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Rating: 
Summary: A last minute wake up call for America!
Review: As a young man who lived for eight years in institutionalized youth care (in a famous home for boys) and as a teacher with three years experience teaching adolescent and adult women in a correctional facility, now currently working in an urban (Manhattan, NYC), pilot program - alternative to incarceration for youth - I must say that Mr. Gilligan is walking the walk and is talking the talk in this book. Any shame or fear-based male, female attempting to extricate him, her self from the violent, soul murdering experiences of their childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, who has managed to achieve in his or her own life some level of well being, autonomy and individuation, will know that Gilligan has gone far into describing and understanding the roots of "American" violence in this work. Violence enacted upon young persons, in any form whatsoever, in the form of abuse, abandonment and neglect, (from the really concrete and graphic stuff we all hear and read about in movies, television, news reports) to the perhaps even more violent one of simple, abject poverty (who said there's nothing more violent than poverty...Ghandi?)are seeds we are sowing in America's people, on increasing levels, one generation to the next. Gilligan has given us a little, just little, just a "tip of the iceberg" glimpse into a national comeuppance that is closing in on America. The individually and collectively abused, abandoned and neglected children in America are growing up...oh yes they are...and unless those who have been nipped in the bud know, on a conscious, self-healing level, that they, indeed, have been wounded...get ready America to reap the whirlwind. Children of violence, victims or perpetrators...whether they break the "law" or follow the "law" are going to find a way to "express" and "give back" to the world...the too much too-muchness percolating within themselves. Few will find healthy, safe ways to process this violence...most will do what comes naturally to them, in terms of the conditioning and "punishments" they have been subjected to. The Sept.10, New York Times Magazine, is telling us about this today, in a special assignment by Margaret Talbot, about what's becomming of the juvenile delinquent. The cover of the magazine informs us that in the last ten years the number of teenagers doing time in adult prisons has more than doubled. I can assure you, as a licensed teacher with three years experience working with adolscent and adult women in correctional facilities, that if a student has not been destroyed before she or he has arrived there...they most certainly will be (unless they are very, very lucky) by the time they get out. There's a part of me that looks at a man like Gilligan and the reality of what's happening in America, seeing all this right in front of our face, unfolding, and wonders if there isn't some deep, deep sort of collective death wish going on in our culture. We are wiping ourselves out...not with our atom bombs...but with our inability to face reality. Einstein, the great atomic scientist, said: "the unleashed power of the atom has changed everything, except our way of thinking"...HOW WE THINK about violence in America, about the growth of maximum security prisons and the "prison industry" in America, about what's happening to prisoners in prison and the punishers looking for the next opportunity to punish...NEEDS TO CHANGE. We need to change the way we think about these things. Again, any individual, emerging from the kinds of circumstances Gilligan describes in his book, knows what kind of change is required. It's a kind of "change or die" change. We, as a nation of people, need to change or face greater levels of violence and violence caused deaths in our nation. Will we? Sometimes the process of change can be simplified into three words: awareness, acceptance and action. Gilligan is to be commended for doing what he can to make us all aware, but how many of us are willing to accept the facts, to take actions? Will it take the deaths of our own children and the bottoming out of our current idea of rewarding violence with more violence before we realize, together, that what's called for, in Gilligan's work, in Talbot's work, is a fundamental change, in each of us, in the way we are thinking about this issue? While I don't see any possible substantial change happening in my life time, I have to say how happy I am, personally, for having discovered the idea of reincarnation, of karmic rebirth, and other notions from the East...notions like compassion and dharma and such. There are people, out there, on various paths, who ARE doing something about this increasing epidemic. They are addressing this problem...and they, as well as the perpetrators and the victims of violence...hold the solution, within themselves, to this national disease. The idea of being able to come back in another life to see how America finally manages to put a culture of self-centered fear and violence behind her, and how she really learns to rehabilitate and "correct" her "prisoners" without turning them into greater criminals and victims than they were before her incarceration of them...intrigues me. Violence, prisons, child abuse, healing, wounds, what's broken when it mends comes back stronger, compassion, insight, rebirth, transformation, change, growth, discovery. There's great promise in our crisis here...this could be a great opportunity for all those concerned. What's interesting to note is how solutions to so many of America's problems, concerning violence in particular, are rooted in CHANGE...a kind of change that many don't want to see happen...because they are benefitting from the change...or because they have found a way to adapt their violent realities to "acceptable, legal versions of violence" in our system...finding ways to be violent that are "moral" and "good"...however, when the whole ship begins to sink...even the rats will be afraid of the water...and something will have to give...or else the American Eagle will burn to ashes...but, who knows, maybe there's a Phoenix in that Eagle's heart, in it's HEART, and, after the shit hits the fan, big time, after the whole thing burns down, (does anybody disagree that the prisons are on fire...as far as violence is concerned? or even as far as violence is concerned as it lives in the American collective conscious?) perhaps something new will rise up from those ashes. Is that just a myth, a fantasy? I'd like to plant at least one seed in the soil of "a new way of thinking" about facing, understanding and coming to terms with violence in America...a core seed, to deal with all sorts of violence in America, in our families, in our schools, in our "loving" relationships, in our relationships to all people, places and things...and that is: it's nobody's fault and it's everybody's RESPONSIBILITY. Are we, as individuals, as a nation of people, able to respond to what Gilligan has put forth in this work? A great anit-bomb folk song by Vern Partlow, called Old Man Atom, The Talking Atomic Blues, has a line that goes: "ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if the bomb don't get ya, than the fallout must." The fallout of violence and violent acts: from the bomb to the abandonment, abuse and neglect of the child...is beginning is falling on America...and it's worse than radioactive dust...it's us. Have courage!
