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Derrin Jenkins
Duran
English 100
8 December 2014
Violence
As one begins to unwind from the tiresome day, they turn the television on and tune into
the daily news. On a majority of the evenings, news stations showcase similar headlines; this just
in- violence in Southern California! In our society, one of the most concerning, yet interesting,
trending topics are acts of violence. Regardless of the publicity surrounding the situation, there
are numerous acts of physical, mental, and emotional violence occurring on a daily basis;
showing that violence is extremely inherent in our society. Violence takes a new definition with
different individuals and new situations; some violence is tolerated and accepted and some is not.
Throughout this semester, our class has considered and discussed different definitions and
incidents of violence which were shared through the writings of different individuals. These
writings display the extreme extent to which violence is inherent in our society.
Violence can be defined differently in separate situations, incidents, and conversation.
Therefore, it is the factors and individuals in the overall situation that defines what is violent, at
that moment in time. Regardless of your personal perspective, the morals you value, or how or
where you were raised; everybody experiences the causes and effects of violence. In turn,
violence can be viewed as a natural human emotion that is elicited by other, internalized or
external, violent situations. When a violent situation is internalized, usually the act of violence
occurred in the past. Although the violence is not currently occurring, the individual is usually

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able to recall and relive the violence and similar emotions that were brought out by the act. In
The Freedom Writers Diary, authored by The Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell, one of the
Writers received a letter from a boy, Tommy. Tommy made a connection to the Writer through
the violence they experienced in their respective lives. Specifically, Tommy shared multiple
stories of those he loved and their violent fates. As a result of the hurt and worry internalized
with the violent acts, its painful when [he thinks] about [the] death, (The Freedom Writers
with Erin Gruwell 79) and sometimes he has urges to take a gun and get revenge (79).
Tommys situation illustrates the natural violent reaction that has been internalized with the
indirect impact of the violent acts. In The Freedom Writers Diary, students recorded numerous
violent acts on a, seemingly, daily basis. Prior to the writing in Diary 6, one of the writers
friends was laid to rest (14). In Diary 6, the writer confessed to experiencing remorse with
friends, in the usual way of swearing that they would get revenge (14). Although the Writer
was indirectly impacted by the prior act of external violence, as a result, he displays a personal
form of violence through seeking revenge. In similar situations, when an external violent
conflict arises, it is a natural and accepted response to equalize the situation by involving more
violence.
With or without specific violent examples; when considering violence within our society,
one is able to quickly conclude it is inherent. Ones mind may flash to: the physical acts of
violence displayed throughout the country, the emotional violence displayed by opinionated
individuals, or the destructive forces and intensity that strengthen negative motives. As violence
becomes more inherent in our society, individuals seem to become desensitized to the role
violence plays in our society and daily lives. Different types of violence have been witnessed
since the beginning of the United States of America. James Baldwin in Stranger in the Village,

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describes a time when society decided that [] black men were not really men but cattle
(Baldwin 62). As noted by Baldwin, there was a strong sense of White supremacy in America at
this time; there was no other race or culture that held high thoughts with American citizens. In
the past, referring to a fellow man as cattle was accepted by society; the majority of citizens did
not consider the maltreatment of Negro men to be a violent act. Even though our society has
reflected on such times, our history is able to provide proof that citizens do become desensitized
to inherent violence. During the period of slavery in America, violence towards Negros was
inherent, typical, and accepted. Due to the vast acceptance, even those who thought to object did
not choose to go against the status quo. In turn, the acceptance of violence led to ultimate
desensitization and a history the world will never forget.
While bearing in mind violence is extremely inherent in our society, we begin to
consider the ways our society promotes violence against its citizens. Since the establishment of
The United States of America, our country has welcomed countless immigrants from all over the
world. America has become a home to a multitude of races and cultures; this great diversity has
created our societys melting pot. The diversity of our melting pot brings forward many
positive and negative attributes to our society as a whole. Gloria Anzaldua in How to Tame a
Wild Tongue expresses the difficulty that comes with being diverse from Americas linguistic
boarders. As new citizens, the family faced mental and emotional violence when expressing
themselves using the language of their home country. This violence caused the family to
internalize how [their] language has been used against [them] by the dominant culture, [and
how they will use [their] language differences against each other (Anzaldua 27). For many
immigrants, the dominance of the American culture is truly violent to their sense of self.

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Considering the strength and dominance of the American culture, our society directly promotes
violence against its citizens.
Even though violence can be defined differently with each situation and group of
individuals, seemingly, on a daily basis there are acts of violence that have significant impacts on
the lives of many individuals. Prior to the readings, writings, and discussions that took place
throughout this semester, I was not truly aware of the amount of violence that is inherent in our
American communities or of the many different types of violence that can occur. I am now able
to classify and differentiate between different violent acts. Each act of violence has the capability
to provoke more violent emotions, or to internalize with individuals that are directly or indirectly
involved. While considering how the American culture promotes violence, it is important that
each citizen continues to strengthen their individual sense of self and embrace the diversity in
America.

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