[I borrowed the title from a song by the punk group Aus-Rotten (I'm sure their genre is labeled something more specific but that is not my focus here ;) ) which quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along the lines of "...violence is a part of American culture...it is as American as cherry pie." Very fitting for this post.]
It has become apparent to me, and I'm sure many others, that American society is obsessed and littered with violence.
The violence which we so love is seen everywhere: T.V., music, movies, and on countless pictures and videos all over the internet. The internet in particular is most troublesome as you can find some of the most disgusting acts of human violence towards fellow humans, animals, etc.
I'm sure many people would say I'm being too much of a "pansy" or other beautiful names for speaking out against videos that display innocent people being harassed, publicly embarrassed, or physically and/or sexually assaulted but I am a human being. I know many people throughout America get a good laugh or some other sick joy when watching other people suffer, and I am sad to say that I once partook in this championing of violence. I am, however, glad to say that I no longer view violence as "fuckin' awesome man" or "badass".
It seems as if all this violence and our obsession with it has only halted our progression away from racism, sexism, antisemitism, and other negative social factors. These days, Americans are much quicker to wish harm or death upon someone because they don't like what they said or simply because they don't like who they are.
I guess what I am asking is not when can we all get along, but rather when we will start acting like rational humans and not pre-homo sapien savages?
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