Violence is the answer

Abstract

We U.S. Americans deplore violence. We're incensed by domestic incidents such as the bombings of the World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City federal building, and we even decry incidents abroad such as the recent bombings of an Israeli bus and the Paris subway. Likewise, we often lament having to live in the highly violent society the U.S. has generally become. But American society suffers from far more than its “illegitimate” violence, only a tiny portion of which is perpetrated by people we call terrorists. Arguably, even more violence is generated by “legitimate” behavior, committed by individuals and by institutions—ranging from corporations to governments—that we never label as terrorists at all. Violence, on various levels, is standard behavior in U.S. society. It is justified by rationales ranging from the “buyer beware” to “the need for domestic order” to “protecting U.S. interests” to “promoting national security.”. Thus, much American violence—and a good deal of terror—is tolerated, perhaps eve...