Pull up today's news-feed and you see nothing but banners and hyperlinks with shootings, killings, terrorism, and overall societal disruption. News sources have become a buffet of a justice smorgasbord. Yes, I would like a mass hysteria today, that sounds delightful, thank you. Yet when one focus is placed on the immediate happening, it can become difficult to remember that there is more than way to kill another human. Most recent media news report killings across America in Dallas, TX, Falcon Heights, MN, and Orlando, FL, all which have had guns as the weapon of choice. This promotes a public outcry for gun reform and law enforcement accountability. While these incidents are justified in the need for investigation, it also causes redirection to thought that violence comes in readily accessible forms. While some weapons can be easy to come by, this thought can be challenged with previous cases of violence through different tools.
Below are some sample cases of overall failure in the past ten years:
1. Bombing/Arson
- Volgograd, Russia (2013) – Note: Occurred consecutively over a period of two days
- London, England (2005)
2. Bioterrorism/Poisoning
- Damascus, Syria
(2013)
3. Plane Crashes
- Mozambique, Africa (2013)
4. Stabbing/Blunt Force
- Kunming, China (2014)
- Daytona Beach, FL (2006)
5. Vehicle Attacks
- Isla Vista, CA (2014) – Note: Additional methods were also used
- Nice, France (2016)
If someone is using tunnel vision in regards to violence, their overall understanding can become sidetracked. Most local news does not make it past the community affected, gets swept under the rug eventually, and in some cases, never makes it the appropriate reporting agencies. There is an international need for tolerance and social justice and not just in local communities. Whether it is a hate crime, ISIS beliefs, or an isolated occurrence, current events and recent history have shown that there is a bigger picture that we should additionally focus on as mankind and try to determine cohesively what can be salvaged of today's world. Glazing over recent news or deeming them insignificant is not the purpose of this article. It is merely a reminder that violence exists in more than one country and there is a long road ahead of us if we are to survive as a human race.
While incidents have a positive effect in motivating a community or nation to become more active in sharing their perspectives and taking action locally, it is only effective if we routinely consider the implications of all previous actions and start to understand the cause and effect. History can repeat itself but futures can be changed.
