can violence can be justified
Objection
Even though violence can be justified, in most instances, violence can is never justified because it is considered as an intentional act of causing harm to the other party. There have been crimes that have been committed in the name of self-defense, and the perpetrators get to walk away free. Many cases of youth engaging in the street, killing each other have been witnessed, especially in this century, when unemployment is rampant. For instance, when two youth engage in fights in the streets, and one of them gets hurt or killed during the fight, the court will not consider this as an act of self-defense. The reason for this is that the person that committed the crime had the choice to quit the fight, but he or she decided to continue with the fight and, in the long run, the fight result in fatal injuries or death. The court can consider an act of self-defense only when there is a legitimate witness or piece of evidence that shows the accused was acting in self-defense.
Domestic violence is another point that supports the fact that violence is never justified. It has been recorded that most people get injured or died because of domestic violence that arises between family members. The fact that violence involves family members does not mean that the act should be regarded as just. Studies have shown that women and children are the ones who are most affected by domestic violence (Ellsberg & Heise, 2002). Through this, it is clear that the most vulnerable individuals in society are the ones who are affected by domestic violence since they are not able to defend themselves from violent acts. Some of them are injured during the violence to the extent of seriously injuring their crucial body parts.
Furthermore, according to studies, children who come into are affected by domestic violence tend to grow up becoming violent. According to Dwyer (2016), she explains how an incident where a woman was killed by her husband due to domestic violence. She says, “and the fact that her life was taken by domestic violence, just as many other women’s lives are taken by domestic violence, is not the only flaw of the world that has become apparent to me since her death.” These effects caused by domestic violence should not be condoned in society because if the child turns out to be violent when they grow up, there are higher chances that this will impact the community in general.
Political protesting that involves violence is never justified. For instance, during the inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States of America, there was a mass protest. During the demonstration, some protestors resorted to violence against Trump supporters, and others blocked highways and access to airports. This kind of violence caused a lot of destruction, and the police resorted to violent responses to resolve the issue. Most, at times, peaceful protesting is never interrupted by the police, but when violence is involved, the police will be forced to take legal actions (Finlay, 2017). Therefore, this form of violence cannot be justified, even though it was a political protest. Those who are caught during the act are usually arrested and charged accordingly because the court will consider it as an act meant to inflict harm on the innocent party. Violent acts that are committed in the presence of the innocent is unacceptable according to the law. Therefore, political protesting that results in committing acts of violence is regarded as an act against the law, and the perpetrators should be punished accordingly.
Ellsberg, M., & Heise, L. (2002). Bearing witness: ethics in domestic violence research. The lancet, 359(9317), 1599-1604.
Finlay, C. (2017). Is violent political protest ever justified?. The Conversation. Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://theconversation.com/is-violent-political-protest-ever-justified-72630.
Dwyer, K. (2016). Domestic Violence & Degrading Women Is Not Okay. Thought Catalog. Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://thoughtcatalog.com/katie-dwyer/2016/11/domestic-violence-degrading-women-is-not-okay/.