Dealing with Growing Social Aggression and Asocial Violence

ABSTRACT

DEALING WITH GROWING SOCIAL AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE Through Awareness and Preparedness

After 12 months of pandemic stress and mounting racial conflict America is angry and becoming increasingly violent. Abuse against women and children, domestic violence, substance abuse, crime, and social unrest are at historic levels. American’s have never experienced a time like this. There is no longer a “normal” in America. As a self-defense and personal protection instructor I am raising an alarm regarding the growing threat of violence against our families and our communities.

Dr. Greg Lawton

Self Defense and Personal Protection Instructor

Dealing with Growing Social Aggression and Asocial Violence Just prior to the advent of the COVID pandemic I began to signal an alarm regarding the coronavirus and its impending risks. I am now raising an alarm to the growing threat of violence against our families, in our communities, and across our nation.

Everywhere you turn in the U.S. there are indications that American’s are frightened and angry. Intolerance. hate and rage are spreading through our cities and violence whether, psychological or physical, stands at levels never seen in the U.S. Whether at work, at a mall, driving in traffic, walking down the street, in our schools, in our churches and spiritual gatherings violence is a frequent and growing threat.

Emotions sometimes rise to a very high intensity and some people are increasingly unbalanced, triggered by common social interactions, and all too ready to argue, scream, yell, threaten, fight and to respond to even the slightest disagreement or provocation with social aggression or asocial violence.

Concepts like tolerance, understanding, common courtesy, loving kindness, and caring for our human family have been exchanged for selfish and self-centered egobased behaviors where the only thing that matters is our own opinion, beliefs, and/or meeting our own personal needs.

The question is, in a climate of violence how can we keep ourselves and our families safe? In this article I suggest that an awareness of the nature of social aggression and asocial violence and preparedness against these two components of violence are your best defense and protection.

In the beginning – How I Began Teaching Self-Defense.

Some of you know the history of how, over 40 years ago, I came to start teaching self-defense classes at the Blue Heron Academy, but many of you do not know how this occurred. For those of you who may think that self-defense is unnecessary please allow me to introduce you to Mary (not her real name) the first student of the Academy. I met Mary and her husband at a psychotherapy center that I was a director of. In my first meeting with Mary and her husband, Mary shared with me the story of her rape in her Grand Rapids. Michigan home by 2 men while being held at knife point in front of her 11-year-old daughter and 1|P a ge

husband. Threats of rape and violence against her daughter and husband were used by the 2 men to make Mary comply with their rape of her.

My involvement with Mary led me to establish self-defense classes for women in transition and victims of rape, incest, and domestic abuse. After several years of teaching self-defense classes, we added post-secondary vocational education certification courses to the Academy curriculum so that women in transition would be able to gain employment to support their families.

However, it was during the early 1960’s (I was 15 years old) that I envisioned a challenging future where social decline and unrest would become a threat to our collective safety and national security. This is a long story, but the abbreviated version of this story is that this vision led me to later found the Blue Heron Academy and to train hundreds of students in the martial and healing arts. I have also attempted to prepare my closest students, staff, and managers to deal with crisis and to hopefully establish the Academy as a sanctuary for those needing a place of comfort and understanding as our families, communities and nation pass through the difficulties ahead.

The most important attributes needed to face the challenges ahead are spiritual, mental, and emotional strength. As we see today, during daily increasing tests and difficulties, the greatest threats to our peace of mind and security are stress, hate, rage, fear, anxiety, addiction, depression, and mental illness.

Personal Self Defense – Is About Avoiding Violence.

Some people think that teaching self- defense is about practicing and teaching violence and nothing could be further from the truth. Self defense is about avoiding violence whenever possible but if violence comes into your life selfdefense training may save your life or the life of a loved one. People who have learned coping mechanisms and how to remain in control of themselves are far less likely to become enraged or driven by fear. People that react to provocation from the emotions of fear and rage are more likely to hurt or kill others.

The first and most important lessons taught and learned in self-defense is the avoidance of risk, threat, and violence. Avoidance is mainly gained through situational awareness. We teach students to get their heads out of their phone and media and their eyes and mind on the environment around them. By 2|P a ge

practicing avoidance through situational awareness, we help people avoid having to use self-defense skills. We do not encourage people to be violent, we encourage and empower them to avoid violence.

Mental Preparedness – Is Not Paranoia.

