U.S. School Shootings
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 23 Dec 2024
David Adams | Transition to a Culture of Peace – TRANSCEND Media Service
18 Dec 2024 – The latest list of shooting in US schools shows that already in 2024 there is a new record of 83.
Here is the list from 2008 to 2024:
Of course, it is aided by the profit-making sales of guns and the support of this by the elected members of the US Congress. But the cause goes even deeper.
For this, we need to recognize how the violence of the state serves as a model to legitimate violence.
The classic study of this cause-effect relationship was conducted by Dane Archer and Rosemary Gartner, Violence and Crime in Cross-National Perspective (Yale University Press, 1984). The authors developed and published in detail an unprecedented Comparative Crime Data File, including data on five types of offenses for 110 nations and 44 major international cities between 1900 and 1970. By analyzing this database, they came to the following conclusion on page 96:
“Using homicide data from the CCFF, the homicide rates of fifty “nation-wars” were analyzed to learn (1) whether postwar homicide increases occurred . . .Most of the combatant nations in the study experienced substantial postwar increases in their rates of homicide. These increases did not occur among a control group of noncombatant nations. The increases were pervasive and occurred after both large and small wars, with several types of homicide indicators, in victorious as well as defeated nations, in nations with improved postwar economies and nations with worsened economies, among both men and women offenders, and among several age groups. Postwar increases were most frequent among nations with large numbers of combat deaths.”
“These findings indicate (1) that postwar homicide increases occur consistently and (2) that several theoretical explanations are either disconfirmed by evidence on postwar changes or are insufficient to explain the changes. The one model that appears to be fully consistent with the evidence is the legitimation of violence model, which suggests that the presence of authorized or sanctioned killing during war has a residual effect on the level of homicide in peacetime society.”
The United States now serves as a example that confirms the analysis of Archer and Gartner: the violence of the state serves as a model to legitimate violence.
The news each day tells of the US sending weapons to Israel and Ukraine to carry out genocide and warfare. And each day, the news reports another local massacre in a schools, family, workplaces, etc. using arms designed for war. Is this not a good example of the causal relationship between the policy of the state and the aggressive behavior at a local level?
What about a culture of peace? Is it possible?
At Seville in 1986, I was among the scientists from around the world who considered the question “Does modern biology and social science know of any biological factors, including those concerned with the biology of violent behavior of individuals, that constitute an insurmountable or serious obstacle to the goal of world peace.”
We concluded, after examining the evidence from psychology, brain research, anthropology and sociology that the same species that invented war is capable of inventing peace.
A culture of peace is possible. Are there examples of it today at a national level?
Consider the case of Colombia. After 40 years of civil war, a peace treaty was signed in 2016 with the help of the Cuban government, and since then the government has been engaged in a peace process.
Whereas the news from the United States, with its culture of war, the news from Colombia almost every day tells about local peace initiatives. Many of these are republished here in the Culture of Peace News Network.
If Colombia could transform itself from the culture of war to a culture of peace, is there not some hope that the United States could do the same? Perhaps we need the mediation of the government of Cuba
_________________________________________________
Dr. David Adams is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment and coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the UN International Year for the Culture of Peace. Previously, at Yale and Wesleyan Universities, he was a specialist on the brain mechanisms of aggressive behavior, the history of the culture of war, and the psychology of peace activists, and he helped to develop and publicize the Seville Statement on Violence. Send him an email.
Go to Original – decade-culture-of-peace.org
Tags: Anglo America, Cultural violence, Culture of Violence, Direct violence, Savages, School shootings, Structural violence, USA
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Join the discussion!
We welcome debate and dissent, but personal — ad hominem — attacks (on authors, other users or any individual), abuse and defamatory language will not be tolerated. Nor will we tolerate attempts to deliberately disrupt discussions. We aim to maintain an inviting space to focus on intelligent interactions and debates.