Our need for violence

Hello Yogi,

Might I ask how much "actual" violence have you personally observed in the world, excluding what you are exposed to through media? Real violence that involves one human being against another?

Thanks,
William

You've been listening to 10,000 Days again, haven't you?

It is not the violence that people want to watch, it is the overcoming of adversity that draws people in. But you can't have a story like that without conflict between ideologies so what do you expect then? If there is no conflict then where is the story? There can't be one and the story begins the same way it ends, happy rainbow. The happy rainbow might inspire some but it doesn't inspire everyone. Besides the world isn't always full of rainbows and happy little clouds, it is constantly in friction with those who want nothing more than to take advantage of someone else for their own personal gain.

Mostly indirectly, not directly. And i don't see the difference really. Every time i turn on the news i'm always hearing about causalities, disasters, tragedies because that's what sells, that's what people like and want. To be honest, personally i haven't directly witness much violence but from what you here on TV to what you here on the news all i hear is violence, and what was mentioned above and it sickens me.

Why do we desire to witness drama, violence, and thrill at the dispense of others?

Thanks Yogi.

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The reason I asked is, IMO, everything our sense's observe have a great deal to do with our mood or that perception we have of the world. The only thing that really matters, or should matter, is what you experience in "your domain"; that one you can physically touch, see, taste, smell, hear. It will be hard for anyone who is living today to imagine a time without television. It was indeed a different time. If television were a "real time" device that was free of manipulation, direction, choreography or editing, I feel would be different. When you turn your television set on you are observing what someone else has "put together" for your "entertainment" (or at least it, once, was that way) before it was known "the power" outside stimulus had on the individual mind itself.

--- Possibly, this could be coming from always experiencing entertainment in an indirect way. Television and media dominates a large part of our life due to our immediate need for satisfaction, maybe our patience as a species has gotten worse. Your bring up a good point, Television (And other media) is nothing like real life in real time. The content is chosen, manipulated, directed, ect. like you mentioned. This content is optimization for our immediate satisfaction, which would be the problem. The media companies could careless whether they desensitize our minds, as long as they get their money.

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Always keep in mind television is "programmed" hence the term "programs". Someone else programs what you senses take in, whereas in your personal domain, YOU do that and only you. You and only you have control over that. Let me give you an example of what "it" can do.

Back on October 30 in 1938 CBS radio aired a program called War of the Worlds without commercial interruption and many people actually thought it was a "real time" event and in many areas actual panic ensued. It was a much simpler time not near as complicated and confusing as it is today though 1938 was ten years before I made my appearance on the scene and in that period between that most extraordinary occurrence and my birth, World War II was fought. I am not saying there is any significance here, only to state that it came to "light" how impressionable people were to "outside stimulus". MEDIA COULD BE USED AS A TOOL to alter perceptions in everyones personal domain. You really have to think about that.

--- True, what we see and hear is created by others specifically designed to obscure our perception. Why? Because if they can have us in their control, making money and succeeding is that much easier for the media companies.

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Here is an online book called "THE OTHER PARENT" that gives in much more detail the impact television has on not only the young but everyone and why "they" broadcast what "they" do.

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Yogi, if you can break yourself of the habit of devoting so much of yourself being exposed to "artificial stimulus" it will most definitely alter your perception as it personally relates to your own well being. The mantra behind most "sensational" programming is "...he public has a right to know", and I find that a bit amusing as I wonder who is that has authority over what I need to know?

--- Well first off, you might be right, but i never said i had bought into this false sense of fulfillment. I actually am against this and make an effort to enjoy what truly is entertaining and enjoyable. I'm not a pacifist but unnecessary violence and drama is wrong. Regardless, everyone is a victim no matter how you play it.

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Here is another link that might explain the "economic impact" of what those "fabricated" images have on the mind.

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Yes Yogi you have a right to know what is going on in the world and if you can offer anything that would change that world from the negative that is so inundating our mind, then please by all means do so such is what this very forum is efforting to do and am I. In the meantime be wise in selecting what you allow to enter your mind and try as best you can to be the sole governor of that.

--- Basically, it is far more convenient to be exposed to fake/artificial stimulus than it is to be exposed to real secular information and news.

