By: Luke Frankel
Violence is a scourge on our society that stems from a tribalism based past where we all fought to protect our “own” because we thought it was necessary. Luckily, we are all far more educated in today’s society, and unnecessary violence (for the most part) has been reduced. In this blog I want to talk about how we define violence and injury, what we can do to prevent the unnecessary death and injury from violence, and lastly how my health goals have been doing this week. “Aggressive behavior and anger are often key aspects of violent interactions. Primary aggression is goal-directed, hostile self-assertion that is destructive in nature. Reaction aggression is more often part of an emotional reaction brought about by frustration. Several factors increase the likelihood of violent acts” (Donatelle 309).
Homicide is a type of violence that is a leading cause of death in our age group (18-24). There are many types of violence, but for educational purposes I want to talk about intentional types; interpersonal, family, and collective. Interpersonal involves one person to another, say I did not like how “Bob” has been talking to me or his race, and I had a plan to hurt him. That would be interpersonal, however interpersonal does not just have to do with race, it can be gender, religious, or any other type of prejudice based. Family violence is exactly that, violence within a family. This is called domestic violence, or relationship based violence (called intimate partner violence). The other type of family violence is child abuse or neglect. Lastly, we have collective violence which is, “violence perpetrated by groups against other groups; it includes violent acts related to political, governmental, religious, cultural, or social clashes. Gang violence and terrorism are two forms of collective violence that have become major threats in recent years” (Donatelle 318).
After an act has been commited there is no way to reconcile it, especially if the act results in severe injury or death. The book talks about this saying,” For this reason, preventing a violent act is far better than recovering from it. Both individuals and communities can play important roles in the prevention of violence and intentional injuries. Assaults and threats can arise from in-person encounters, or they may develop from online encounters” (Donatelle 320). It is hard to predict how to prevent violence or injury, but the best way is to educate everyone on understanding different environments, situations, and how to best protect yourself. We also have to teach people to be more understanding and accept all different types of people. There are some people who are predisposed to have emotional issues, or are more prone to violent acts. It is our duty to help identify those people are help them control their urges while also teaching them to form the correct neural pathways in their habits.
As for my health and wellness goals, this past week I have had a really great outlook on life. My brothers have helped me take care of my parents and just being around them and talking to them has made me feel a lot better. Everyone is going through something tough right now. I have been able to workout by doing something, whether it is running or a bodyweight workout, every single day this week. I finally published all of my other blogs that I completed last week, and I feel good about the future of not only myself but our world as well. My goals may have changed and life may be different but I am happy with how everything has happened in my life this week. I don’t really know what to put for a picture considering my previous goal of increasing my ankle mobility has been put on hold without access to the tools necessary to improve it (gym equipment). I am excited to see what next week brings!
Luke's Wellness Blog 