In America’s history, people turned to violence because as a nation we were undergoing radical social change. Over the years, traditional views on race, gender, culture, and equality have drastically evolved. We have thrown out our old ways of life and returned as people who turn their back on law because they feel violence as the only power to bring back what they know.
In the 1960s, talk and acts of violence were running rampant through the US. There was the construction of the Berlin Wall, fear of USSR attacking and spies, Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War. Also during the 60’s John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated. Through all the pressures of adjusting social and cultural issues, people resorted to violence to express themselves. The Ku Klux Klan resorted to kidnapping, murder, and lynching to stop changing racial segregation. People feel as if they are heard louder if they cause more violence, and believe it sends a stronger message.
Violence does get the attention of people, but that doesn’t mean it is the only way to speak out minds. For example, during the 60’s the Vietnam War was unpopular amongst many people, and students took it upon themselves to protest the war with “peaceful” protests. We can achieve acknowledgment successfully with putting our voices together and speaking our minds collectively.
Violence doesn’t have to be the answer when we are afraid of change, and when we want to be heard. Our violent history shows that from aggressive forms of showing our opinion most of the time resulting in more people rallying to end that violence faster. Today, one of the hot topics is the many shootings we have seen happen at schools, movie theaters, concerts, etc. After each tragedy more and more people have been coming together to bring attention to our voice that this violence must end. There has to be a change to respond to the irresponsible use of guns. The most recent shooting has been at the YouTube headquarters building, where YouTuber Nasim Aghdam felt that in order to express her frustration with YouTube she should resort to using a gun and shooting three random people. She was angered by the issue of economic inequality, and how YouTube was not allowing her the opportunity of equal pay. Furthermore, she felt the only way to get the attention to this situation was through violence. However, change takes time and it doesn’t take just one voice, but many, to be loud. The Civil Rights Movement didn’t happen overnight, and Martin Luther King Jr. spent his entire adult life fighting and hoping change would happen not only during his lifetime, but also during his children’s. Humans are impatient, irrational, and emotional creatures so it is hard for us to patiently wait for things to right our wrongs. It is inspiring to watch young people stand up for their rights to be protected, and we should learn from them to continue to practice this in our lives. Through peace and patience, we can change the world, and make a difference for our children.