Kids and Violence

The Justice Department yesterday issued a report stating that more than 60% of school children in the U.S. were exposed to violence, directly or indirectly in their daily lives. In addition to those who had actually witnessed or been themselves victims of "violence" were those who heard about violence against friends and relatives and "threats to the school." It did not say whether watching cartoons or the evening news, or reading the paper were included as witnessing or learning about violence. A criminal justice professor at Northeastern University criticized the study as being too broad and inclusive. I have to agree.

As a child, I grew up with two brothers and fights and scuffles often occurred. Today, I suspect those scuffles and fights would be considered family violence, particularly when extortion and threats were involved. On more than one occasion I was threatened with violence from my older brother if I did not desist from some activity or behavior he found irritating. Demands were often made for a toy or a seat on the swing and, if I did not comply, threats were made. On occasions he would actually hit me, (assault me in today's parlance). I in turn made threats against my younger brother and sought to extort toys, candy, and other things kids find valuable, and threatened violence if he did not comply.

I would often watch the evening news and was, at times, encouraged to do so. It was felt that exposure to what was going on in the world would give me a broader understanding of current events. Of course, my parents were present in order to explain those events and answer any questions I might have. I can still recall images of the Vietnam war, as well as two wars in the Middle East. Perhaps it was those experiences that kindled my interest in world events.

I also was exposed to considerable violence every Saturday morning watching cartoons in which people and animals were regularly victims of extraordinary acts of violence. The unbridled violence and evil machinations of Wile E. Coyote no doubt desensitized and hardened me to violence. Yet, despite my exposure to such mayhem, I never dropped an anvil on any body's head.

In school I was often the victim of violence and was on occasion, an instigator of violence, both verbal and physical. It was not uncommon for me to be taunted or physically assaulted with a push or a hit in the arm. At times, I was the aggressor, taunting, pushing and hitting others. Sometimes, I simply heard of violence afterwards; how Jimmy pushed Tommy off the swing, or Steve punched Robert over a cross word. Other times, a particularly malicious and violent student would even assault his victim by throwing a rock at him; the grievous crime, as I understand it, of of aggravated assault. I no longer recall the specifics of many of those incidents but undoubtedly they are buried in my subconscious and influence me in sinister ways.

I recognize things have changed since I was a kid. Knives, guns, severe beatings and sexual abuse are more common than the rocks, dirtballs, scuffling and curiosity of my youth. And I have no doubt violence has increased. But when I see grim statistics such as 57% of children report having been assaulted, 13% report being bullied, I have to question the broad criteria being used to establish and measure violence and abuse among today's children. Given the broader definition today concerning what constitutes violence and assault, and the natural tendency of parents and children to be overly sensitive to insults, taunts, and the sometimes malicious and vengeful nature of children towards each other, I am not surprised that the statistics are so high. Also, because the survey was conducted over the phone and parents were allowed to speak for their children, the numbers should not have been unexpected.

I would have to agree with those who feel the study was too broad and the definition of violence too vague. If one was cynical by nature, one might conclude that the study was predetermined to find the shocking levels of violence that were determined to occur. That the study was conducted by university researchers explains much of this. University professors and graduate students are known to be much more flexible and creative in establishing criteria for their studies. It might also be suspected that university professors and graduate students are much more sensitive to the issue of bullying than most.

If the right criteria are established, the results sought are almost guaranteed to be found. If I were to conduct a study on bullying and violence among children, the last groups I would ask would be professors, graduate students, and parents. I would go to the schools and playgrounds, talk to the school nurse, and, if need be, visit emergency rooms and determine it for myself.

All of this begs the question; if the data is correct, why are the numbers concerning violence and abuse among children so high? Have they always been this high, or is this a modern phenomenon? Why have guns and knives replaced rocks and sticks? If it is a modern phenomenon, what is it about modern society that encourages such behaviors? In short, what has changed? Why is it that in today's enlightened culture of "values" such as tolerance, acceptance and moral neutrality, so much violence exists among our youth? As important, are these statistics going to be a pretext for greater government involvement in society and our schools?