Uncovering the hidden causes of bullying and school violence

Counseling and Human Development, Feb 2000 by Weinhold, Barry K

Because the bulk of the iceberg that the Titanic hit on April 14, 1912, was invisible to the ship's captain, this great ship sank to the bottom of the ocean. On April 20, 1999, our great nation also hit a largely invisible iceberg at Columbine High School. Since then, the public eye has been focused on the tip of this metaphoric iceberg, known as the "culture of violence." In trying to find ways to avoid further school violence, the larger culture of violence remains hidden from our collective view. Unless this nation changed its course, it surely is headed for more collisions with this invisible iceberg that can cause the deaths of many more innocent people.

Ever since the Columbine tragedy, people have been asking, "How could this have happened?" and "What can we do to prevent it from happening again?" Much of the public commentary about the causes of the Columbine massacre has been directed at assigning blame and finding quick-fix solutions. What might be more useful is uncovering the hidden causes of this tragedy and developing long-range primary prevention strategies to deal with these hidden causes. The goals of this article are to (a) examine the hidden elements of the culture of violence that were present in the Columbine tragedy, (b) expose the pervasive nature of bullying and school violence, (c) show how school violence is only a small part of a larger pattern of violence that is fed by the culture of violence, and (d) describe effective long-range prevention methods that address the hidden elements of the culture of violence.

WHAT IS THE CULTURE OF VIOLENCE?

The most visible forms of the culture of violence that make up the tip of the iceberg of violence are

youth violence

domestic violence

road rage

gang violence

hate crimes

community crime and violence

global conflict and war.

Ample evidence documents the increasingly negative effects of the culture of violence. For example, juvenile crime is up 47 percent nationally, and almost 3 million violent crimes occur annually at or near schools. The number of violent crimes committed by youth is expected to double by the year 2010 (Perry, 1996a). Similar increases have occurred in reported cases of child abuse and domestic violence (Portner, 1997). According to Sebastian ( 1996), half of all married women will experience some form of violence from their partners during their marriage and more than onethird are beaten repeatedly.

Feeding this rapidly growing culture of violence is the prevalence of violence on television and in movies and interactive videos. The World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which sponsors professional wrestling matches, particularly glorifies violence by portraying bullies as heroes. Teachers report the influence of WWF wrestling on their students, describing a marked increase in the number of children imitating aggressive WWF gestures and behaviors at school. Many of these teachers also report that parents are becoming more threatening and intimidating toward the teachers when they come to school to complain about something they think is unfair.

Public opinion surveys show that violence in the schools is the number-one education-related concern of Americans (Adler & Springen, 1999). Many schools have adopted get tough policies to deal with violence in the schools. These include initiating zero-tolerance policies, installing metal detectors, hiring more police to patrol the halls, and placing video cameras in school buildings for increased surveillance.

THE HIDDEN ELEMENTS ,IN THE CULTURE OF VIOLENCE

The culture of violence has at least six hidden elements that point toward the occurrence of more Columbine-type shootings:

1. A dominator value system that supports violence

2. An over-focus on negative behaviors

3. The pervasiveness of bullying behavior

4. Collective denial of the effects of bullying behavior

5. The role of post-tramatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the perpetration of violence

6. The effects of parental neglect and emotional abandonment on children.

In this article I will address each one of these relatively hidden elements of the culture of violence and describe effective primary prevention methods for dealing with these underlying causes of violence.

A Dominator Value System That Supports Violence

What supports this pervasive culture of violence is a system of dominator values (Weinhold & Weinhold, 2000). These values are behind the increase in aggressive and bullying behaviors. Those who live by these dominator values: Use power plays involving violence, threats of violence, intimidation, and exploitation to get their way and to bully others.

Have little regard for the rights, needs, or even the lives of others, particularly if they see these others as a threat.

Exploit the needs and rights of others when they perceive them as having less power, status or influence, including women, children, and minorities.

Are on the defensive and never admit mistakes. Blame others for causing their problems.

Believe that "might makes right."

As evidence of the widespread influence of the dominator system, a study reported that one in three women worldwide has been beaten, raped, or somehow mistreated by men (Heise, Ellsberg, & Gottemoeller, 1999). Dominator values are so tightly woven into the fabric of our culture that they are virtually invisible. For example, most Americans agreed with the United States' bombing of Iraq and Kosovo, even though they knew that thousands of innocent civilians were being killed.