Required Reading...
(posted by Dave)

http://ping.fm/QZREG

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Bob sent me a link to this article in Chicago Magazine, and it’s been going around and around in my brain ever since. Once you see the article, those of you who know me may guess why.

For those I’ve recently connected with, a bit of background information may be in order. Last March, while riding my bike home from work, I experienced an attack that was eerily similar to the one described by John Conroy, the author of the article. (Did I mention required reading? Okay, go now and click on the article and read at least the first page. I’ll wait...)

A few differences between my “incident” and Conroy’s: I actually saw my attacker, and he didn’t knock me out. My attacker also didn’t notice the police car right behind him, so fortunately for me, I had help right away. Unfortunately for me, the policemen (Chicago’s finest!) who witnessed the attack didn’t think to get out of their car and run after the kid, so my attacker got away on foot and was never apprehended.

Even with the differences, many of the feelings Conroy describes in his article also ring very true with me. Like Conroy, I still have lasting effects from my injuries (mine is a lingering numbness and tingling in my upper lip and cheek from nerve damage) that bring me back to the event.

As you might guess, this was a very strange article to read in China. I’ve had several trains of thought to chew on in the last couple of weeks. (A mixed metaphor, I know, but I’m leaving it in because I like the idea of chewing on trains...) Haven’t come to any conclusions that I can formulate clearly enough to write clearly about, so I will leave you this assigned reading with a few (possibly loaded) discussion questions:

1. If an act of violence happens over and over again in the same place with the same characteristics, can we truly say that it is “random”?

2. Where and when do the powers that run a society permit acts violence to occur? Who commits these acts of violence?

3. Speaking of Power, is there difference between violence caused by coercion and violence caused by neglect? If there is a difference, what is it? Is one preferable to the other?

For class next week, please read the above article in its entirety and write your answers to the discussion questions in paragraph form in your journals or on a plain A4 sheet of paper. Be prepared to share your answers in class!

(Or you could just enter your answers in the comments section below. Just copy and email them to me as well if you want me to see it, as we can’t get in to see our comments very often. Ah, power and its many uses...)