Week 5 - Jo Kawabata

This week's reading, "Empire to Death and the Plague of Civic Violence" by Darrell Y Hamamoto, discusses the impacts of the government on violent incidents throughout history. Hamamoto explains how across various occasions, the further militarization lead to the development of psychological problems in certain individuals, leading to several violent crimes such as mass murders and serial killers. Furthermore, the paper talks about how a lot of the crimes have been due to Caucasians.

I have heard about development of violence in post-war veterans and I do agree that it should be the government's responsibility to handle and take care of the emotional and psychological conditions of those who have experienced war. It is unfortunate that some people have to experience the worst of war and how the country's history with war and militarism has lead to this. Especially in recent years, we often hear of individuals that struggle to cope with PTSD or other problems and how the government fails to recognize the side effects and precipitates of war. Noticeably in recent years, more school shootings seem to be occurring and while politics bring up guns rights and other issues, perhaps a more immediate issue that needs to be addressed is the emotional state of such individuals and how the government could help by reducing violent war ideologies from its system or other ways to eliminate violence in society. 

Question: How can individuals be helped after experiencing issues like war, in order to avoid extremely stressful situations that may result in violence?

The iconic picture of a war recruiting poster reminds us that while it may not have been a concern brought up before, the long history of militarism in the US has caused many with emotional distraught. 

References: 

Militarism. (2017, April 18). Retrieved April 30, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militarism#/media/File:I_want_you_for_U.S._Army_3b48465u_original.jpg

Hamamoto, D. Y. (2003). Empire of death and the plague of civil violence. In Boggs, C. (Ed.), Masters of War: Militarism and Blowback in the Era of American Empire (pp. 272-296). New York, New York: Routledge.