Recent events have awakened many people to the need to be prepared for crisis and the need for personal and family protection. This has motivated many people to purchase firearms, pepper spray, tasers, and other forms of self-protection. I do not support or recommend this course of action unless it is preceded or accompanied by competent self-defense and mental preparedness training. By mental preparedness I mean training in the psychology and sociology of aggression and violence.

What we do not need are more and more people driving around town with handguns in their cars but with almost no mental or psychological training in how to deal with aggression or violence. As recent events in Minnesota have shown us, even highly trained police officers can make tragic mistakes while under stress, how much more so for the untrained citizen.

Current social conditions related to the pandemic, economic decline, unemployment, homelessness, drug addiction, and racism are obviously increasing individual stress, fear, and anxiety, as well as causing a decline in mental health, increasing drug and alcohol abuse, and escalating suicides especially among our youth. Daily we are hearing about and witnessing terrible acts of violence.

Preparedness is not paranoia or “living a life in fear”, instead preparedness provides self-empowerment and a sense of personal safety.

The individual who is trained in the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of self-defense is less likely to be provoked by argument or social aggression into a situation where physical violence may result in the taking of a life, losing one’s own life, or losing your freedom to incarceration.

Aggression and Violence – Is Becoming Too Common.

Acts of anger and aggression, often the most avoidable causes of violence, are commonplace and are now easily triggered by the most benign slight, argument, 3|P a ge

disagreement, or offense. Many people are not aware of the difference between assertiveness, every human’s right, and aggression which is violent psychological behavior that can easily escalate to physical violence. Some individuals have not learned proper communication skills and have instead developed negative personality traits, often honed through years of angry outbursts, bullying, abuse of others, argument and contention, aggression, and psychological and physical threats of force. When these individuals are placed under increased stress and threat these negative ego-based personality traits become a recipe for disaster and tragedy. As Rumi said, “Raise your words, not your voice.”

At every level of society, from the family and involving spousal, child, and elder abuse and through social and community activities and relationships, we are seeing significant increases in violent acts and homicide. It is unlikely that this situation will improve in the short term and in fact there is every indication that personal and mass acts of violence and aggression will increase over the coming weeks and months.

Prepare – Have a plan.

How then do you prepare yourself for increases in individual violence and mass acts of asocial violence and a breakdown of social norms? The operative word is Prepare. If you are not already trained in self-defense skills, now is not the time to start! What you can do to prepare is to develop a personal protection plan.

Preparedness, while once considered the domain of “crazies” is now recommended by most U.S and state government agencies and Homeland Security. Many Americans have now learned that they need to be prepared for crisis and disaster whether from floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards, pandemics, economic collapse, or riots and the burning of our cities - but you also need to prepare for one on one or gang asocial violence.

The Plan – Here are a few suggestions.

1. Hopefully, you have learned from the pandemic and other crises in your area how to acquire, store, and maintain emergency supplies and you now have emergency supplies in your home.

2. Establish a support system with friends and/or family and set up a communication or emergency meetup plan.

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3. Be aware of what is happening in your communities from hour to hour and day to day.

4. Avoid high risk areas where riots, looting, crime, and violence has (or may) occurred.

5. Know how to, and be able too, quickly call emergency services for help, this includes police, fire, and ambulance services.

6. Exercise and get in the best physical condition you can within the limits of your age and personal health status.

7. Begin to prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to face and to address conflict, anger, rage, aggression, and asocial violence.

8. Use the coping skills of awareness and preparedness to prepare yourself for crisis.

Violence – Unexpected and Sudden Violence in its various forms can appear in the life of anyone, and when it does it usually does so unexpectedly and suddenly. No one is immune to violence. The best way to avoid violence in your life is to be aware and to be prepared.

I have found that in general people who have not experienced violence in their lives have little interest in learning how to avoid it or deal with it. But people who have suffered from, and survived, violence are eager to learn self-defense.

Unfortunately, many who are either fearful of potential violence in their lives or who have been the victims of violence or abuse run to the nearest gun store to purchase a weapon. It would be far better if they learned the mental, emotional, and spiritual abilities needed to avoid or defuse aggression and violence when possible. When is not possible to avoid violence, those with self-defense training will be better able to handle those situations.

Conclusion – It is my hope that by writing this article you will take steps to safeguard yourself and your family. It is also my hope that you will realize that the greatest selfdefense weapon that you have is your mind, but that you must prepare it through spiritual, mental, and emotional training and conditioning. You must remain aware and prepared.

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