individuals or organizations that advocate speech and/or action and behavior that is degrading or pejorative or detrimental or harmful to others.

I really am for free speech and free expression of truth and beauty, especially when it is positive, inspiring, original and creative, and even when it is sexually erotic. Moreover, I am very much against prudish censorship, because we really need to be free to express ourselves. However, while I truly love beauty and all forms of art that inspire us and give us enjoyment, I am very much against degrading, vulgar and harmful words and images.

Even so, I declare that we must do everything possible to help our youth avoid temptations and pitfalls. You see, I am very familiar with human services prevention and intervention programs that try to steer at-risk youth in the right direction, and away from gangs, drugs and other harmful things. I also know those programs are grossly underfunded, even though they've been proven successful. I know we absolutely must invest sufficiently in such programs, because all of our kids are being pulled in the wrong direction by many bad influences. We can turn that around, but we must be willing to invest appropriately in programs that will do so, and we must stop being misled by self-serving, dishonest right-wing conservative politicians who merely serve the interests of the wealthy few who don't want to pay their fair share of taxes.

Again, none of these facts excuse the thugs and gangsters who are simply criminals. There is no excuse for committing crimes that cause harm or loss to others. Even if and when people are disadvantaged or persecuted or discriminated against, it is not an excuse to retaliate by committing crimes that hurt people in any way or cause them loss. There are other, more reasonable and constructive ways to protest. The best way is to follow the way of Martin Luther King Jr., who was an exceptionally good man who followed the core universal spiritual teachings of the Christ Jesus about love, peace, forgiveness, and non-violent pacifism. King spoke out to tell the truth about the offense and impact of prejudice and racism, but he did so peacefully, and he was not hateful or violent.

Conversely, the wrong and worst way to protest is to express hate and use violence, because that plays right into the hands of the right-wing oppressors who tend to use force and violence to suppress dissent and protest.

The worst rappers represent the wrong way, with their brazen "in your face" approach and their foul words, raunchy images, and simulated or implied sex and violence. They are definitely part of the problem, and not part of the solution. As I’ve said, their influence is no doubt what led the "Jena 6" to gang up on one white student and kick him while he was on the ground until he was unconscious.

Now granted, rappers are certainly not the worst examples on society at large, because as I said, arrogantly proud and militant right-wing political and religious leaders are the cause of far wider and worse trouble. They are the most harmful examples.

However, there are other bad examples that are more subtle. As you know, many of our children and youth freely admit their greatest ambition is to be wealthy, to gain fame and fortune. One of the reasons for that, of course, is the magazine and television entertainment industry which focuses on and glamorizes wealthy "celebrities." They are absurdly obsessed with the "rich and famous," and the impact of that has gotten so bad that many of our young people tend to live vicariously and can only hope and wish they will someday grab the "brass ring" and become rich and famous. They've been corrupted by those who worship material and worldly wealth, power and domain, and they've lost sight of what's truly valuable in this world. It has even driven some people to commit crime to get their hands on other people’s money. And in my view they aren’t very different than white collar criminals and corrupt white collar executives who get away with what I would call fraud and robbery.

So, I ask you, is it any wonder our children and youth are following bad examples?