Violence is a complex subject. It can be viewed from a variety of different perspectives. Very often, violence is seen as an irrational outburst of aggression triggered by certain events, the examples of such behavior are the mass disorders caused by football fans regularly happening all around the world. Violence also can be viewed as an intimidating attempt to achieve a certain goal within a short period of time or to demonstrate certain moods and points of view; this is how anarchist movements see their destructive actions.
Finally, violence can be viewed as a fight for freedom or independence or other more or less noble goals. This kind of violence is often portrayed as a necessary measure or an act of despair from the oppressed side. It is not possible for the victim and perpetrator to see an event through a shared lens. The sides of a victim and perpetrator of one event are opposite, they have very little or nothing in common, this is why the majority of conflicts keep going on for years or even decades. The positions of the victims and perpetrators are very vague because both sides tend to feel like victims of conflict and perceive their opposition as perpetrators.
The neutral side remains that way only until it gets personally involved in the conflict. After that, it is most likely to find itself joining one of the sides completely or partially. In order to portray violence as necessary, it is important to address a group and individuals that feel particularly depowered, for example, ones with low income or the ones that cannot find good jobs, and tell them that they have been oppressed, they can be freed, and the only way to liberate themselves is to fight against the oppressors. This is the strategy anarchists employ.
I agree that the perception of violence in various situations is strictly individual and depends on the perspective of the viewer. Framing and propaganda exist to dictate opinions to the individuals and make them identify themselves with certain sides, support some opinions, and fight against the others. Terrorist groups and social movements, as well as politicians, journalists, and mass media, employ framing and propaganda to explain acts of violence. For example, during the mass disorders in Kyiv, Ukraine that happened this winter there were sides that saw participators of the riots as violent individuals and the police – as the heroic fighters for peace and order, and there were also sides that saw the protesters as freedom fighters and the police – as cruel and coldblooded aggressors attacking peaceful civilians.
Violence, mass disorders, and organized uprisings have been a part of human history ever since the beginning of time. Ancient societies rebelled against their rulers or the elite, just like today, groups of individuals join violent mass actions to protest against various events or happenings. Mass actions today are employed by various organizations in order to be able to control or influence the world around them. Peaceful demonstrations and gatherings, silent protests and hunger strikes are designed to achieve goals such as cancellation of various rules and policies, alteration of fees and salaries. Such actions normally develop peacefully and do not result in any damage.
There is also another kind of mass protest, which is mainly based on violent acts and includes a lot of damage to private, state, and corporate properties, numerous victims among the police and civilians. Regan (2004) explains that the participators and organizers of such actions normally justify their violence by saying that all the nonviolent alternatives were exhausted, so violations of law became the only way of acting in order to pursue changes actively. Ethically, in case if all the nonviolent approaches to the solution of a certain issue really were tried without any result, violence may be seen as the only remaining way out.
Unfortunately, today many violent actions are held without any legal basis, the activists rarely employ any other measures, they turn to violent and destructive protests right away because these kinds of actions have proved to be the most radical, yet the most effective behavior. The initiators of violent actions and protests often call themselves “freedom fighters,” they name one or several noble goals standing behind all the violence and use them to justify the damage.
For example, Animal Liberation Front is known for multiple acts of vandalism and corporate property violation and destruction, this organization pursues a noble goal of saving animals, yet they rarely care about their human victims. All of the violent actions are based on fake urgency (Zizek, 2008). Most of the propaganda videos for all kinds of social and military movements include such phrases as “no more waiting; we have to act now!” These addresses artificially create urgency and rush, so that the followers feel pressure to gather that very moment and do something.
Anarchist movements employ this tactic a lot, they like to repeat that they are done waiting, the time for changes has come, then they gather a crowd that moves through the streets damaging everything they can reach, smashing front windows, burning down cars, breaking fences, painting over the walls, writing their slogans and mottos, drawing symbols and emblems. Anarchists like to say that they are very political, that every action they hold is full of sense, but in the majority of cases, the anarchist activist groups contain aggressive teenagers and students hiding their faces.
Anarchists work through motivating, depowered groups to “speak up.” They address the groups of people that feel the weakest due to some dysfunctions in their lives because such individuals are likely to be the most aggressive as anger and the application of physical force are perceived as power, which these people lack in daily life. Anarchists affect the potential aggressors and send them to smash corporate properties to feel strong again. Of course, during such actions, everyone, who stands between the activists and the properties they want to destroy, is perceived as an enemy, this is why anarchists are so hateful towards the police (ACME Collective, 1999).
The video about the Oakland Commune and their activities designed to occupy Wall Street says that the action was “not about new jobs and not about better jobs,” but it fails to mention what it actually was about (Ahwooga, 2011). The anarchist posters, flyers, videos, and programs are focused on ruination only. They never mention what happens after everything is destroyed. Some of the pictures in anarchist magazines demonstrate the happy life we all are going to live after we say no to the order as we know it, burn down all the buildings, and stop going to work.
It seems like the ideal society for the followers of anarchist movements is the one of Stone Age. The complete absence of laws, regulations, or people that maintain safety and order is most likely to lead to chaos and awaken new waves of violence when people without private properties will start to fight for them and will not be limited or restricted by anything or anyone. Violence employed by anarchists is designed to underline and emphasize a social division between the rich and the poor and make it look like an unacceptable fact.
Besides, anarchist propaganda likes to mention that the police are the enemy because they are controlled by the rich elite (ACME Collective, 1999). Violent outbreaks and the destruction of the cities are viewed as the symbols of liberation from the capitalist slavery. Music, images and words used in propaganda videos are mainly designed to stimulate the viewers to join violent actions, anarchists portray acts of destruction as joyful and fun moments that everyone must experience, this is how they manage to attract and recruit so many teenagers and young students.
Violence is the act of complete frustration where both of the sides consider themselves to be victimized and try to fight for peace, freedom or order. Violence can be viewed in many different ways; it is also framed and presented to the society in a variety of perspectives. Violence can be very efficient, but at the same time, violent behavior is a pattern that leads to the devolution of the societies bringing an unstoppable chaos into them, which in the end of the day none of the sides are going to enjoy.
Reference List
ACME Collective. (1999). Anarchist N30 Black Bloc Communiqué. Web.
Ahwooga. (2011). For the Oakland Commune. Web.
Regan, T. (2004). How to Justify Violence. In S. Best and A. J. Nocella, II (Eds.), Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? (pp. 231-236). New York: Lantern.
Zizek, S. (2008). Violence. New York: Picador.