"No school violence, No sexual violence, no drunken violence, no
racketeering or other organized violence" were the words painted on a
number of police patrol cars seen recently by the priest-columnist
writing on social issues for the Peace Weekly. What especially caught
his attention were the words above the others: "Eradicating the five
areas of violence." They reminded him of the two placards he had seen
over a school gate. "Violence Reported," one said, "Will Be Eradicated."
The other, which he found extremely troubling, said "Week for
Eradicating School Violence."
Students who are studying hard to
do well in school, he pointed out, should not have to contend with
school violence, as if it were a normal part of school life. All
violence is the enemy of the State, but it should be doubly abhorrent
when it takes place in a school environment. Whenever violence in the
schools is reported in the news, and it involves a suicide, the blame
usually goes to the school authorities for paying little attention to
what was happening, or for keeping silent or doing nothing to prevent
the violence. What about the responsibility of the State? the columnist
is implying.
Although a certain amount of violence by police and
military personnel is accepted as inevitable by the State, violence in
other areas of civil society is considered illegal. However, violence
can be cleverly packaged into a commodity, which is then legally bought
and sold in the marketplace, as is evidenced by what routinely appears
on TV and in the movies. Violence, in its many less obvious forms, has
been around for a long time, but society, for the most part, seems not
overly concerned. In redevelopment projects and building new towns, for
example, we have come to expect conflicts. One side promotes ownership
rights, the permission to demolish existing structures to construct new
ones; the other side argues for the right to residence. At a certain
point in this conflict over 'rights,' it's the demolition that usually
takes place.
These problems, whether with labor or with people
forced to move from their homes, are not much different. The police are
not there to prevent the violence but are often criticized for taking
sides. Labor-management autonomy is usually cited to justify the
situation, but more like a referee who sees a foul and does nothing.
Church teaching on violence (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church #488) however is very clear: "Violence has [now] made its
appearance in interpersonal relationships and in social relationships.
Peace and
violence cannot dwell together, and where there is violence, God cannot
be
present."
