Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. –Isaac Asimov
There was a time when I bought into that quote by Isaac Asimov wholeheartedly. At first brush it really makes complete sense. Even today when I get frustrated or impatient I can feel the anger rising in me. I can see how that anger, if left unchecked, could easily lead to violence. And trust me, I have no delusions about my own competence in some areas. 🙄
But as I get older I find myself wondering if all violence is a result of incompetence. I mean unfortunately the truth is that some folks just don’t understand anything short of violence. Bullies must be faced down or they won’t stop bullying.
Passive resistance only works in systems that have some sort of built in restraint. Can you imagine if someone like Gandhi tried to passively resist the Roman Empire to throw off their oppression? Rome didn’t have the same aversion to mass slaughter that the 20th century British did and would have nailed resisters up on crosses by the thousands faster than a spilled Starbucks in a January Chicago parking lot would freeze.
Nope. As I get older I’m learning that life has a lot more shades of gray than I thought. Violence usually takes more than one party to ensue. Even with the most perfectly competent person, I think there may come a time when others give them no alternative.
Chris Cree is a regular contributor here at Successful-Blog and he helps businesses fuel growth through blogging with his consulting business, SuccessCREEations.