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WORDS ARE VIOLENCE
this idea is the source of a lot of our new social ills. It’s an axiom that becomes more popular by the day & is,as far as I can see, totally anathema to a peaceful democratic society
That said,in a democracy,it is a completely logically coherent statement.
this idea is the source of a lot of our new social ills. It’s an axiom that becomes more popular by the day & is,as far as I can see, totally anathema to a peaceful democratic society
That said,in a democracy,it is a completely logically coherent statement.
The State is fundamentally the social structure that has a monopoly on violence. No more no less. If the “State” does not have a monopoly on violence (e.g Mexico), then whatever group does have this monopoly is the true State (drug cartels)
The State is a collection of laws & people who implement said laws. Beneath every law, even the most insignificant, is the threat of violence - jaywalk? you’re getting fined. don’t pay? Getting arrested. Resist? Violence. every law ends up at this end.
In democracies, the laws are determined by the electorally chosen politicians, who are chosen by popular vote. Popular vote is no more than a quantification of public opinion
in his work of the same name, Walter Lippmann does a great job of detailing exactly how public opinion is formed. Worth the read. tl;dr: public opinion is shaped via media, social groups, and emotion.
the media and your social groups express their views - and thereby influence public opinion - via the written, spoken, or displayed word
therefore, words are used by the media and social groups in order to sway public opinion, which in turn determines elections, which result in the creation or negation of laws
These laws, upon inspection, are no more or less than descriptions of under what circumstances the govt will use its monopoly on violence, for what purposes, against whom, in order to protect what
Words —>media/social groups—>public opinion —>elections—>laws—>violence
Put more succinctly,
WORDS...ARE VIOLENCE
WORDS...ARE VIOLENCE
I don’t like this conclusion anymore than you do, but in a democracy where the state has a monopoly on violence, this logic is watertight, as far as I can see
It is what it is
It is what it is
