Violence leaves an indelible mark beyond its mere physical manifestation. No matter how subtle or glaringly obvious the effect might be, once touched by violence an individual is psychologically forever changed. Like a sheet of crisp, clean paper, we start our journey through life. Though once stained, creased, folded or crumpled the effect can never be undone. Oddly enough instead of banding together as a society to stop the spread of this insidious plague on humankind, we cower away from the violent in the hope they will go away. Or worse yet, we celebrate and venerate the perpetrators.

News media have become fear-mongers forcing the aftermath of violence upon us in ever more gruesome fashion for financial gain. Popular media struggles to keep up with society’s ever increasing hunger for the aggrandising of violence in glorious Full HD. We are then surprised by the actions of vigilante groups, but privately or publicly praise their act of taking “justice” into their own hands in the most gruesome fashion. All of this creates a society that is ever more desensitised to violence and much more comfortable perpetrating it or ignoring its stranglehold on humanity until it impacts you personally.

This is compounded by the fact that once personally and directly touched by violence, we are statistically much more likely to propagate its effect onto others. 

Violence has become a cult. And we its diligent followers. No cult has ever ended well. Especially for its followers.