A Culture of Violence

Abstract

Statistical and ethnographic accounts of homicide rates during and after wars point to a significant rise in murders in post-war societies (Ember and Ember, 1994, p. 621). Post-war societies are, more often than not, violent societies (Andreas, 2004; Call, 2002; Moser and McIllwaine, 2001; Preti, 2002; Steenkamp, 2009). In addition, there is evidence that societies with such high levels of violence may be growing accustomed to it. In an interview in 2004, a 40-something Protestant man who has lived through the Northern Irish conflict, explained that:

Although, people like myself who’ve seen all the violence, it’s not that we accept violence, it’s just that we’ve become used to it. When there’s a bomb or shooting, people would say “yeah, that’s awful”, but there’s no real hysteria. It’s something we’ve seen for years. It’s not that we are any less caring or sensitive, it’s just that we’ve become hardened to it.

(Belfast Interview 6).