VIPC - Violence Investigation and Prevention Center

This used to be called:
SIPC - Suicide Investigation and Prevention Center

I changed the name because the dynamics of personal violence seem the same whether one directs that energy outwards towards others, or inwards towards the self. My purpose is to determine the series of predictable, detectable stages, and the critical thresholds between them, so earlier intervention can occur.

Here is the current version:
The Violence Escalation Chain
Domestic Violence, Suicide, and Mass Murders do not start with a catastrophic violent event like killing a spouse or oneself or shooting up a school. It starts slowly, and progresses through a series of very predictable stages, separated by critical thresholds. The earlier it can be stopped the better.

Lack of respect for an individual, or the self, or a group.
Examples: The US Congress, and many media sources.

Verbal abuse of that individual or group, or extremely negative self-talk.
Examples: Bullies, and many advertisements.

Physical abuse of that individual or group
Examples: Hitting, slapping, spanking, punching & tripping.
- This is often made easier by popular approval, ignoring, or minimizing this violence or abuse.
- This can be sanctioned, or worse encouraged by the violence in advertisements. It makes the violent behavior socially acceptable. So far I've only spotted one TV advertisement that, in my opinion, crosses this critical threshold, and that's the ad for V8-VFusion, where several people hit others because they disapprove of their dietary choices!
- Bullies, when caught always say, "It was just a joke"; but it wasn't!
Individual severe Violence
Examples: Maining, Suicide and Murder.

Group violence
Examples: Abortion clinic bombings, homicide bombings, and mass murder!
(These are, unfortunately, increasing in both number and violence.)

0. Pre-Violence - Nurturing violence from inside the individual.
Creating Powerlessness.
Every animal, including humans, needs enough personal power to obtain the necessities of life: food, shelter, companionship, etc. If that personal power is denied or frustrated the individual will be ill equiped to survive. Some religions and parents, using religion as an excuse, see this personal power or energy as 'spirit' or spunk and actively try to kill it, leaving their children less able to survive.

Strong individuals do not need to bully or threaten, or intimidate others, only the weak do that. And severely weakened individuals, turn to weapons to augment their diminished personal power.

Beyond basic survival, having an impact on one's world and contributing to community happens at many levels. All animals, including us, contribute offspring. Many, such as bees, provide the necessary contribution of pollination, without which many species of plants and foods and the animals that feed on them, including us, would cease to exist.

Voice - This need to impact and make a contribute to community is as important as food, shelter, loving and being loved etc.

The word 'power' has so many negative connotations, since virtually everyone has suffered from an abuse of power or authority. The word 'Voice', however, is simply the need to speak out or have impact, to make a contribution to one's community, it does not carry the baggage of putting someone else down. If I publish a book, it does not diminish other authors. There is an excellent description of our need for 'Voice' in Dr. Richard Grossman's article: "Giving Your Child "Voice": The 3 Rules of Parenting":
The need for Voice

The Critical Thresholds between the Stages.
Between each of the above stages is a critical threshold, a point where effort, sometimes a huge effort, is required to move from one stage to the next.
Some thresholds are easily crossed, but most require a significant amount of energy to cross. (See the example of Water crossing from Ice to Water to Steam: it requires a LOT of energy. (Dynamic Thresholds) The same is true of human growth.

Related pages:
About the Founder
Bob's Blog

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Certified RFR - Rat Free Research:
All my studies have been conducted with humans, by humans, and for humans.
No rats have ever been harmed or even inconvenienced.

Last Updated: Monday, Jan. 21, 2008 11:30 AM

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