Violence in Society Essay Example

Currently, the violence that has happened in the United States of America, has affected us all due to the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) and the current issue society is facing with the rioting at the US Capitol. As a society, we have sadly become a little too lenient and have not been disciplined or disciplined enough to know we can be heard, in an appropriate manner, without using force, or destruction.  Within the last year we have treated others horribly as a society. We are so disconnected from one another instead of coming together and living the American Dream,  which has been unattainable due to our own thoughts, feelings, emotions and political differences. Which leads to believe to some people, that the Black Lives Matter Movement and US Capital Rioting, try to come off as it is violence for control when it has turned out to be violence for violence.

The story Animal Farm is a great resemblance of the current issues society is facing. In the story, Napoleon was using violence for many different reasons. He used violence for power and control over the other animals and he also used it for fear of the animals to change their moods and behaviors(Ch 7 Pg 23-24).  Within this past year with having Black Lives Matter Movement, and rioting, and burning cities and then having another side unhappy and destroying the capital due to they feel it was not a fair election, both the real world situations and in Animal Farm violence has almost been  political oppression. 

Due to all this stress, worry and fear, some may wonder, how has this violence affected society. Violence has impacted us all in ways we may not even be aware of it. When we were facing the Black Lives Matter Movement(BLM), with the rioting and burning of stores and small businesses, and even homes, many Americans were afraid and scared for their lives. With the rioters burning, stealing, destroying, little did they know they would be affecting more people then they realized. While burning up stores and such, not only did you just destroy something that had absolutely nothing to do with any of it,  we  might have just lost someone's one and only paycheck to stay alive, and possibly destroyed someone's business they worked so hard to create. Also, from the rioting and destruction some construction companies could not work due to personal safety concerns. While those rioting, many mental health challenges occurred with anxiety and depression. Most Americans understand that the BLM movement was used for those who feel unheard to feel heard, but a majority of Americans understand that their lives do matter and all lives matter,  but what they did was wrong, which makes a lot of United States citizens not support The Black Lives Matter Movement. The violence in our society today is like the story Animal Farms, cowshed battle. The animals were not being treated the best and chased away Mr Jones, just as the Black Lives Matter Movement is trying to do to the police officers.  In conclusion,  What they did was wrong and could have gone about this in a totally different way to feel heard, when you are supporting or are causing so much destruction, how do others  feel that will benefit you in the long run. Doing more, different creative protests instead of riots  may have been better in the long run. 

In the United States of America, we in the past year have truly permitted that violence is the answer, although it should not be the answer. Violence has become the answer when the Black Lives Matter movement started rioting and looting. As a society, seeing the Black Lives Matter protests and rioting,  may have contributed to those who went to the capital to riot, because when they saw the Black Lives Matter protesting going on nothing was really happening in the fact of getting in trouble when they were burning cities and destroying stores, so they thought we should do the same. 19 innocent lives were taken, and currently 5 people have lost their life at the United States of America Capitol. In conclusion, society lately has accepted that when we are not happy as United States of America's citizens we have chosen that we need to hit hard in a way and do violence instead of other kinds of protests that would be more suitable for everyone. United States citizens feel also as a society, we need to allow our emotions not get the best of us, to provoke us to do horrific activities presented last may and what America is currently facing at the Capitol. 

Many people all over the world but lately in America ask themselves, how can someone conduct such harmful activities. Some society members in America wonder, is it truly for justice. They ask themselves questions such as, “How is what you are doing now to feel heard & gonna benefit you in the future?”. Others may also say things like, “It is not for the right reasons.” In the Black Lives Matter Movement, many theories may be that there were so many people there to help with the destruction because they were there just to do destruction, not for the support of the movement. In conclusion, Many Americans don't know if that movement was for the correct reasoning. 

Also a disconnection we are facing in America is the hostility between African Americans and Police officers. Some may wonder, what happened in the past for the situation to evolve to where the hostility and anger lays today. This issue has currently been a very hot topic in the United States of America for many years. The reason Black Lives Matter Movement arose this past summer was due to the death of George Floyd. Mr George Floyd was caught on camera, that a police officer held his knee on his neck after repeatedly saying “I cant breathe!”. Many African Americans were outraged, and felt that they were being attacked by the color of their skin. The reason this fear becomes more real, due to the past history of how some Police Officers have treated African Americans, can often trigger secondary trauma. Secondary trauma is a form of trauma, however it is not a mental health disorder itself, it can meet the criteria for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Secondary trauma is similar to  this, say you were brutally beaten as a child by someone. Seeing or hearing that happen can bring back traumatic stress although it's not happening to you currently. So when African Americans see that someone of their ethnicity got treated by that police officer, it can trigger past trauma. Especially due to this past experience of racism in America. Many feel that we should defund the police officers. Many people question how we will survive if we defund the police. Look at it like this. Say someone has blood cell issues. They might have bad blood cells and good blood cells, but you do notknow what ones are good and bad, but we know we need blood cells to live safely. Would you just get rid of them all because you do not know what the good and bad ones are and possibly then have even more destruction, or death. Or do we just keep them and know that there will be bad ones, and how can we try our best as a country to prevent it from making you worse or the situation worse. In conclusion, many people may be experiencing secondary trauma, for them to be so upset towards Police Officers, especially with the horrific thing that happened to Mr George Floyd and what could have been done to them in the past. As society members of America we need to learn to come together as best as we can. 

As expressed, Violence has been affecting Americans in so many ways. This past year, It has affected them by possibly not having a job due to the destruction of small businesses, homes, and even death. It has also caused more people to have anxiety, depression and experience secondary trauma. We in the last year in the  United States of Americas, society have allowed violence to be the answer, with the capitol rioting, and the Black Lives Matter Movement, when in reality violence should not be the answer and there should be other types of peaceful protests that will get the attention of Americans and hopefully have a positive change in America today. As what, had happened to Mr. George Floyd, this has made American citizens become more apart than together. 

Work Cited 

Race and the Police. (2016, February 18). Retrieved January 18, 2021, from https://www.policefoundation.org/race-and-the-police/

The New York Times. (2020, September 08). What We Know About the Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd.html

Fowers, A., & Wan, W. (2020, June 12). Depression and anxiety spiked among black Americans after George Floyd's death. Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/12/mental-health-george-floyd-census/?arc404=true