Is society becoming more violent?

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FightingFat

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Do you think that society is more violent than it was 50 years ago? What do you think has contributed to this rise?

If you were in the supermarket and bumped into someone elses car, would you be worried about confronting the person who’s car you’d damaged for fear of violent reprisal?

Are there places you wont go at night in your town/ city?

When you go at night socially, are fights a common scene?

Do you think this is a natural progression in society or is it a disease we need to cure?
 
I think these things come and go in societies. In America’s wild west it was very violent. Up until WWI life was hard and the law wasn’t enforced anywhere near equally. In the south it was terribly violent for certain groups of people. But, I know what you mean. After WWII America wanted nothing but peace and most people went to church and were socially adept. But, since the Vietnam War and the turmoil of the '60’s it’s gotten worse and worse for the average citizen as more and more young men turn to crime. Not out of necessity but out of boredom or gangs or frustration with society at large and themselves. Our society has devolved from a nation of church-goers (Christian churches, synagogues, you name it) to lazy, me firsters which has had a largely negative effect on every aspect of our lives, including social behavior.
 
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Della:
I think these things come and go in societies. In America’s wild west it was very violent. Up until WWI life was hard and the law wasn’t enforced anywhere near equally. In the south it was terribly violent for certain groups of people. But, I know what you mean. After WWII America wanted nothing but peace and most people went to church and were socially adept. But, since the Vietnam War and the turmoil of the '60’s it’s gotten worse and worse for the average citizen as more and more young men turn to crime. Not out of necessity but out of boredom or gangs or frustration with society at large and themselves. Our society has devolved from a nation of church-goers (Christian churches, synagogues, you name it) to lazy, me firsters which has had a largely negative effect on every aspect of our lives, including social behavior.
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No, the crime rate hasn’t changed that much, just the way we report it.
 
Fifty years ago would be 1955. In 1955 in the city I grew up in one could wander around anywhere in town without fear of violence. That is no longer true. Part of the reason has to do with the rise of the drug culture and the breakdown of families.
 
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wabrams:
No, the crime rate hasn’t changed that much, just the way we report it.
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I agree. And there is a lot more reporting today of crimes that might have not gotten as much attention years ago.

As an aside, when I was a young boy in the late 40s and early 50s, I read the tabloid NY papers, and would come across references to “woman attacked.” In my childish ignorance, I thought that all those luckless women were being assailed by men with clubs or knives. I didn’t know that it was a euphemism for rape. Matter of fact, I didn’t know what rape was either, back then.
 
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JimG:
Fifty years ago would be 1955. In 1955 in the city I grew up in one could wander around anywhere in town without fear of violence. That is no longer true. Part of the reason has to do with the rise of the drug culture and the breakdown of families.
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I think that your experience still applies today in some cities and large towns. I agree that in the very large cities, drug crime has made many areas virtually too dangerous to live in.
 
What about self respect? Do you think that has anything to do with it? Young people seem to have less self respect these days. I used to go out for a few drinks with my mates when I was 18, sometimes I got a bit drunk too, but I never got so drunk I couldn’t stand, fought 6 police officers and ended up in the hospital!
 
Spain, yes, in 1955, our grandfathers had the key in the entrance door, now, there are fear, killings and insecurity. A dictatorship has these things, we have security but we don´t have freedom.
 
There are more people everywhere. That opens the door to more types of people. It is inevitable that there may be statistically more crime, even in areas that are traditionally the we-don’t-lock-our-doors-'roun-here type.

And the media tends to show us the worst. Which is a small percentage of the actual population.
 
Ever see what happens to a rat population in a controled environment (such as a cage of some sort)? Population keeps rising, leaving smaller and smaller living space for others, and it continually cycles until finally they begin to turn on each other …
 
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auppie:
Ever see what happens to a rat population in a controled environment (such as a cage of some sort)? Population keeps rising, leaving smaller and smaller living space for others, and it continually cycles until finally they begin to turn on each other …
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In the cities I’m thinking of, population has not increased. In many cases, population density is less and quality of life is better. But behavior has gotten worse!
 
Is this related to a news story in some way? If so, I didn’t see it…
 
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JimG:
In the cities I’m thinking of, population has not increased. In many cases, population density is less and quality of life is better. But behavior has gotten worse!
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I find it hard to think that population has not increased in the last 50 years anywhere. But yes, behavior has increasingly declined.
 
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HagiaSophia:
Is this related to a news story in some way? If so, I didn’t see it…
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If you were referring to my analogy, the relation is the more crowded we get, the more violent we tend to get…we turn on each other.

If you weren’t refering to my post, then I’ll step aside. 🙂
 
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HagiaSophia:
Is this related to a news story in some way? If so, I didn’t see it…
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Well, I don;t know if you heard about this news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4740095.stm

There’s also a thing about binge drinking in the UK at the moment. The government are passing a bill to allow pubs to open 24 hrs and a lot of people are concerned about the violence already atributed to drinking.
 
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FightingFat:
Well, I don;t know if you heard about this news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4740095.stm

There’s also a thing about binge drinking in the UK at the moment. The government are passing a bill to allow pubs to open 24 hrs and a lot of people are concerned about the violence already atributed to drinking.
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Well that’s inteersting but since the thread didn’t start with a news story I was just wondering why it was in “News” – no biggie.
 
Wow, I was the split vote, 12 to 12.

There are more violent video games, movie ratings are such that something that is PG now would have been R 10 to 15 yrs ago. Television shows show more violence than they use to. The press is more active with military units on front lines, along with how fast information, including pictures and video, is passed around the world. Terrorist actions in the late 70s didn’t recieve the type of plublicity it does today. We, as a public, now have access to the grisley beheading videos because of the internet. All of this leads to a build up of tolerance to commiting of violent acts and a thinking that smaller acts are not that big a deal.
 
One needs to just read a little history to realize that we are much less violent than or forefathers.
 
The incidents of violence (as supported by the crime statistics) may be going down, but the incidents are becomming more violent. That is problem with the relativism of todays society. Everything is on the table no matter how outlandish it is.

PF
 
From 20 years ago, I would have to say yes. Adults are killing their children (through abortion and otherwise) and children are killing their parents.
 
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