Exploring Violence in Black Communities through The Laws of Maat #3: I Will Not Act With Violence

By Antoinette McKesson
Worldwide, almost 2 million people die annually as a result of violence.  For those who do not die, they suffer post traumatic distress, hospitalizations,  on-going doctor visits, loss of income from work, paralysis and thousands of dollars in medical bills and so on.

Violence is an intention, a low vibration energy that creates life-long consequences for victims of domestic, sexual, economic, physical, mental, media, negligent treatment, maltreatment, exploitation and emotional ill-treatment.

Violence is preventable, but millions are not being invested into the underlying causes of violence, which research has shown, can prevent violence.  Evidence shows a strong relationship between levels of violence and potentially modifiable factors; such as:

Poverty, gender and income equality, ensuring that all students learn about their history, Black mentacide, life skills programs for children, drug abuse programs, money for education, creating and supporting economic empowerment of women, the availability of jobs in the Black community;  a complete national review of  child protective services, from which arises a plethora of child abuse at the hands of CPS workers, and providing stable, safe, and nurturing relationships between children and parents.

The three categories of violence are exploitation, neglect, and physical/psychological.  The causes are as follows:

1.  With so much child abuse: emotional abuse and molestation of little boys and girls, sexually and emotionally abused children will develop sexually violent tendencies. A child, who is beaten, threatened with violence, spanked or hit, will have a tendency to become violent.  A violent person mistreating a child doesn’t pause to consider the damage they are doing to future generations.  Since hurt people hurt other people, being the victim of violence and other negative experiences creates a vibration of violence in a child when their emotions are blocked and repressed, enabling them to grow into violent adults.

2.  An adult who was previously a hurt child, may not have been allowed to, or is not capable of, releasing emotions resulting from the wounded child.  Frustrations from childhood, anxieties and disappointments, and the build-up of unresolved and unexpressed feelings, may predispose a person to violent behavior.  When an adult is taught to repress their pain, or they are filled with so much false pride that they refuse to seek help for all the hurt felt within, the pain becomes a foundation to act out violence – more than likely upon someone close to them, like a child or a spouse.

3.  When a community enacts violence, it makes choices that bring a violent future into reality. Communities are choosing a future that will be based on pain, distrust and resentment.   For example, Black communities in the inner cities fail to understand how violence begins (within the thoughts and within the home), and thus, take no action to remedy the situation before a child becomes an adult.  Subsequently, it is these very communities attempting to understand why there is so much violence in the inner cities.

4.  The hate that hate produced, creates violence.  Violence is glorified and promoted through sports, music, movies, books, video games, etc., because it is the American way.  Western culture is violent, because America was founded upon the principles of violence through white terrorism (slavery), sadistic rape, Jim Crow, racist laws, KKK forcefully taking land and property from Native Americans and Black Americans, Convict lease laws, Grandfather Laws, teaching children lies about the violent history of America and the founding fathers, etc.   Thus, the society creates a culture of violent people who then enact violent behavior.

5.  European domination and white supremacy/racism, which teaches that white is superior, and socializes Black people to hate themselves, can lead to violence.   Racism teaches violence.  Violence can be a distorted expression when there is no outlet or form of expression for the rage and racism that a person continually experiences.  Both Black and white children learn by the age of three that white is pretty; Black is ugly; white is pure; Black is evil, etc.  The self-hatred taught to Black people to hate themselves and everything their blackness represents, encourages violence toward the self and others who look like them.   Once violence is practiced on the self, it becomes easy to act out on others.

6.  Police brutality is predicated upon violence.  Very few officers are prosecuted for their violent acts upon humanity, and continue to get away with brutality that isn’t always caught on tape.

To prevent violence:

• Stop perpetrating violence on children. Since violence begins at home, create “no-violence” zones in your own home.

• Take responsibility for your children who learn how to be bullies at home from adult bullies. Any guardian of a child who bullies, should be held responsible for the behavior of that child.

• Protect children from violent scenes on television or videos, which means no violent video games or violent movie rentals. Stop allowing children to witness you watch violent images.

• Set the same standards of nonviolent behavior from boys that we expect from girls.

• Both boys and girls must be allowed to cry and rage to prevent unresolved anger, resentments, frustrations, and fears that they may act out as violence toward others or themselves.

• Change the messages about violence that we give to boys.

• Encourage boys to cry, which can be very effective in dissipating aggressive energy. Children get hurt and experience stress even with the most caring parents and teachers.  Much of the emotional pain of childhood is an inevitable part of growing and learning.

• Allow the natural healing mechanisms of crying and raging within yourself and your child.  Lead by example and stop being hypocritical.  Take  out your frustration through supporting those politicians who support legislation that protect our children and society from the beast in human form who prey on them.  Become more politically involved – even if it is only a letter that you write to your congressmen.

• Take immediate action when you realize that your child is harming or killing animals. This is a sign of repressed rage and anger being acted out. Studies have shown that children, whom harm or kill animals, have the propensity to grow into adults who harm and kill.

Violence is not always physical, as many people have violent thoughts, or thoughts of unrighteousness within their spirit.    Every choice that leads to violence, first began as a thought.   Violent thoughts create a belief system within human consciousness to accept that they have the right through violence, to harm, manipulate, disrespect, maim or kill another human being, because that person dissed them, left them, lied on them, harmed them or took from them.

Often, violence is committed without thinking about the possible outcome. People who give energy to violent thoughts, do not consider that unrighteous thoughts and acts upon others create consequences.  For every cause, there is an effect. Whether you believe in karma or not, you are responsible for your thoughts, which create your actions.  You may not reap where you have sown, but ultimately, you will reap all that you have sown.

If you wish the world to become more loving and less violent, become more loving and less violent within your thinking.  Then, your energy will join with similar energies on the planet to create more loving, non-violent conditions in the world.