Looking beyond the violence
by admin on July 25, 2011by Eric Pagett
In light of recent events in Norway, a traditionally peaceful country, there is much to be learned from events that have come at great cost. Norway is a country known for its security and generally safe culture. High-profile figures are known to walk the streets without a security detail. The comfort of this atmosphere will change after the desperate acts of an individual motivated by political frustration and a lack of pluralistic thinking.
A unique component of this tragedy is the fact that the gunman surrendered to police. Traditionally spree killings end in a form of “suicide-by-cop”. To me this surrender illustrates that the killing was much more then a deep hatred, it was a call for help. To be clear, these actions are not condonable by any means. However, digesting the root cause of this event is what is important in order to prevent these events from happening again.
Spree-killers, suicide bombers, and terrorist are often dehumanized for the acts they commit, and society justifies a collective hatred towards them. Without condoning their actions, healing and progress happens by trying to understand the needs that were not met that caused an individual to lash out in such an extreme manner. With this compassion for the desperate cries for help that stem from political frustration, sometimes abject poverty, and a lack of pluralistic thinking, comes progress towards preventing events of this magnitude from happening again.
Inevitably it is a feeling of not being heard, understood, and valued that drives an individual to acts of desperation. The magnitude of the stage on which individuals make irrational decisions varies, however it starts with a base feeling undervalue. This understanding brings a responsibility to each of us to make sure that we are listening for the subtle cries for help coming from our loved ones and those around us. Lending an ear and an open heart to a searching individual, no matter how insignificant the situation may seem, can make all the difference in the world. It certainly would have in Norway.