It seems like violence happens way too often these days. The first thing that people do when they don’t get what they want, or want to change something, is use violence, whether big or small. Mass shootings, school shootings, fights, whether the right people are owning guns or not, violent video games and violent protests are just some of the ways we see violence present in our everyday lives. It seems like people will never be able to stop with acting upon their violent behaviors. To some extent, violence is seen as a normal part of life, that we just have to deal with, whether people like it or not. As humans continue to coexist on earth, violence is becoming more and more prevalent, to the point where the world may never be a completely nonviolent place. As demonstrated in the work of Hobbes, Fight Club, Susan Scutti, and Gandhi, violence is an inevitable part of human life.
Firstly, Hobbes shows that violence is an inevitable part of human life. In the reading, Hobbes talks about three causes of quarrel. These causes are competition, for gain, diffidence, for safety, and glory, for reputation (Hobbes, 7). Because men have a fighting instinct within themselves, violence is bound to be involved in some way, whether it is portrayed for good or evil. According to Hobbes, they “first use violence, to make themselves masters of other men’s persons, wives, children, and cattle” (Hobbes, 7). This quarrel specifically relates to man gaining something, like for food or money. In this case, Hobbes is talking about gaining other men’s women and children for their own personal gain. Also, Hobbes talks about men fighting other men out of safety concerns. Hobbes states there, “is consequent to a time or war where every man is enemy to every man, the same is consequent to the time wherein men live without other security” (Hobbes, 7). Because men need to know that their lives and the people in them are safe, their security is heightened and critical. When this security is harmed in any way, the men will fight anyone who tries to take his power and security away. According to Hobbes, “when taking a journey, he arms himself and seeks to go well accompanied; when going to sleep, he locks his doors; when even in his house, he locks his chests” (Hobbes, 8). This just shows how protective men are over their things and the people in them. Even though men may not think they are very protective about themselves and their family, they do a lot in preparation to make sure that their families are safe. So, Hobbes shows that violence is an unavoidable part of human life because men have many quarrels, which can turn into violence, and men will fight each other if their security, or their family’s security, is being threatened.
In addition, Fight Club shows that violence is an inevitable part of human life. In the movie, it shows how great the narrator’s life is. He has a great job, and a nice place to live, but can’t find happiness in these things. He goes through everyday not knowing how to find the joy in life. Because of this, he ends up joining many support groups, so he is able to pretend to be sick or in need of help, which allows him to act on his sad feelings. But, the narrator’s life turned upside down when his apartment caught fire. He had no family to call, so the only person he could think of was Tyler Durden. Tyler is a bad influence on the narrator, and persuades him to act on his violent thoughts. Fight Club allows the men who want to participate, to beat each other up. Tyler even encourages the group to fight others within the community. In one part of the movie, Tyler tells the group that “this week, each one of you has a homework assignment. You’re going to go out and you’re going to start a fight with a total stranger. You’re going to start a fight, and you’re going to lose” (Fight Club clip 2, 0:01-0:18). This probably sounds like a dumb idea to many people. The reason for this assignment is to make people fight the fight club members first, because people won’t do it otherwise because most don’t like confrontation and won’t initiate anything. By the fight club members making the first move, it was easier for the other person to fight back. Fight Club was made for people who want to fight the larger system because they don’t like the consumer culture. These people don’t want to keep going on with their dull and boring lives, and want to find something meaningful in their lives by fighting with each other. Further, adults are not the only ones that like to engage in violence. Violent video games have been shown to inhibit children to act on violent behavior. According to the article, “85% or more of video games on the market contain some form of violence” (Scutti). If children are learning how to use violence at that young of an age, it is no wonder why violence is so present in the world today. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, video games “should not use human or other living targets or award points for killing, because this teaches children to associate pleasure and success with their ability to cause pain and suffering to others” (Scutti). At that young of an age, children are just learning what is right and wrong. By playing violent video games, it is telling these kids that it is okay to use violence because you may get awarded for it. So, Fight Club and Scutti show that fighting is unavoidable because humans want to feel included in something, and find a meaning by using violence, while violent video games teach children that it is ok to use violence because you will be rewarded for it.
Lastly, Gandhi shows that violence is an inevitable part of human life. In the movie, Mahatma Gandhi practices nonviolent protests against the racist treatment given by the English government. He states that “there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. Whatever they do to us, we will attack no one, kill no one” (Gandhi clip 1, 12:54-13:06). Some of the laws that the English Government wanted to put in place for the Indians were that “all Indians must now be fingerprinted, like criminals, men and women. No marriage, other than a Christian marriage is considered valid. Under this act, our wives and mothers are whores. And every man here is a bastard” (Gandhi clip 1, 11:02-11:20). Gandhi, as a leader for the Indian people, felt the need to stand up to the English government because he and many others did not want these laws to pass. But, he made it very clear that he would not hurt anyone while doing this. Even though Gandhi and the Indian people protested nonviolently, the English people still fought them with violence. Many would say that the nonviolent protests were a success because the Indians never gave up on their beliefs, and eventually ended up winning the fight. But, a lot of Indians were killed and injured severely because they weren’t able to fight back. I don’t think that this was an absolute win for them, because so many people lost their family and friends because of their nonviolent practices. In one part of the movie, it shows the English government coming to the Indians’ nonviolent protests and brutally attacking everyone that didn’t follow orders. Because the Indians weren’t able to fight back and attack the English soldiers, the Indians had no choice but to stand there and let the English beat them to death. Only a few people were able to survive because of the nonviolence that was practiced. Also, if the Indians had used violence, it may have made the battle for them much quicker. Instead of letting the English beat them to death, they could have fought back to avoid the many deaths and injuries that occurred. So, Gandhi shows that violence is unavoidable because even though Gandhi led nonviolent protests, the English government still used violence against them, and the Indians lost too many people to consider the nonviolent protests a great tactic.
In conclusion, as demonstrated in the work of Hobbes, Fight Club, Susan Scutti, and Gandhi, violence is an inevitable part of human life. There are many instances from centuries ago, to present day, that make it hard to think about a completely nonviolent world. Some think there is nothing wrong with using some violence, like in Fight Club. And, we are prepping children in how, and when, to use violence when presenting them with such violent video games at such early ages. Even though some, like Gandhi, have tried the nonviolent method, there are still some that will go straight to violence. At least for now, I believe that violence is an unavoidable part of human life, until some big changes are made.