Domestication of The People
Yeah, it's in the news all over the world: another mass shooting in the USA that left 12 people dead and something like 60 injured.
But there's something I noticed about almost all of these mass-shootings - Columbine, Virginia Tech, Utoya (Norway) and now Aurora: nobody seems to have died while attacking or otherwise confronting the shooter.
In fact I can recall only one person, an elderly professor, who was killed at Virginia Tech while trying to stop the shooter from entering a classroom. Of course, if you know more stories of people who fought back please let me know and set me straight.
Almost nobody, of hundreds if not thousands of people forced in a fight-or-flee situation, fought back. Many tried to flee, but I've also seen several stories of people - especially in school massacres - who simply cowered underneath or behind some obstacle and waited for death to come and take them, or ignore them.
True that attacking a mad gunman can get you killed, but you may even win. While cowering in fear in front of someone determined to kill you will surely get you killed.
What does this tell me? That the domestication of the people has gone quite far: after generations being told that violence is always wrong and fighting back against an attacker makes you as bad as him, we get people unable to fight back even when their lives are in imminent danger.
Or you have other founded opinions?
But there's something I noticed about almost all of these mass-shootings - Columbine, Virginia Tech, Utoya (Norway) and now Aurora: nobody seems to have died while attacking or otherwise confronting the shooter.
In fact I can recall only one person, an elderly professor, who was killed at Virginia Tech while trying to stop the shooter from entering a classroom. Of course, if you know more stories of people who fought back please let me know and set me straight.
Almost nobody, of hundreds if not thousands of people forced in a fight-or-flee situation, fought back. Many tried to flee, but I've also seen several stories of people - especially in school massacres - who simply cowered underneath or behind some obstacle and waited for death to come and take them, or ignore them.
True that attacking a mad gunman can get you killed, but you may even win. While cowering in fear in front of someone determined to kill you will surely get you killed.
What does this tell me? That the domestication of the people has gone quite far: after generations being told that violence is always wrong and fighting back against an attacker makes you as bad as him, we get people unable to fight back even when their lives are in imminent danger.
Or you have other founded opinions?
postato da Fabio alle
14:23
2 Commenti:
I wouldn’t be so negative. It might be a natural human reaction, at least in some people. It is not easy to be rational when facing a situation of extreme danger and intense fear is known to have a ‘paralysis’ effect on many people.
Di
Chiara, Alle
24/7/12 15:26
Yes, being paralyzed with fear happens and it's a human reaction.
And I think for people living in the developed world it happens even more often. Because - luckily - in the first world common citizens only seldom have to face situations of extreme danger, be it from other people, natural disasters or wild animals.
Add to it the indoctrination to non-reaction I describe, and you find that the raretimes when mortal danger comes, too many people don't know how to react.
Di
Fabio, Alle
25/7/12 06:45
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