Rating: 
Summary: A Fresh Reminder of An Old Problem
Review: I live with violence (or to be more accurate, the constant threat of...) and in an attempt to understand it, I bought James Gilligan's book after I heard him on the radio. I can only read a few pages at a time because I am so profoundly moved. (Unfortunately the damaged young man named Dennis X describes almost perfectly the person who inhabits my apartment space.)The author's insight into twisted logic of violence mirrors my own personal observations. Useful for any of us who have to navigate amongst angry and potentially violent people in an urban setting.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow, what a load!
Review: I read this book for a class at the fictitious "Grove School" as described by Robert Bingham in his text "Lightning on the Sun." I am confident in saying that it is only good as a conversation starter with stupid people. In any event, please avoid this book and all other such literature. Huzzah!
Rating:
Summary: Eye-opening insight, destructive theory
Review: It is hard to grasp how the same person could write both such eye-opening insights into the motivations of violent criminals, and such puerile social theory to explain what he has observed, as Dr. Gilligan has done in this book. He convincingly shows the role of shaming and humiliating experiences in the making of these men, their need to repress all feelings of weakness and dependency in order to maintain a self-image of manliness, and the way violence serves to "right" the felt wrongs they have suffered, to restore a twisted sort of self-respect. But then he descends to a level of irrationality that is astonishing, as when he says, "What is conventionally called 'crime' is the kind of violence that the legal system calls illegal, and 'punishment' is the kind that it calls legal," adding that "the motives and the goals that underlie both are identical -- they both aim to attain justice or revenge for past injuries and injustices," and "both use violence as the means by which to attain those ends." He even says that both are done "in the name of morality [pp18-19]." The bulk of his theorizing is the forcing of such false equations, between justice and self-serving revenge, between murder and the death penalty, even between murder and self-defense, murder and accidents ("risk-taking avocations," and "the collective violence called warfare [p100])." He objects to the idea that these men commit their brutal attacks out of self-interest, and makes his case well enough that their violence is ultimately irrational and self-destructive. But his main insight after all is that these acts serve to build a perverted self-esteem in these men, relieving them temporarily of their feelings of shame and humiliation. They aim to restore the self felt as wounded or dead -- at the expense of an innocent person. Therefore, serving self is the true motive, the whole point -- the fact that they fail, or that the attempt is irrational is beside the point. It should not need saying, but apparently it does, that our legal system, however imperfect it no doubt is, is not the impulsive expression of one emotionally provoked person, but the codified thought of thousands of trained minds over centuries. It's almost a definition of law that it aims specifically to counteract exactly the subjective self-serving notions of "justice" Gilligan is describing here -- on all sides of the courtroom. It's the most objective method of justice possible to the morally flawed human race. Yet, according to Dr. Gilligan, the legal system's claim to a superior justice is merely "conventional." There is nothing more ordinary than that people justify their grossest injustices to others in narrow self-serving terms, leaping from a sense of personal woundedness to unjust conclusions and outrageous punitive retaliations. This is how the morally flawed human race is prone to operate -- that means all of us, if only in fantasy -- and not only individuals but clans and tribes as well, if a judicious law does not restrain them. It is Politically Correct these days to denounce the biblical "eye for an eye" as an antiquated barbarism, and Gilligan joins the chorus, psychoanalyzing it as a mirroring or symbolizing of the crime in the punishment, following the logic he has discovered in the crimes of his subjects. Thus he says a practice in the Middle East of cutting off the hand of a thief expresses the symbolism of removing the offending part. But he has it all wrong. "A hand for a theft" is a good example of the very kind of unjust law of excessive revenge which the biblical Law disallows. "An eye for an eye" is not an expression of anything symbolic at all, but a statement of a principle of perfect equity, requiring ONLY an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a limb for a limb -- no more and no less. Criminal violence (remember, Gilligan equates its "morality" and "justice" with the legal system's) takes a far more outrageously unjust revenge than even the unjust law of a hand for a theft: a LIFE for an "eye," a life for an insult. Ironically, perhaps, in view of Gilligan's accusations, our increasingly sentimentalized legal system errs from equity in quite the opposite direction from excesses of revenge, exacting LESS than the Law of perfect equity, even releasing violent men back onto the streets. Gilligan's theories can only add to THIS growing inequity, which ends up punishing rather than protecting victim and society, however unintentionally. This book offers satisfying insights into the usually incomprehensible actions of violent criminals. It also gives a convincing portrait of the psychological effects of racism and other social and moral (as opposed to legal) inequities. Its exposure and analysis of prison rape culture deserves attention. But all this goes begging while Dr. Gilligan feeds the counterfeit mercy which already undermines justice, castigates a phantom White Ruling Class, and does injury to language and logic, all in the service of a Marxist fantasy that's as irrational and paranoid as the fantasies he finds in his prison subjects.