Violence: what can we do about it?

[L00b]

It's far less common though isn't it. At least from what I've observed, and I suspect the police crime statistics would back that up.

Drink-fuelled aggressiveness and fighting is common enough, why else is there so much police in town centres the length and breadth of the country every weekend, likewise A&E staff assaults <etc.>?

 

Whilst I did not single out the UK in the context of my earlier post, drink-fuelled violence is a problem which I don't think I've ever witnessed anywhere else on such a scale as in the UK (I'd never experienced the drinking-for-the-sake-of-drinking culture before I immigrated in the 90s, and not seen it adopted nor celebrated anywhere else since, aside maybe from Ireland).

 

And speaking of police crime statistics, I suspect that most people who end up arrested for being drunk & (violently) disorderly and other drink-induced behavioural excesses are not violent career criminals either

 

Drink is just a catalyst, not really different to religious or football fervour and such other catalysts that provide people with enough of an excuse to unleash their frustrations and lash out. Irrespective of their educational prowess and station in life.

 

Education alone does not sort that one out. You need enough self-respect to begin with.

Edited January 3, 2018 by L00b

[Anna B]

Drink-fuelled aggressiveness and fighting is common enough, why else is there so much police in town centres the length and breadth of the country every weekend, likewise A&E staff assaults <etc.>?

 

Whilst I did not single out the UK in the context of my earlier post, drink-fuelled violence is a problem which I don't think I've ever witnessed anywhere else on such a scale as in the UK (I'd never experienced the drinking-for-the-sake-of-drinking culture before I immigrated in the 90s, and not seen it adopted nor celebrated anywhere else since, aside maybe from Ireland).

 

And speaking of police crime statistics, I suspect that most people who end up arrested for being drunk & (violently) disorderly and other drink-induced behavioural excesses are not violent career criminals either

 

Drink is just a catalyst, not really different to religious or football fervour and such other catalysts that provide people with enough of an excuse to unleash their frustrations and lash out. Irrespective of their educational prowess and station in life.

 

Education alone does not sort that one out. You need enough self-respect to begin with.

 

What frustrations? (serious question..) If we could do something to alleviate those, would there be such a need to drink so much?

[Cyclone]

Sorry, perhaps my meaning there wasn't clear.

 

"Well educated people don't seem to fight in pubs all that often"

"Drink can easily make that particular difference. "

"It's far less common though isn't it." Amongst the well educated, whom we were discussing.

 

I do go out drinking in town, have done for 25 years now, and the times I've seen trouble start, or even had trouble started that involved me (fortunately rare), it was rarely by some drunken PhD, MD, Professor or even lowly BSc like myself.

It normally started (these are anecdotes I'll willingly admit) with something garbled said in a strong local accent. Obviously I've not been able to accurately identify the educational level of people I've observed in a fracas or attempting to start one, but you can get an idea just by listening to people speak (or shout).

And the university bars see more than their fair share of extreme drunkenness, but very low levels of violence...

[barleycorn]

Seriously though, there are way too many people on the planet, and the problem (over population) is only getting worse. It is the main issue we need to address, everything else pales in comparison. Yet, nobody is talking about it; just brushing it under the carpet, kicking it down the road to the next generation, until there is another billion people on the planet.

 

Looking at the issue of violence from this purely global perspective (humanity's effect on the well being of the planet, rather than a human centric perspective); war is a good thing, in that it reduces the number of people on the planet (less people means the rate at which we kill the planet and other species off, is reduced). Though, even from this perspective, war is bad in the sense that use of weapons and machinery tend to pollute the environment.

Education has a good effect too. Particularly education for women. Educate women and they typically no longer want to spend their life as brood mares.

[Waldo]

Education has a good effect too. Particularly education for women. Educate women and they typically no longer want to spend their life as brood mares.

 

Completely agree. Sadly, education is a luxury not everyone can afford.

[Cyclone]

Completely agree. Sadly, education is a luxury not everyone can afford.

 

It's something that society should provide for free (at the point of delivery).

[L00b]

What frustrations? (serious question..)

Those borne from life's every day knocks, that push <few> people to riot, kill, torch, commit suicide, <insert other form of extreme behaviour>; that push <some> people to regular physical violence <be it against objects, spouses, strangers>; and that push <many> people to occasional physical violence, when they have taken some temporary leave of their senses under the influence of substance(s).

 

I didn't think I'd have to explain that one, tbh: it's as old as humanity itself

If we could do something to alleviate those, would there be such a need to drink so much?

You can't solve Life™, and correlation is not causation (many people drink excessively through peer pressure alone, rather than to dull psychological problems).

Sorry, perhaps my meaning there wasn't clear.

You were clear, but I've not really seen this elitism (-after a fashion) around here.

 

The most violent drunkard I've ever met was PhD'd and truly (truly-truly) a genius, but with the psychological instability to go with it and a BIG taste for whisky. They did not mix well, every instance of going for a bevvy in town, or an outing at a restaurant, or a meal at his (we knew better than to return that favour at ours) was like riding a ticking time bomb of unknown fuse length, and I've lost count of how many times I defused fighting situations which he started, and collected him from the tank. No more info, and no names, because he's local and would be easy to ID.

 

It's highly anecdotal of course, but I've seen a fair few others over the years (particularly engineers, strangely) so although I fully got where you were coming from, I'll see your PhD'd or BSC'd Brits after a half-dozen pints, and I'll raise you PhD'd or BSC'd continentals who'd stop at the third pint (taking all night to drink them) and call it a night to begin with

Edited January 3, 2018 by L00b

[melthebell]

It wont stop violence. Man will fight over something else.

exactly religion is just an excuse, human kind is the problem, a pox on this planet

[Supertramp]

exactly religion is just an excuse, human kind is the problem, a pox on this planet

 

The whole of the animal kingdom is the same

[Waldo]

exactly religion is just an excuse, human kind is the problem, a pox on this planet

 

Religion *is* human kind; or more precisely, it's a pattern of human behaviour. It's not some kind of abstract perfect thing that would still exist, even if there were no humans.

 

One aspect of religious behaviour that leads to conflict, is certainty, and more often than not, religion encourages certainly. I'm right and anyone who sees things differently to me, is wrong...