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Violence Has Become a Political Football

By TERRY DORAN
Tuesday October 28, 2003

Recently we have seen several articles and letters to the editor about violence in our society. The issue is of paramount importance and as long as it exists it must be constantly addressed and discussed. Until justice, equality of opportunity and celebrations of diversity are a reality, violence will continue to haunt us. Violence should never be condoned, and I don’t believe it ever has, in my experience in Berkeley. 

However, this, unfortunately, is nothing new. Violent incidents have happened periodically in Berkeley as long as I have lived here and opportunists have tried to exploit these tragedies for their own political gain for ever. 

Every mayor, and ex-mayor, has suggested strategies to deal with violence in our community, and yet they persist. Of course we should constantly be vigilant, of course we expose and publicize periodic increases in violence, and of course we must constantly search for new and creative ways to bring about a more peaceful and tranquil Berkeley. 

And despite the opinion of an ex-mayor, voted out of office because the majority of voting members of Berkeley lost faith with her efforts to improve Berkeley, I believe we are making progress, not going backwards. 

We live in violent times and Berkeley does not live in a vacuum. We are buffeted by poverty, ignorance, drug trafficking in the East Bay and a state bent upon cutting back on our meager social services and public safety dollars. Our social safety nets are unraveling and joblessness and homelessness are on the rise. 

Constructive suggestions and dialogue are what is necessary in these difficult and turbulent times, not finger pointing, trying to make political points, or using the pain of our city to mount a political comeback. 

With this in mind I would like to add my take, and frame the description and prescription in a different context with a different emphasis because the way we talk about violence, I believe, can either help society strive for realistic solutions, or just contribute to more frustrations that may inflame further violence and unhealthy attitudes. And in particular we want to douse, not inflame racial intolerance, finger pointing doesn’t help one bit, we are all in this together. 

First, individuals are violent in Berkeley, this is a fact. Violence may be tolerated by a few, but as a community and citizenry we abhor and work to prevent violent acts. To say otherwise may just be a call for more violence. Violence still happens too frequently and shocks our city when these acts are brought to our attention; speakers at Cal are threatened, football games are canceled, and students are beaten up at fraternity parties. But we do work, as a city and community to try and prevent these acts. 

To point out one type of violence, or to highlight particular examples of violence without talking or showing an understanding of the environment that fosters these acts is counterproductive and misleading. 

And most individual violent acts are within racial or ethnic groups. Shootings and killings in the East Bay are almost exclusively within a racial or ethnic group. Historically, for example, our societal infatuation with mobster movies highlights violent acts within one group—in this case, Italians. 

We do live in a very violent society. We are bombarded daily with violent acts by our government, mistreatment of immigrants and poor people by a callous medical system, mistreatment of workers by an anti worker, pro business economical and legal system and a society still permeated by institutional racism. 

We also have to be realistic about where we live and the environment in which we bring up our children. We can’t live in isolation to our surroundings or our own neighborhood mores. One must always use common sense and be practical about how we conduct our daily lives. I grew up on the streets of south/central Los Angeles. My parents always taught me to be just, believe in equality of opportunity for everyone, work for peaceful resolutions of conflict and respect everyone. That still didn’t prevent me and my multi-racial friends from having to learn how to defend ourselves against neighborhood bullies. 

I have now lived in Central/West Berkeley for 35 years and raised two sons here. They were also taught similar lessons handed down by their grandparents and parents. And they too developed similar urban survival skills of their parents.  

Within this milieu many of us still model, teach and preach tolerance, respect for individual differences, embrace and celebrate diversity. We truly believe that might does not make you right, that we should always strive towards peaceful resolutions to conflict, and that violence of any kind is wrong. We work against the tide, but we never give up. And we don’t point fingers, but continue to work collectively to develop creative strategies, to build upon the efforts of those before us and not criticize their efforts. Make love not war is not a slogan; it is a way of life for individuals and society. 

Terry Doran is a Berkeley School Board director.