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: James Gilligan's *Violence* is a provocative read. The author is absolutely correct when he sees violence as a problem of epidemic proportions. His interpretation of violence as a disease and consequent search for the best preventive medicine strategies to counteract it, is also potentially fruitful. Finally, Gilligan's claim that the root cause of violence is shame is intriguing and well worth taking seriously--although not, perhaps, as seriously as Gilligan wishes. Having said this, however, there are serious flaws in this book. In the first place, it's horribly written and horribly edited. The book is over-long, maddeningly redundant, and choppy in presentation. Gilligan's central shame thesis is repeated again and again; Chapter 5 is basically a rewrite of Chapters 2 and 3; chapter 4 could've been condensed into a couple of paragraphs; the Prologue and Epilogue are over-long and rather gratuitous; and to top everything off, Gilligan writes Chapter 5 as if it's the real beginning of the book (which it actually is), even including an Introduction-like summary of the chapters that follow. It's as if he combined two manuscripts to make one book. The poor style of presentation is enough to cause even patient and sympathetic readers to hair-pull. Moreover, it's difficult to see that Gilligan really establishes his central thesis: that shame is the root of violence. I would argue that he begs the question, ignoring as he does the obvious point that not all experiences of shame result in recognizable violence. Sometimes--perhaps usually, as a matter of fact--shame leads to renewed determination to succeed in order to redeem past offences. (The schoolchild "shamed" by a poor grade can resolve to study real hard in order to show her classmates, teacher, and parents that in fact she's got what it takes.) What Gilligan doesn't do is to explain how it's possible that some shame experiences lead to violence and others don't. But without an attempt to make sense of this, the whole thesis collapses. What appears to really be at stake, then, isn't whether violence is caused by shame, but why most people who experience shame don't turn to violence. Still, Gilligan is to be commended for his insight that there's at least some connection between shame and violence, even if he overplays it. My guess is that the soul-killing varieties of shame he discusses in Chapter 2 best fit his model, and he's actually at his best when discussing them. Moreover, his thesis raises intriguing possibilities for national and international public policy, as well as personal relationships and educational reform. If Gilligan is even partly correct, we might be able to go a good way toward reducing violence between individuals, classes, and nations by making sure that social and economic structures that "dis" others are reformed. Despite my criticisms, I recommend this book. Gilligan comes across as a compassionate and concerned man, and his book, if read judiciously, contributes to the continuing dialogue about violence and nonviolence.
Rating:
Summary: Education Strategies for Prevention of Violence
Review: The most hopeful insight Gilligan offers about violence is: A person's tortuous, shameful sense of self prompts the act of murder to "symbolically" silence the ridicule one has endured. Does this sound remarkably similar to those humiliated young teenagers who feel compelled to act with murderous revenge against their taunting classmates? Gilligan's book offers a sign of hope, for if we are able to significantly prevent violence, it will come from focusing on the underlying "incapacitating feelings" we humans experience when we are repeatedly emotionally wounded. In my new book on education strategies for prevention of violence, I address our cultural reluctance to educate children (and their parents) about the critical importance of understanding their inner reaction to being emotionally wounded. Gilligan, in his own way, seems to be advocating that violent consequences follow blaming others for what WE feel, and then symbolically attempting to punish them (with murder) for our sense of shame. We need more parents, teachers and emotional educators who can demonstrate a more healthy and honest way of dealing with emotional wounds than shaming ourselves or blaming others. It is not rocket science to LEARN how to deal with painful feelings. It is just that we have a deeply embedded cultural tendency to ignore and let our pain build up within us unless until it erupts until it erupts into what Gilligan says is the ritual of murder. I would venture that few, if any, persons who commit violence were ever taught how to name, own and honor their hurt feelings as a normal -- not shameful -- part of their human vulnerability.