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In this day and age so very much of those negative attitudes that represent what can be assumed a very negative world come from artificial, programmed means and are not "real", though I will agree much of what we observe is very real. If, now I emphasize if, you can observe those images without it effecting your personal domain and realize they are "programs" someone else is imposing on you, then go for it. I have learned to ask why and exactly what significance that can be of benefit to me personally in my own personal domain and I have come to find out, very little. I pay much more attention to what happens in that domain and the people I encounter in it. To me, that is what really matters. You will be amazed at how positive preole truly are if you allow their light to shine :a-ok:

--- Well said, possibly the root cause of all this is wealth. Money corrupts... The reason i say this is because if you think about it, the media companies that pound various messages and ideas into our heads and give us our immediate satisfaction are not thinking about their influence or effect but simply how they can abuse and take advantage of society to reap the financial and possibly other benefits. To be honest, everyone is way to selfish and seems to always put their needs and wants ahead of others.

William

• The prospect of vicariously witnessing the pain that might befall us some day
  
• A need to face fears of potential pain
  
• Simple titillation to at arms-length, witness what we normally don't
  
• A morbid concept of existence that says, "Action = Really Living!"
  
• Honest Curiosity about these kinds of scenarios
  
• An un-expressed desire for competition brought to life in the mind of the viewer who identifies with the characters/people we see in these situations
  

Probably a lot of reasons.

Every time i turn on the news i'm always hearing about causalities, disasters, tragedies because that's what sells, that's what people like and want.

I'm pretty sure what you just described is a matter of opinion.

I'm not sure that casualties, disasters, and tragedies qualify as violence. Violence is usually qualified as a social interaction, which all of the above don't necessarily include. That's moreso destruction.

As for what people "like" and "want", I'm fairly sure that's assumption of intent, when it comes to using it as the basis that people like such things. Sure, I like and want to hear about tradgedies. Why? Not because I want such events to occur, but because I'd like to be informed about both the positive and negative events taking place in the world in which I live. If I don't know, how would I be able to react in the correct manner when a controversy starts over it? Is there something I need to prepare for? Is there a way I can help? Should I help?

I strongly disagree that the main reason we take a liking to hearing about tragedies is for survival purposes.

The media doesn't go into much of a cause and effect or any prevention skills or information.

How does repeatedly hearing about a son murdering his mother and how a family got burned down in their house help you prevent such tragedies?

The news is rarely positive.

Your most reliable and convenient information source

is constantly feeding you negatives so that you may live in fear.

This has nothing to do with preparation to be honest, i doubt anymore than a small portion of the news is preparing you to avoid such tragedies, disaster, violence, ect.

Well, I suppose it's a good thing that I didn't say it was.

That all depends on the form and the who.

It doesn't, nor did I say it did. You might also want to take note of the fact that not everyone is watching __ channel at the same time. They, of course, are going to report on matters more than once(especially if it's a highly controversial one).

That's mostly due to the fact that most positive news is:
A) Not big enough to tell a nation/community about.
B) Not in abundance.

There's quite a bit larger section of events that are "distasteful" in the world, so naturally they're going to get reported on more often.

I'm not seeing where "The new is hardly positive" translates to "we like the negative".

Hahaha!

I'm sorry, but the most reliable information concerning events in the world usually doesn't show it's face until at least a decade afterward, most of the time longer. And it's usually not on the good 'ol tele. Most news stations are biased and lack objectivist report styles. Hardly what I'd call reliable. Non-mainstream news combined with the mainstream news to filter and figure out what's-what will usually give one a decently accurate idea of what's going on.

Convenient, on the other hand, I'll give you.

You're jumping. Yes, the media feeds us negatives. However, no where in your argument have you proven that it's for said reason.

Like news about a serial killer in my area, a hurricane warning broadcast, article on the rise of gang violence in ___, SWINE FLU, oh crap the tuna's gone bad so don't eat it, have you ever watched CRAMER(a man who's job is to get on television to tell you what's good and what's bad to invest in)... need I continue, really?

Furthermore, yet again, as to "avoiding" which I mentioned in my last response: It's not about one singular thing I've mentioned. It's fallicious to attempt to narrow them down and confront them seperatly, when I've used them in a grouped manner in order to discuss a topic(the news), which is clearly broad enough to require such.

