I initially wrote this piece in the mid-1990s. It was published in Philosophy Now in 1999 when I was a columnist there. Ten years later, in 2010, I posted it at my other blog; it seemed required. Another three years later, I’m posting it again, here, because the people in power in mainstream media apparently …
Category: violence
Mar 01 2013
Entertain Me. Hurt him.
Given the violent content of many prime time dramas and sports, both of which are considered entertainment, it is apparent that many of us consider it entertaining when people hurt other people. What does that say about us? That so many people find violence entertaining should be deeply disturbing. Instead, it’s so normal, it’s unremarkable. …
Dec 21 2012
Rules of Combat
Why are there rules of combat? Rules apply to civil interactions and games. Combat is neither. Rules give the impression of fairness, decency, civility. They thus make war permissible. But if war is really about defending your loved ones, wouldn’t you do whatever is necessary? Wouldn’t you ‘fight dirty’ if that’s what it takes? Rules …
Nov 06 2012
I’m too drunk. No I’m not.
According to the Canadian Criminal Code, (self-induced) intoxication is no defence against charges of assault (33.1): if you’re drunk, you’re still able to form the general intent to commit said assault. And yet, with regard to the sub-category of sexual assault, belief that someone is consenting is cancelled if that someone is intoxicated (273.1(2)): if …
May 20 2012
Trust – the movie
I’m so bloody sick and tired of men who assume center stage is for them. The way the movie ends, and most of the way it plays out, it’s about the dad, about how he can’t deal with his failure to protect his daughter. Mom’s not quite so important, apparently, despite her greater empathy with …
May 07 2012
Walking Alone in a Park at Night
In a rape trial, that the woman was walking alone in a park at night has been considered relevant – presumably it’s a mitigating circumstance: the accused can be excused for thinking she wanted it if she was walking alone in a park at night. What!? Why? Why is it that a woman walking alone …
Apr 16 2012
Making Kids with AIDS
What has been glaringly absent in news stories about children with AIDS in Africa is comment about why there are so many children with AIDS. “We are going down,” a woman says, “Theft will go up, rape all over will be high. People – ” Wait a minute. Back up. “Rape all over will be …
Feb 05 2012
The Superbowl: knock yourself out
So does anyone think someone’s going to get knocked out during this year’s Superbowl? It’s happened before. And frankly, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often. Just like that latest disgrace with our prisoners of war. I mean, consider the similarities:
Dec 24 2011
Bang Bang
Ya gotta love Christmas. Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, and record sales of toy guns. But, my friend says, her son, and all of his friends, will make a gun out of any old thing. The problem isn’t the toys. Okay, so it’s the boys. Seems they’re hardwired with a propensity toward killing. Why …
Nov 07 2010
An End to War
At one time, bank tellers and secretaries had a certain prestige – the time when such positions were held by men. Schoolteachers used to be schoolmasters – before women entered the classroom. People who boast that many doctors in Russia are women fail to mention that doctoring in Russia, well, someone’s gotta do it. The …
fiction
