Violence, Aggression, Gun Control, the USA, and Mongrels
After the murders of the Kennedy Brothers and MLK, Jr. The American Psychiatric association decided to assemble a study group on Aggression and Violence. I was a member of that group representing Northwestern University.
I was placed on that panel because I had started the first Suicide Prevention Center in Chicago, worked in the Civil Rights Movement, gave lectures in The Chicago Police academy on the use of weapons (I was Director of Mental Health for Chicago) and was a Board member of St. Leonard’s House which was the first facility for released prisoners. St. Leonard’s was sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
This was in the day before Google. But, some hard working librarian hired by the APA managed to send across the desks of the 6 members of this group everything that could be found on aggression and violence. This included one on one a and v. Groups on one, one on groups, cultural factors, rape, domestic, comparative studies of cities, rural areas, ethnic communities, animal studies, research, drugs, religion, personality, etc. and etc. My mail every week was packed with that stuff.
Soon a pattern emerged. It was most evident when the USA was compared with other countries. If the data was presented in bar graph form the USA bar had to be broken so it would fit on the page with the other countries. To sum it up we Americans were far, far ahead on all of the indices of aggression and violence. Yes, even ahead of Sweden on suicide. That sure was a persistent myth about the Swedes.
I had made a study of suicide in Chicago and found that although our statistics were indeed ahead of European cities many suicides were hidden under causes such as: “Falls from a High Place”. That was done by sensitive police to avoid the embarrassment to Roman Catholic families where suicide was a sin. Sometimes it would be fatal gunshot to the head.
You can get the idea.
No matter how the question was posed it was very clear that we Americans were the most aggressive and violent.
I was placed on that panel because I had started the first Suicide Prevention Center in Chicago, worked in the Civil Rights Movement, gave lectures in The Chicago Police academy on the use of weapons (I was Director of Mental Health for Chicago) and was a Board member of St. Leonard’s House which was the first facility for released prisoners. St. Leonard’s was sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
This was in the day before Google. But, some hard working librarian hired by the APA managed to send across the desks of the 6 members of this group everything that could be found on aggression and violence. This included one on one a and v. Groups on one, one on groups, cultural factors, rape, domestic, comparative studies of cities, rural areas, ethnic communities, animal studies, research, drugs, religion, personality, etc. and etc. My mail every week was packed with that stuff.
Soon a pattern emerged. It was most evident when the USA was compared with other countries. If the data was presented in bar graph form the USA bar had to be broken so it would fit on the page with the other countries. To sum it up we Americans were far, far ahead on all of the indices of aggression and violence. Yes, even ahead of Sweden on suicide. That sure was a persistent myth about the Swedes.
I had made a study of suicide in Chicago and found that although our statistics were indeed ahead of European cities many suicides were hidden under causes such as: “Falls from a High Place”. That was done by sensitive police to avoid the embarrassment to Roman Catholic families where suicide was a sin. Sometimes it would be fatal gunshot to the head.
You can get the idea.
No matter how the question was posed it was very clear that we Americans were the most aggressive and violent.
A couple of curious pieces of information came from this exercise.
One was from German military records. The Germans reported they always (WW I and II) knew where the Americans were on any front: “Because they always threw everything at us so we couldn’t even stand.”
The other bit I remember was a study attempting to find where and when in America a city was the safest. That meant which city and when.
The result was Kansas City just before the end of the 19th Century. It was almost idyllic. There were street cars, parks, safe streets, etc. But, one thing stood out. Virtually all the men carried guns that were visible. They were required to check them in when they went into a saloon. Yes, there were shootings but the overall sense of that city at that time was peaceful.
I guess it was. It is risky to attempt to mug a guy when he is carrying a Colt .44 revolver.
One was from German military records. The Germans reported they always (WW I and II) knew where the Americans were on any front: “Because they always threw everything at us so we couldn’t even stand.”
The other bit I remember was a study attempting to find where and when in America a city was the safest. That meant which city and when.
The result was Kansas City just before the end of the 19th Century. It was almost idyllic. There were street cars, parks, safe streets, etc. But, one thing stood out. Virtually all the men carried guns that were visible. They were required to check them in when they went into a saloon. Yes, there were shootings but the overall sense of that city at that time was peaceful.
I guess it was. It is risky to attempt to mug a guy when he is carrying a Colt .44 revolver.
HITLER
Adolph Hitler did not fear Americans. He said Americans were mongrels and the Ubermensch of the 3rd Reich would easily defeat them.
That got me to thinking.
Americans. Mongrels. Were Americans Mongrels? I began to snoop into that data.
First I looked at the Negro population. There was a mountain of evidence indicating that many Negroes had “passed” into the white population. The interbreeding between the Black and Whites had gone unabated since the first slaves were brought to America. There was some data that indicated that any family that had 3 generations in the old South had a high chance that they had “Negro Blood” in their family. Of course it went the other way. It was virtually impossible for any so called Black, or Negro family not to have so called White blood in them.
Yes, Mongrels.
Adolph Hitler did not fear Americans. He said Americans were mongrels and the Ubermensch of the 3rd Reich would easily defeat them.