Well what did you mean my preparation. If your going to learn from mistakes and try to avoid such events, is that not because you want to survive? What other use could preparation be? If your going to watch the barely informative news and try to take something out of it by noting the negatives, are you not trying to learn from others mistakes? But, by the way, i doubt the news is used for anything other than trying to give us what sells. Like i said before repeatedly hearing about a son murdering his mother and how a family got burned down in their house does nothing but scares people, cannot learn anything or take anything our of that like you propose.

Not really. I rarely hear any newscaster giving you the skills and necessities to avoid such tragedies or catastrophes. Most of them aren't really avoidable or happen so rarely that the occurrences are made publicly for the sole purposes of entertainment. You personally can't do anything about plane crashes and your not going to completely avoid flying. I'm guessing recent incidents are in the ratio of a few to very very many successful flights. Why do they tell us about plane crashes then? Because it's interesting and it's what sells.

If not sure exactly what you've said but to add, you said that watching the news can help you learn from others mistakes... Which, in effect, means that hearing about such tragedies can help you prevent them. That isn't true.

Do you listen to what you've just written.

The positives are in abundance

i said that the news is rarely positive.

I also said that the negative news is what sells and that is for reasons listed above.

Maybe i gave you the wrong perception of what i meant by reliable. When you get home and want to find out "what's going on" are you going to crack open a book to find out what happened a year ago or are you good "rely" on TV to give you what you want and like right then and there?

That's for another argument.

But i'll try and give my opinion on this in a short summary... If the news is constantly feeding us stories about various tragedies and disasters we will live, paranoid, in fear.

There are so many dangers in the world and yes we are programmed to avoid them but if we were to spend our time worrying about every possible peril, we wouldn't function.

So the reason why the news instills fear in us is so that we want and soon need to here about every possible cause of death so that we may hope to be more educated about our world. But really, i would survive just as long if i never turned on the Television as opposed to if i were enlightened by the millions of ways i could die as advertised on TV.

Some news can be informative, i agree. But even so, i'd rather have the non-manipulated version.

Swine Flu isn't an epidemic, it's nice to be cautious but you don't have to spend your life in fear because swine flu is apparently everywhere i look.

Again, nice to know that there's a serial killer near you but next time you get attacked by him tell me.

My point is there is so much to worry about and so much that will 99% of the time not be a problem, if we were to spend all of our time worrying about every single possible danger, we wouldn't be able to live life.

Why do we desire to witness drama, violence, and thrill at the dispense of others? I've always wondering about this question. Back to the roman days, the coliseum, humankind has always hungered for bloodshed like vampires. Of course that's extreme and more of a metaphor, but we really do seem to take a liking to violence in an unhealthy and scary way.

Possibly it could be for entertainment but for some reason we cannot feel sympathy for the beings on the other side of our enjoyment and fulfillment. If we were to sympathize with the ones being in these various situations, maybe our thoughts about violence and drama would be different.

I've wondered about what is the root cause for this false sense of fulfillment? Is is because we are living an unfulfilled, cold, and empty life? I'm not sure. ANyone have any ideas?

Why do we desire to witness drama, violence, and thrill at the dispense of others? I've always wondering about this question. Back to the roman days, the coliseum, humankind has always hungered for bloodshed like vampires. Of course that's extreme and more of a metaphor, but we really do seem to take a liking to violence in an unhealthy and scary way.

Possibly it could be for entertainment but for some reason we cannot feel sympathy for the beings on the other side of our enjoyment and fulfillment. If we were to sympathize with the ones being in these various situations, maybe our thoughts about violence and drama would be different.

I've wondered about what is the root cause for this false sense of fulfillment? Is is because we are living an unfulfilled, cold, and empty life? I'm not sure. ANyone have any ideas?

Not everyone craves viewing violence, and this has been the case for the entire history of humanity. Back in ancient Rome, many people hated the gladiatorial fighting and would not go see it because they found it revolting and regarded it as immoral. So, it is simply false that we need violence, if by "we" you mean "everyone".

In the case of films, it is a bit different, as the violence is typically pretend violence rather than real violence, but there are people who do not care for pretend violence either.

As for liking real violence, not everyone has equal feelings of empathy for others. If you are interested in why that is the case, you may wish to look into the subject of psychology.