Molly Findley Points Out Joffe-Walt’s Misconceptions

To the Editors:

I must admit that I was a bit taken aback by Benjamin Joffe-Walt’s Feb. 22 letter. I didn’t realize that being born white meant that I was automatically part of the systematic violence that has been sweeping the globe. I must not have realized that because there are others with my skin color who have committed violent acts against people that I too have the capability of such things, despite my pacifist upbringing. I guess this also means that all people of Spanish heritage must combat the conqueror within lest it get out.
Forgive me if I thought that much of the violence in today’s society was learned, and not innate. Are we so naïve as to think that every action a person does is based solely on his or her inner constitution? Mr. Joffe-Walt thinks that he must “challenge that piece of the oppressor planted deep within me.” Well, more power to him. If he thinks that there is some innate part of him that is capable of violence (and wants to commit it), even if he personally doesn’t want to commit that type of act, then he should definitely do something about it. I suggest professional help, because it might be indicative of a multiple-personality disorder or schizophrenia. I personally think that we should examine the possibility that maybe there are some external factors that lead to violence against people like women, blacks, and homosexuals (to name a very few). I know that I don’t live in a vacuum, and am therefore affected by what goes on around me — my family, my friends, the media, etc.; I think that this is probably the case for most people.
One thing that we might want to consider is family situation. There are tons upon tons of articles published in highly reputable academic journals that note the significance familial upbringing has in defining a person’s character, as well as their potential for violence against others. Simply put, those raised in a violent family situation are much more likely to commit violent acts against others than those raised in a non-violent situation.
Another thing we might want to consider is the media. The increasing amount of violence in the media is correlated with an increasing amount of interpersonal violence. Now, we must remember that correlation does not equal causation, but rest assured that there is a direct link between the two. Viewing violence, reading about violence, listening to music that glorifies violence all desensitizes us to it. I’m not condoning the depiction of violence, but we must remember that what is portrayed in the media is a reflection of what is going on in the society from which it comes. Here we have a double-edged sword, however, because the increase of violence from one output (the media or real life) will increase the amount of violence from the other, and vice versa. (As a side note, there is evidence that programs initiated in urban schools to reduce the amount of aggression actually work, and we all know that amount of aggression is directly related to number of violent acts — see Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(1).)
But enough about direct causes of violence. We could go on and on about this until our heads explode, and that is not something that I am currently interested in. What distresses me is Mr. Joffe-Walt’s assumption that everything must be done on “a personal level.” While I agree that change on the individual scale will potentially stop violence coming from that person, you cannot effectively eliminate violence unless you come at with a more broad-based approach. Let’s look at an analogy: if you have strep throat, and kill one of the bacteria that is causing it, that one bacterium wont hurt you any more, but you’re still going to get sick because of the two million or so other bacteria that are still in your body. You have to take antibiotics to kill all of the bacteria in order to rid yourself of the infection. The same goes for violence. Effectively halting the violent acts from one person is great, but it doesn’t solve the problem at large.
And it would be great if everyone could take personal responsibility for the violence they have caused, but we all know that this will never happen. Many people feel justified in what they are doing, for a variety of reasons that I don’t presume to understand. You can’t expect every person to take responsibility for their actions, and especially for actions that those like them have committed (but that they have not), because they won’t.
One other thing: I hardly think that the “easy route” is public discussion, as Mr. Joffe-Walt seems to think. Public discussion of things such as rape and inter-racial violence can be anything BUT easy, as anyone who was on campus last year and witnessed the public discussions that arose because of various situations (i.e., the assault of Jeff Harvey), will tell you. Or ask a rape victim to come in front of a group and talk about her experience. Then you’ll see that public discussion can be beneficial, but is far from easy.
Mr. Joffe-Walt should consider himself lucky to only be “implicated these systems of violence.” Many people have to deal with actual violence every day.
“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.” — Charlotte Brontë

–Molly Findley
College senior