Interview

Victory Over Violence: Peace Starts in the Heart

A VOV information booth

SGIQ: How can the recent upsurge in youth violence in the United States be explained?

Darin: Interestingly, the overall crime rate in the U.S. is down, but the youth-on-youth crime rate, including homicide, is on the rise. Why is this happening? Recently, two high school principals from the state of Colorado left their jobs to survey youth across the country to discover just why they're becoming more violent. Many youth and parents attributed the rise in youth violence to the proliferation of guns, drug use, violent video games and the negative effects of television. But the biggest response that the educators got from the kids was that parents and older youth weren't spending enough quality time with them: children weren't getting enough time to talk with their parents and mentors, ask questions and discuss their lives. 

I think one reason is Americans' preoccupation with pursuing affluence, sometimes at the cost of precious family relationships. But for less well-off parents who must hold multiple jobs, they simply don't have enough time to spend with their children. Another reason is the distraction of new technologies like the Internet--some seem to prefer it over personal interactions. To the extent that young people fail to receive emotional support at home, it's more likely they'll be negatively influenced by violent television shows, movies, music and their distraught peers.

SGIQ: What is the Victory Over Violence project, and how does it help people overcome violence?

Darin: The VOV project aims to rid society of violence by providing tools people can use to identify the source of violence in their lives and to overcome it. Last year, the SGI-USA Youth Peace Committee created a resource kit that includes a handbook containing articles and statistics on violence, experiences of violence survivors and a series of activities for facilitating discussion on the issue.

We distribute the handbooks to interested youth and adults, many of whom participate in our workshops. The resource kit and the workshop let people know of the different types of violence that exist, including the kind that they might unknowingly but habitually commit. Raising awareness is the first step. Then we ask people to consciously try to minimize violence in their lives.

Yvette Edmond

SGIQ: What happens at a VOV workshop?

Yvette: Discussion facilitators begin the VOV workshop by identifying existing social groups in a given setting. I'll use the workshop we organize at schools as my example.

Facilitators ask participants from across social group lines (e.g., socially popular students working with quiet, studious pupils) to discuss the causes of violence in their lives, particularly passive violence. This helps break down barriers and create bonds of trust. By the end of the workshop, one objective is for each introverted and extroverted, each ostracized and socially popular student to have a peer from another group to talk with about issues of violence affecting them. Another aim is to raise awareness about how we can each unknowingly commit passive violence, thereby potentially contributing to active violence.

SGIQ: What is passive violence?

Yvette: Passive violence, according to Mahatma Gandhi, doesn't result in obvious physical harm as, for example, a fight or a war might do. But it's a situation where we act negatively or have negative feelings toward other people or ourselves. The effect of this on others is to hurt them emotionally and psychologically, which in turn makes them feel badly about themselves, causing them to feel angry. This anger fuels their passions and their need to react. In effect, passive violence fuels physical or active violence.

Some examples are: hatred of others, name-calling, discrimination, not respecting others' talents, not letting people use their skills and excluding people for personal reasons. Passive violence directed against oneself includes low self-esteem, dislike of one's appearance or following a harmful diet.

SGIQ: What are some parallels between Buddhism and the philosophy of nonviolence?

Darin: With compassion as an essential guiding spirit, Buddhism has a long tradition of social action and has been committed to helping people who are suffering. Gandhi often referred to the essential Buddhist practice of helping others as a means of spiritual development and an important inspiration for those striving to lead a life of nonviolence.

Interestingly, Gandhi's philosophy of active nonviolence often means taking responsibility for the actions of others. It prompts one to ask, "What did I do to help cause this person to act this way toward me?" When you take this kind of responsibility and refuse to blame others, it often compels the person who commits violence to self-reflect and change their behavior. This has resonance with the Buddhist notion that a person and their environment (including those around them), are intimately connected.

SGIQ: Could you share an example of how the VOV project helps youth cope with violence?

Yvette: A junior high school student named Julie Odano who participated in a VOV discussion was hit and pushed down by a classmate at school recently. Rather than fight back as the other kids were urging her to do, she decided to leave the scene and get an adult to mediate the dispute. The other girl, who hit Julie, followed her into the school building. While they were waiting for the school principal, Julie engaged the girl in dialogue, and the girl confided that she was having trouble at school and was unable to control her anger. So Julie was able to be the catalyst for settling the quarrel nonviolently.

These two young girls resolved a violent incident through dialogue and without adults or authority figures. The principal was so happy and surprised that he rewarded Julie with a gift and confided to Julie's mom that Julie did everything right.

SGIQ: What are some other successes of the VOV initiative?

Darin: YPC members in northern California have been some of the most active in terms of promoting VOV values in society. SGI members in Oakland, California, led by youth like John Sweeney, are a case in point. They are trying to facilitate discussions about reducing community violence.

The Oakland area can be a violent place, and residents have had considerable enmity toward the police for some time. City authorities have tried to improve communication with residents since January 1999, but they haven't had success so far. John's initiative seeks to start a new round of discussions by inviting local youth, police and fellow SGI members to start an open and creative dialogue about the problem and ways of solving it. He and another SGI member met with Oakland's deputy police chief recently to plan an upcoming community roundtable discussion. Their efforts will culminate in the second annual VOV Youth Summit this October--a great example of taking action in the community.

SGIQ: How do you view the problem of youth violence in different countries? 

Yvette: Violence certainly isn't limited by social or national borders. It exists in the human heart. It's activated when people are harmed emotionally but lack the skills or outlets for venting their frustrations. It's brought about when people are prevented from exercising their gifts and talents or when they aren't allowed to participate in society.

Although the instruments young people use to commit violent acts may vary by country, the effects are the same: people are harmed, sometimes fatally. I think this development points to a kind of homelessness in the hearts of youth worldwide.

SGIQ: What are your hopes for VOV in the future?

Yvette: I'd like for it to become a really natural part of student life in different communities, and maybe even in different countries, so that people will be able to apply relevant ideas in the most appropriate way. I'm encouraging youth to introduce VOV ideas in schools--from elementary to high school--and to create VOV clubs where kids can talk about their experiences with violence, their fears and their anger. This is important as it will give kids a chance to vent their emotions, and not have to resort to violent means. The most important thing is to get people talking heart-to-heart about violence so that they can overcome it in their lives and learn to respect one another.

• To find out more about Victory Over Violence, visit the web site at: www.vov.com 

>>Next Page>>