Violence does not breed violence.

An expansion on my philosophy of violence and peace.

If one is to truly understand oneself, you must come to grips with one single fact over all else in this day and age. We are an inherently violent species. We do not seek it out, but we are driven towards it by our own instincts of survival. Two young idiot males fighting over a female isn't just a cliche. It happens. It's real. Unless one accepts that fact, there can be no true understanding of oneself. Add in survival of a group, with natural aspects such as famine and disease, and you have a mixture that is quick to bring war, the most extreme form of violent acts.

Many state that violence breeds violence. This is not true. Violence in inherently self-destructive and non-sustaining, like a fire burning itself out. It will do a LOT of damage first, but it will ultimately burn itself out. By this measure alone, violence cannot breed violence.

Aggression and cowardice, on the other hand, breed violence in the extreme. Even revenge is a form of aggression, but only when it is mixed with cowardice can it become violent. If you have either aggression or cowardice, you cannot have a truly violent act. It is only when they are mixed that violence is born.

There are also those who say to always walk away. That is not always the smarter move and ultimately results in acts of violence, when aggressive cowards attack those they perceive as weak, simply because they were never given correction for disrespectful behaviors or were ignored. Instead, they choose violent acts and think themselves clever for escaping. This is an example of choosing an easy path of violence.

It is often said it takes a village to raise a child. It is not only on the parent, so sometimes not walking away will actually prevent additional violence and even result in the would-be aggressor correcting his or her behavior to their own benefit. This is not to take away the responsibility of the aggressor and place it on the "village", but a matter to keep in mind when deciding if a physical altercation avoidable or not.