jfl

Very interesting, waiting for more.

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The first rule of a gunfight: "Don't be there !"

jfl (NRA Life Member/Instructor - GOA - IDPA - GSSF - ex-IHMSA)

ExSoldier

Sheep are always the victims of violence at the hands (paws?) of the WOLVES always present in all societies since that snake in the garden. Then there are the Sheepdogs who also employ violence in defense of the helpless sheep. They live to confront the wolf. The sheep don't know any better and can't tell the difference between violence used for the purposes of "good" and that used in all things "evil." Unfortunately, sheep outnumber Sheepdogs and also unfortunately, the sheep vote. If only all the sheep could read this essay and understand...ON SHEEP

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Former Infantry Captain; 20 yrs as an NRA Certified Instructor; Avid practitioner of the martial art: KLIK-PAO.

muzzleloader

Aw com'on guys, you know the root of all evil is guns!

TucAzRider

I didn't vote either,. I think it is a mixture of things,.. Things put in vaccinations - Lack of/poor parenting (also lack of correction) - lack of respect for elders/parents/teachers etc - video games, kids killing on games (why not do it for real?) - ... There is evil in the world, that is for sure,.. But we have to do our part, God is still in control,... :-)

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njr

Depends. Its a broad question. But, to put it in one nutshell: alienation and/or poverty.

Here's one example:

Why Jim Badasci 'Went Postal': How Bullying Bosses and Economic Devastation Are Behind America's Latest Workplace Shooting | | AlterNet

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By the forests, behind the guns/In the streets and in the houses/Between the tanks, by the roadside/At the hands of the men, of the women, of the children/In the cold, in the dark, in hunger....

Bertolt Brecht, "To The German Soldiers In The East", stanza 9.

Random

But we're constantly being told, by both atheists and the religious, by the left and the right, that violence IS inherently evil.

Your first point is a good observation, but I don't think that the second necessarily follows.

Human beings are not the strongest creatures on this planet. Nor are they the fastest, most agile, or even longest-lived. Human children take longer to become self-reliant than any animal. So how is it that we are the rulers of this world?

Humans have had to fight even for simple survival their entire history. They have had to fight not only other creatures, but also the elements, and even each other. When two primitive humans needed the same resource for survival (food, shelter, whatever), the one better able to employ violence in pursuit of his goal was the one who survived.

Violence is our PRIMARY survival trait. The ability to effectively employ violence, whether against animals, the environment, or each other, is what brought humankind to the top of the food chain. With the added ability of reason, we have become capable (at least in theory) of withholding violence, or of employing violence cooperatively in pursuit of a mutually beneficial goal. We can now CONTROL the violence. But the fundamental ability to employ violence remains a very basic part of our nature. Those who seek to eliminate violence from humankind are, intentionally or not, seeking the weakening and eventual extinction of the race.

rolyat63

I recommend reading LTC Dave Grossman's book, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. He has done an exhaustive study in the reluctance of soldiers to kill as well as the affect of violence in TV, society etc...

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rolyat63
NRA Certified Pistol Instructor

You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf!
FL Concealed Weapon or Firearm Program

cmb

choose spiritual evil since violence dates back to Cain and Abel and stems from original sin and our depraved condition.