The contemporary society has been awash with various factors and events, some of which have fueled violence and hostility among people or even an entire nation. Violence results typically from disagreements. Simply put, violence is inevitable and cannot be avoided in life. Violence is bound to occur in human relations from time to time. Therefore, adequate measures need to be taken into place to combat violence and ensure that violence is avoided at all costs. In his book, “Pedagogy and Violence: Teaching Values in the Process of Understanding the Spectrum of Violence,” Dr. Lombardo goes ahead to explain some of the processes that are involved in this complicated process. This paper gives an in-depth analysis of some of the most exciting factors highlighted by Dr. Lombardo as well as various instances of violence in the media and their relation to Dr. Lombardo’s findings.
Language
First and foremost, language is arguably one of the factors that have a direct relation to violence. It is among Dr. Lombardo’s most exciting points in the violence process. Various quarters have managed to use language, especially that which is appealing to a large group of people, to incite them to chaos, violence, and anarchy. Most people who use language to incite are those that are in high ranking positions and have absolute sway over those that they are inciting. Dr. Lombardo emphasizes the central role that language plays in human life and behavior (Lombardo, 2000). It can shape people, their targets as well as their behaviors (Lombardo, 2000).
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Social Roles
Another interesting violence process that stands out in Dr. Lombardo’s findings is that of social roles. Social functions play a far much important role in the violence process as opposed to others’ conclusions. Social conditioning is as a result of social roles. The conditioning is mainly predicated on gender and occupation. Indeed, gender violence emanates from social roles and conditioning whereby males view females as lesser human beings who should be oppressed and subjugated.
Instances of Violence Process in Action in the Media
The media has been one of the platforms that have been used to perpetrate violence. Reason being that Media affects virtually every person on the planet and can influence anyone. In the United States, the majority of media content consumers are teenagers. From a young age, adolescents spend a better part of their lives interacting with various aspects of the media and eventually end up being affected. Some of the aspects of media affecting teenagers and aides in the violence process are discussed below:
Television
Research has indicated that every American youth witnesses nearly 200,000 acts of violence on television before they become adults (Lombardo, 2000). The availability of TV sets to teenagers fuels the process since most American teens have television sets in their bedrooms. Subsequently, they can watch violent content in the comfort of their rooms. One of Dr. Lombardo’s violence process factors that aid violence on televisions in language. It is the language that is used by actors and other television personalities that influence the actions of the consumers, a majority of who are adolescents.
Video Games
Studies have shown that nearly 97% of American teenagers play video games. The average time they spend paying these videos is around 13 hours a week (Lombardo, 2000) . In retrospect, video games have been noted to have adverse effects on consumers. Some of the negative impacts of video games to teenagers include a rise in delinquent behavior, truancy, and aggression. Dehumanization is undoubtedly one of the violence factors that are related to video games. It makes those indulging in video games to forget about the real world upon which they immerse themselves in a world of fantasy. It makes consumers reduce human qualities in themselves since they end up identifying with the perpetrators of violence in the video games.
In conclusion, it is important to reiterate that joint efforts need to be implemented to curb violence in the society. Some of the steps that can be taken are to sensitize people on the dangers of abuse and violent behavior. Additionally, the media also needs to be regulated so that young people don’t get access to violent and extremist content. Dr. Lombardo’s efforts need to be echoed in his attempt to explain the complex spectrum of violence.
Reference
Lombardo, L. X. (2000). Pedagogy and Violence: Teaching Values in the Process of Understanding the Spectrum of Violence. Colorado: Old Dominion University.
