In the news and on social media, there has been a multitude of violent video clips taken by onlookers. Ignoring the fact that standing by can often be more harmful than useful, it is too ac- cessible and forced down inter- net users’ throats. Because of this, children and adults alike are be- coming desensitized to violence.
Social media has only boosted the accessibility of real-world violence, with videos being posted at a fast rate. A recent trend has been women abusing their boy- friends, followed by comments about how they are simply “put- ting their boyfriends in their places.” At this point, most people understand men beating women is unacceptable. However, these videos on social media, even the left-leaning accounts, have had a disconnect with domestic violence going both ways.
Along with these, there have been videos of Nazis being punched by Jewish people or LGBTQ+ people. On the surface, this appears to be retribution for the violence the Nazi party rep- resents. Of course, supporting a party means supporting all aspects, or at least being able to ig- nore the bad to support the good. Many viewers who see these videos cite the violence is justi- fied because Hitler, the face of the Nazi party, ordered the genocide of 17 million people. This number is horrifying, but it is important to remember that Nazi-sympathizers will learn nothing by experiencing violence.
On a basic level, not punching someone in the face seems like a pretty basic concept. In kinder- garten, kids learned to only do to others as they want to be done to themselves. However, when someone is in the face of a per- son who is a minority or does not share their beliefs and are getting slurs and threats thrown at them, it becomes a different story.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech to anyone in the country. That, of course, includes hateful words. As frustrating as things might be, and how satisfying it might be to punch a Nazi in the face, violence rarely solves problems. Of course, there is the case of war, which can sometimes halt corruption, but in the case of attempting to persuade someone of something, using violence will only make them less likely to agree.
The protests that stand out the most, historically, are the silent, peaceful ones, such as Emma Gonzalez’s minutes of silence during the March for Our Lives Rally in March of this year. Perhaps the most famous speech in American history is Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, where he peacefully explained what he and his followers dream of one day achieving. Of course, these are only a start to making an actual change in government or in viewer’s minds, but every movement has to start somewhere.
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