Citation

Wolfgang ME. Crime Delinq. 1968; 14(4): 289-305.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1968, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/001112876801400401

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Violence in America today is more than the society wishes to tolerate, but should be considered historically and cross culturally. Labor and other riots in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were probably more destructive than current disturbances. America is not a "sick" society but does have violence within an essentially nonviolent culture. The fear of being victimized from crimes of violence is real but greater than statistics on victimization indicate. To riot is a violation of the law and partially a reflection of inadequate response from government and other agencies to legitimate grievance and dissent. To resort to violence is a sign of despair and a failure to have alternative avenues of expression. A subculture of violence exists in many cities and is generated from the value system associated with the poor, the deprived, the residents of segregation. Dispersal of the population from this subculture is the major solution for its elimination. The task of a democracy is to guarantee the right to dissent, to respond to protest, and to fortify freedom while maintaining social control.