In Violence of America, the author shows that there is violence everywhere we look. From the cities to the countries, there are acts of violence that separate individuals from others. Through America’s history, there have been acts of violence that either have changed the eyes of the citizens or were not recognized at all. Even from the earliest years in America’s history, violence between minorities and majorities was the common place in the cities. In the early 1800’s, when many immigrants came over from other countries, violence against the natives increased dramatically. America being the young nation it was could not deal with the violence in the nation. The author states “Justice often meant “frontier justice”, in which groups of the local citizenry took the law into their own hands: hanging horse thieves, or riding undesirables out of town were among the ways early criminal sentencing was handled” (Moser, Watters p 481).
Following the Civil War, many whites started organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, Bald Knobbers, and the White Cappers. These organizations mainly targeted guiltless blacks, and on occasion, other minorities. Lynching was commonly used to kill the blacks. About 3,209 blacks fell victims of these hate crimes during the years 1889 to 1918 by these organizations. Many minorities that worked at the factories, as well as the majorities, started many riots, boycotts and other forms of strikes to accomplish the goals they set out to achieve. Often the government would react violently to these people with brutality.
Cities and jobs are not the only place where violence occurs. Homes and schools are no longer safe places to be. An increasing number of students are bringing weapons to schools so they can feel safe, or they plan to use them for ill purposes. Because of the increased school shootings, many schools have placed metal detectors or see-through book bags to prevent this from occurring. “Though in general there is more school violence in junior rather than senior high school (seventh grade being the most aggressive grade), approximately two-thirds of the gun use incidents in American schools take place in senior high schools” (Moser, Watters p 483). Bullies in school usually take advantage of the weaker students. They take their money or beat them up for no reason. Bullies often develop their attitude from their homes. Their parents were bullies themselves, and frequently still are. The author states, “They commonly are parents who are strong believers of corporal punishment, yet are quite inconsistent in how they discipline, sometimes very strictly, sometimes very permissively” (Moser, Watters p 489). Often bullies will encounter very few friends, poor marriages, and trouble with the law when they get older. Statistics show that 60% of bullies between the grades sixth and ninth had at least one criminal conviction by the time they turn twenty-four. Points listed above cause most of the violence in schools, thus proving that that they are violent even though they appear harmless.
From the start, America has been one of the most violent nations in the world. Violence can be seen everywhere, from school violence to riots at job sites, and from rapes to fights. America should come together not only in the time of need, but at all times and in every home, school, and workplace to seek ways to reduce the violent behavior. Unfortunately, on the few occasions, we do resolve violence, when conflict resumes, it starts all over again as if we never progressed.