Rating:
Summary: Education Strategies for Prevention of Violence
Review: The most hopeful insight Gilligan offers about violence is: A person's tortuous, shameful sense of self prompts the act of murder to "symbolically" silence the ridicule one has endured. Does this sound remarkably similar to those humiliated young teenagers who feel compelled to act with murderous revenge against their taunting classmates? Gilligan's book offers a sign of hope, for if we are able to significantly prevent violence, it will come from focusing on the underlying "incapacitating feelings" we humans experience when we are repeatedly emotionally wounded. In my new book on education strategies for prevention of violence, I address our cultural reluctance to educate children (and their parents) about the critical importance of understanding their inner reaction to being emotionally wounded. Gilligan, in his own way, seems to be advocating that violent consequences follow blaming others for what WE feel, and then symbolically attempting to punish them (with murder) for our sense of shame. We need more parents, teachers and emotional educators who can demonstrate a more healthy and honest way of dealing with emotional wounds than shaming ourselves or blaming others. It is not rocket science to LEARN how to deal with painful feelings. It is just that we have a deeply embedded cultural tendency to ignore and let our pain build up within us unless until it erupts until it erupts into what Gilligan says is the ritual of murder. I would venture that few, if any, persons who commit violence were ever taught how to name, own and honor their hurt feelings as a normal -- not shameful -- part of their human vulnerability.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific book
Review: This is an excellent book about the culture of violence that we continue to support with our policies. We say we abhor violence but we don't do the things that would curtail and prevent it. Dr. Gilligan has done a superior job of pointing out how we support and perpetuate violence. As a clinician, I have changed how I think and deal with abuse. Thank you, Dr. Gilligan for your insight and your caring. I am a better clinician because you shared your thoughts.
Rating:
Summary: Education Strategies for Prevention of Violence
Review: [Please use the following review in place of my previous review, which I have found contains a few typos.] The most hopeful insight Gilligan offers about violence is: A person's tortuous, shameful sense of self prompts the act of murder to "symbolically" silence the ridicule one has endured. Does this sound remarkably similar to those humiliated young teenagers who feel compelled to avenge their pain with murderous revenge against their taunting classmates? Gilligan's book offers a sign of hope, for if we are able to significantly prevent violence, it will come from focusing on the underlying "incapacitating feelings" we humans experience when we are repeatedly emotionally wounded. In my new book on education strategies for prevention of violence, I address our cultural reluctance to educate children (and their parents) about the critical importance of understanding their inner reaction to being emotionally wounded. Gilligan, in his own way, seems to be advocating that violent consequences follow blaming others for what WE feel, and then symbolically attempting to punish them (with murder) for our sense of shame. We need more parents, teachers and emotional educators who can demonstrate a healthy and honest way of dealing with emotional wounds other than shaming ourselves or blaming others. It is not rocket science to LEARN how to deal with painful feelings. It is just that we have a deeply embedded cultural tendency to ignore and let our pain build up within us until it erupts into what Gilligan calls the "ritual" of murder. I would venture that few, if any, persons who commit violence were ever taught how to name, own and honor their hurt feelings as a normal -- not shameful -- part of their human vulnerability.
Rating:
Summary: Education Strategies for Prevention of Violence
Review: [Please use the following review in place of my previous review, which I have found contains a few typos.] The most hopeful insight Gilligan offers about violence is: A person's tortuous, shameful sense of self prompts the act of murder to "symbolically" silence the ridicule one has endured. Does this sound remarkably similar to those humiliated young teenagers who feel compelled to avenge their pain with murderous revenge against their taunting classmates? Gilligan's book offers a sign of hope, for if we are able to significantly prevent violence, it will come from focusing on the underlying "incapacitating feelings" we humans experience when we are repeatedly emotionally wounded. In my new book on education strategies for prevention of violence, I address our cultural reluctance to educate children (and their parents) about the critical importance of understanding their inner reaction to being emotionally wounded. Gilligan, in his own way, seems to be advocating that violent consequences follow blaming others for what WE feel, and then symbolically attempting to punish them (with murder) for our sense of shame. We need more parents, teachers and emotional educators who can demonstrate a healthy and honest way of dealing with emotional wounds other than shaming ourselves or blaming others. It is not rocket science to LEARN how to deal with painful feelings. It is just that we have a deeply embedded cultural tendency to ignore and let our pain build up within us until it erupts into what Gilligan calls the "ritual" of murder. I would venture that few, if any, persons who commit violence were ever taught how to name, own and honor their hurt feelings as a normal -- not shameful -- part of their human vulnerability.
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