Violence
Contents
Description of the pattern
There is no problem that cannot be solved by violence. If the subject cannot be subdued by psychological means, then injury can be inflicted. If injury is not enough, then the subject can be eliminated permanently by killing them.
Why the pattern is good (i.e. bad)
Violence results in deaths which reduces population and eases the demand on resources. It creates fear and that fear will distract from other perceived problems that the state doesn't want fixed. Violence begets violence and is thus self-perpetuating.
How it Works
The population is desensitized to violence through the media where it is overtly displayed, and also portrayed as the most convenient and effective way of solving problems. Violence is celebrated and glorified in sporting events.
Evidence
"Suicides in the U.S. military have been climbing, reaching a record high in 2012 when 349 soldiers took their own lives, about one every 25 hours. By comparison, 301 U.S. soldiers died in active combat in 2012, marking the third time in four years that the number of military suicides has surpassed the number of deaths in combat of U.S. soldiers. The figures also do not include the 110 “pending” reported suicides that are still under investigation by medical examiners. In veterans, the numbers are far worse: about one veteran every 65 minutes takes his or her own life, according to a new investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs which examined suicide data from 1999 to 2010."
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/22/soldier-suicides-2/
"Violent sex crimes committed by active U.S. Army soldiers have almost doubled over the past five years, due in part to the trauma of war, according to an Army report released on Thursday.
Reported violent sex crimes increased by 90 percent over the five-year period from 2006 to 2011. There were 2,811 violent felonies in 2011, nearly half of which were violent felony sex crimes. Most were committed in the United States."
"Soldiers suffering from issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, and depression have been shown to have higher incidences of partner abuse, according to the report.
Soldiers with PTSD are up to three times more likely to be aggressive with their female partners than those without such trauma, the report said.
The report also said that family abuse cases are typically underreported.
As the largest branch of the U.S. armed forces, the Army has done the bulk of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, including years of extended duty and repeated deployments."
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/01/20-1
Links (to other anti-patterns)
Eye for an Eye – Retribution, Fear Mongering, Xenophobia
Notes and Suggestions
It might also be good because it increases fear and thus decreases the possibility of solving problems intelligently. If one can manipulate people through fear you can lead them into thinking the way you'd like to to think.
Violence also often leads to more violence.
Elie Karam of the Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care in Beirut, Lebanon, and colleagues measured the effects of war on the mental health of 2857 Lebanese civilians. They found that 70 per cent of respondents to their survey had been exposed to traumatic events related to the country's ongoing conflict, including living in a war zone or being a refugee.
Those exposed to conflict were six times as likely to have an anxiety disorder, three times as likely to have a mood disorder, and 13 times as likely to have an impulse-control disorder as people who had not experienced such events. Less than half of the survey respondents who reported a disorder had sought any treatment - and they took an average of six years to do so. (PLoS Medicine, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050061).
