On Violence

[John 6IX Breezy]

If we define violence as the unjust, unethical, or unnecessary application of force then yes, by definition, it's going to be pretty counterproductive.  You need to use a definition that isn't going to result in a lot of circular reasoning. I think that'll be difficult for you.

Although I agree that by definition (and by almost every other metric) it will be counterproductive, I don't think that is something people realize.

For example, with the UnitedHealth shooting, the shooter can both understand that his actions were wrong or unethical (hence why he ran away) and also believe that the murder would be productive. My stance is simply to say, no. And so far: The CEO was easily replaced, they have doubled down on their policies, it's divided people who wanted change, it led to the arrest of both the suspect and others, and the list goes on. It was a counterproductive act, with no observable progress beyond a little bit of temporary exposure.

ps. And I don't consider the definition to be circular. It's simply an observation that violence is a subset within the broader category of force, etc.