That got me to thinking.
Americans. Mongrels. Were Americans Mongrels? I began to snoop into that data.
First I looked at the Negro population. There was a mountain of evidence indicating that many Negroes had “passed” into the white population. The interbreeding between the Black and Whites had gone unabated since the first slaves were brought to America. There was some data that indicated that any family that had 3 generations in the old South had a high chance that they had “Negro Blood” in their family. Of course it went the other way. It was virtually impossible for any so called Black, or Negro family not to have so called White blood in them.
Yes, Mongrels.
Then the Native American population showed a very similar pattern. I think, today, in order for a person to be called a Native American they have to have 1/16 of Native American genetic makeup. There has been a great deal of breed intermixing.
Now, I realize that such things are now very political. But, I doubt if The American Kennel Club would accept a pooch as a Poodle if it were 1/16th Poodle.
Maybe we need an American Human Breed Club to set some standards. I think our genetic whiz kids could help in this.
If we get to the so called White American population there is no doubt that the Whites are mongrels. Seldom do we find families that adhere to specific lines. The tendency is to marry out.
And, so we are Mongrels, American Mongrels.
But, let us look at what happens when dogs are allowed to breed willy nilly just like Americans. The result is a “reversion to type” meaning that a dog appears that looks, and acts, like the original dog ancestor. With dogs I have read that the appearance of that dog is similar in shape to a German shepherd with Wolf like attributes.
What about Americans?
Using dogs as a comparison what if we took each breed of dog and selected from each litter that puppy that showed tendencies to be deviant in behavior from the other puppies, or from the behavior of the breed.
That is exactly like out country started and continues. The Pilgrims were religious deviants. The story continues as we examine the immigrants that have come to form this country. The Irish, for example, were those who could not survive the potato famine.
Refugees from virtually every nation have come here. They, for one reason or another, deviated from the basic population. Of course we idolize them. They escape tyranny, etc. But, the majority of the folks in that culture stayed. That is how one can say the folks who came here were significantly different than the culture they came from.
Now, I realize that such things are now very political. But, I doubt if The American Kennel Club would accept a pooch as a Poodle if it were 1/16th Poodle.
Maybe we need an American Human Breed Club to set some standards. I think our genetic whiz kids could help in this.
If we get to the so called White American population there is no doubt that the Whites are mongrels. Seldom do we find families that adhere to specific lines. The tendency is to marry out.
And, so we are Mongrels, American Mongrels.
But, let us look at what happens when dogs are allowed to breed willy nilly just like Americans. The result is a “reversion to type” meaning that a dog appears that looks, and acts, like the original dog ancestor. With dogs I have read that the appearance of that dog is similar in shape to a German shepherd with Wolf like attributes.
What about Americans?
Using dogs as a comparison what if we took each breed of dog and selected from each litter that puppy that showed tendencies to be deviant in behavior from the other puppies, or from the behavior of the breed.
That is exactly like out country started and continues. The Pilgrims were religious deviants. The story continues as we examine the immigrants that have come to form this country. The Irish, for example, were those who could not survive the potato famine.
Refugees from virtually every nation have come here. They, for one reason or another, deviated from the basic population. Of course we idolize them. They escape tyranny, etc. But, the majority of the folks in that culture stayed. That is how one can say the folks who came here were significantly different than the culture they came from.
That situation is very evident today as Mexicans troop across our border. What they are doing is illegal and they know it. They do take enormous risks in coming here often paying human smugglers to get them across.
They risk death to get here.
We would think that all of Mexico is coming here. That, of course, is not true. The ones coming here are different from the population of Mexico. They are motivated by many things such as providing for their families, or they are criminals who can do better here. It really does not matter what the motivation happens to be. They differ from the other Mexicans. We easily can say they are “Risk Takers”.
So we are actually culling the Mexican population. But, this is really the very same thing that happened and is happening with other cultures, other Breeds of humans.
This Melting Pot of the nation continually breeds these risk takers and deviants. We are continually moving toward the basic “type” the human types that existed 10,000 years ago.
I use 10,000 years as the base because that is when agriculture began. That is when the hunter gathering population began to change. There was surplus food. Soon there were rich and poor and slaves. Slavery came about naturally as our ancestors found they needed to protect the crops from birds and others creatures that might eat the crop before we could. Who best to do this? It is obvious that a pregnant woman would easily fit the role. Some women might then desire such a role and there would be an attachment to the sedentary life of agriculture. Finally, as the desire for accumulation of wealth from the crops developed the concept of choice for an individual was lost. Is it any wonder that women were the ones who lost status and personal freedom?
The population was no longer selected for their resistance to starvation. Food became plentiful. Populations grew until cities appeared 5,000 years ago.
The appearance of cities allowed those biologically deviant to survive.
They risk death to get here.
We would think that all of Mexico is coming here. That, of course, is not true. The ones coming here are different from the population of Mexico. They are motivated by many things such as providing for their families, or they are criminals who can do better here. It really does not matter what the motivation happens to be. They differ from the other Mexicans. We easily can say they are “Risk Takers”.
