04-13-2012, 06:33 AM
Uncle Shags Wrote:violence -> threatening, oppressive environment -> desire for safety -> "respect" -> aggressive, "chip on the shoulder" defense -> violence -> threatening and oppressive environment -> desire for safety -> "respect" -> ....
Sooo... if that is true then is this guy right when he says:
scary young black men -> scared white folks -> keep the brother man down -> scary young black men -> scared white folks -> ...?
Intertwined cycles.
The phenomena you are referring to is also important in International Relations where it is called the "Security Dilemma," a term coined by the German scholar John H. Herz in his 1951 book Political Realism and Political Idealism. The idea is basically that a country feels threatened, it arms, its neighbors feel more threatened, they arm, cycle repeats until everyone is less secure.
The solution is ultimately arms controls agreed upon within international institutions. With your original problem, it's even easier, because governments (unlike international institutions) have the power to enforce weapon-control laws.
Your second loop, however, requires that people stop associating violence with race. It would be completely immoral to impose restrictions exclusively on young black men.
You don't win the Game of Death by dying first. The name is misleading.