Types of Violence

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  • Understanding violence as related to personal safety
  • Many types of violence exist, ranging from bullying to war.
  • This information focuses on major types of violence associated with personal safety
  • We must understand social violence and asocial violence and how to handle both of them to stay safe.

1. Social violence

  • The aggressor sees you as a human being, not an object or resource, and the violence is not intended to end in serious injury or death; rather, the violence is intended to establish dominance or status or to claim territory.
  • You may be seriously injured or even killed by accident, but the violence is not intended for serious injury or death
  • The violence pertains to establishing, taking, and maintaining dominance, status, territory, and personal identity
  • To avoid this kind of violence, we must practice extraordinary self-control
  • We can control our own actions, reactions, behaviors, and attitudes.
  • Avoidance of social violence starts with your own attitude:
    • Don’t sweat the small stuff.
    • Don’t be goaded into reacting to other people’s nonsense.
    • Control your own temper.
    • Do not provoke other people with jerky behavior or arrogant attitudes.
    • Try to deescalate the situation and back down BEFORE it becomes physical
    • Once the physical violence starts, you are in a fight and it is near impossible to back out once the actual fight begins and someone or both of you will be hurt and you may face legal consequences. 
  • Avoidance involves good lifestyle choices
    • Don’t hang out with violent people.
    • Avoid dangerous areas and hangouts (like dangerous bars and night clubs).

2. Asocial violence:

  • A predator human is using you as a resource to get what he wants.
  • Could be a criminal person, a desperate person, or a full-blown sociopath.
  • When you are in an asocial violent situation, do not worry about the hows and the whys, because knowing why this is happening won’t change anything about the situation. 
    • The person has already decided to assault you for a resource so discussing things with them won’t help.
    • You must learn how to deal with the situation as it is and to get out as safely as possible.
  • If the attacker tells you to give money, car, keys or you will be killed, then give them the property. 
    • Property can be replaced but your life cannot.
    • Cooperating in property theft is the best way to keep yourself safe.
  • If the attacker tells you to go with him, you must avoid that at all cost because the intent is to do harm or kill you.
    • Don’t fight over property.
    • You should fight to not be taken somewhere, kidnapped, or moved to a new location because the intent is to take you to a more secluded place to further harm or kill you in greater secrecy. 
  • It is difficult to deal with asocial violence:
    • The attacker is not viewing you as a human but as a resource, a means to his end of getting something he wants or needs. 
    • He has already made the decision to act violently towards you.
  • The key to dealing with asocial violence is avoidance:
    • Consider the big three elements you can control.
    • Make good lifestyle choices to avoid contexts where asocial violence may occur.
    • Maintain keen awareness to notice and avoid problems.
    • Work on your attitude so as not to appear an easy victim or to provoke others to violence against you. 

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