So we are actually culling the Mexican population. But, this is really the very same thing that happened and is happening with other cultures, other Breeds of humans.
This Melting Pot of the nation continually breeds these risk takers and deviants. We are continually moving toward the basic “type” the human types that existed 10,000 years ago.
I use 10,000 years as the base because that is when agriculture began. That is when the hunter gathering population began to change. There was surplus food. Soon there were rich and poor and slaves. Slavery came about naturally as our ancestors found they needed to protect the crops from birds and others creatures that might eat the crop before we could. Who best to do this? It is obvious that a pregnant woman would easily fit the role. Some women might then desire such a role and there would be an attachment to the sedentary life of agriculture. Finally, as the desire for accumulation of wealth from the crops developed the concept of choice for an individual was lost. Is it any wonder that women were the ones who lost status and personal freedom?
The population was no longer selected for their resistance to starvation. Food became plentiful. Populations grew until cities appeared 5,000 years ago.
The appearance of cities allowed those biologically deviant to survive.
How did that happen?
Because our basic human nature, based on how we developed, is the pattern still present 5,000 years ago. We tended to each other. We formed strong bonds with each other. After all we knew about 30 people from when we were born until we died. We naturally trusted each other as it was necessary for survival.
We can see that primitive trust in full operation as we drive our automobiles. We actually trust strangers driving lethal machines. We trust they will obey the rules. When we really think about it isn’t that behavior odd?
But, it is not odd for 30 people, all closely related to find a way to live using our wits and cooperative behavior against a basically hostile world.
The hostile world contained not only climate change and changes in game patterns but over the past 4 million years we have had to face dangerous predators such as the Saber Tooth Tiger. Those big cats ate our ancestors.
However, the most dangerous types we faced were other developing humans. There were types similar to us over those 4 million years. Obviously there were direct conflicts. We killed them and they killed us. I am speaking of other Breeds that may have sprung from our common ancestor such as Neanderthal, Homo Erectus, and other types. I refer you to the many anthropologic studies examining and identifying those lines that did not end up as the single species that know dominates the world.
If we realize that Americans are constantly moving towards the basic type of human that existed 10,000 years ago we can then easily account for the paradox of America. We are the most violet culture ever recorded and at the same time the most generous, giving and accepting of others.
We are similar to that group of 30, 10,000 years ago, who did well with each other but when attacked by others they responded as if the entire species was being threatened with extinction.
Those creatures attacking them were not them, not human, they were animals and deserved only to die. This reaction lies at the root of racism. Americans are peaceful until threatened with extinction, as Americans felt in WWII. Thus, fire bombing of German and Japanese cities became common.
Because our basic human nature, based on how we developed, is the pattern still present 5,000 years ago. We tended to each other. We formed strong bonds with each other. After all we knew about 30 people from when we were born until we died. We naturally trusted each other as it was necessary for survival.
We can see that primitive trust in full operation as we drive our automobiles. We actually trust strangers driving lethal machines. We trust they will obey the rules. When we really think about it isn’t that behavior odd?
But, it is not odd for 30 people, all closely related to find a way to live using our wits and cooperative behavior against a basically hostile world.
The hostile world contained not only climate change and changes in game patterns but over the past 4 million years we have had to face dangerous predators such as the Saber Tooth Tiger. Those big cats ate our ancestors.
However, the most dangerous types we faced were other developing humans. There were types similar to us over those 4 million years. Obviously there were direct conflicts. We killed them and they killed us. I am speaking of other Breeds that may have sprung from our common ancestor such as Neanderthal, Homo Erectus, and other types. I refer you to the many anthropologic studies examining and identifying those lines that did not end up as the single species that know dominates the world.
If we realize that Americans are constantly moving towards the basic type of human that existed 10,000 years ago we can then easily account for the paradox of America. We are the most violet culture ever recorded and at the same time the most generous, giving and accepting of others.
We are similar to that group of 30, 10,000 years ago, who did well with each other but when attacked by others they responded as if the entire species was being threatened with extinction.
Those creatures attacking them were not them, not human, they were animals and deserved only to die. This reaction lies at the root of racism. Americans are peaceful until threatened with extinction, as Americans felt in WWII. Thus, fire bombing of German and Japanese cities became common.
Finally the Atomic bomb ended the question if we were ready to kill them all….and let God sort them out.
That APA panel on Aggression and Violence issued a final report. The major conclusion was the need for gun control.
I realized, then, that the other 5 members had not really read the data, or they misunderstood. People kill people. They do it in many ways. Direct physical attack, knives, clubs, stones and fire are all used. The Knives, clubs, stones and gasoline are not the culprit. People are. Guns do not kill people unless used by humans.
I was the single dissenter from the final paper.
That APA panel on Aggression and Violence issued a final report. The major conclusion was the need for gun control.
I realized, then, that the other 5 members had not really read the data, or they misunderstood. People kill people. They do it in many ways. Direct physical attack, knives, clubs, stones and fire are all used. The Knives, clubs, stones and gasoline are not the culprit. People are. Guns do not kill people unless used by humans.
I was the single dissenter from the final paper.