Our anonymous poster has made a very interesting and fair point about the difficulty of peace making. Namely, violence is present on multiple levels. Peace Scholar Johann Galtung defines “violence as an impairment of human needs”. This is an overly simplified definition on purpose. It does not limit an act of violence to mere physical violence. It also incorporates emotional, economic, psychological and medical acts of violence. It becomes a litmus test for possible violent actions.

So, is all violence equal? Of course not. This definition only assesses whether or not something is violent. It does not, however, describe what kind of violence it is and how it affects people. Galtung then gives us three subcategories for violence. These describe how an action impairs human needs. These categories are as follows: Direct, Structural and Cultural. Without going into great detail this week—let us briefly define Direct, Structural and Cultural Violence.

Direct Violence: The most visible form. Here we see violence in a physical sense. Jane Punches Sue. Dirk Shoots John. Francis Steals from The Church. This is the overt expression of power from one party to another in a very immediate and tangible way.

Structural Violence: This is a more invisible form. Here, the structures of culture or society create levels of inequity. While one may not be physically held back from achieving their needs, basic human needs are still being withheld. Here a family cannot receive adequate medical attention. A child feels like completion of school is not a viable option. A woman is passed up on another promotion. Sometimes, this structural violence is a catalyst toward direct violence.

Cultural Violence: This is by far the most ephemeral form of violence. This is the invisible violence that pervades our society and gives the cultural basis for Structural and Direct Violence to continue. A woman is dehumanized by the media. Fast cars and reckless driving are honored as prestige. Nationalism is equated with superiority. The invisibility of Cultural Violence is made all the more dangerous with the personal privilege and bias one may hold. White Privilege blocks one from seeing racism. Male Privilege blocks one from seeing sexism. So, in many real ways, it is Cultural Violence that gives Structural and Direct Violence the foundations to stand upon.

So, as our friend pointed out earlier, peacemaking becomes empty without challenging the power structures that create the initial violence. Truly transformative change does not grow out of manipulations, but rather, out of the challenges of recognizing one’s own visible and invisible violent actions. How we do that is challenging. And I hope we can work on that together.

Without struggling to recognize and change all forms of violence, we run the risk of recreating the violence. Negative Peace does not ensure future peace. And we run the risk of allowing future acts of violence to be perpetuated and/or ignored. I end today with a reminder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s prophetic words, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”