Anthropology

Something worth keeping in mind, though, is the brutal reality of life long ago.

There is some disagreement between scholars as to whether or not the Vikings were such "bad guys" back in the day, but there is no denying their capacity for violence. Yet, today, the Scandinavian people are considered very enlightened.

The Romans brought many of the trappings and social structures of what we like to call civilization, but they were incredibly harsh and violent in so many of their customs.

I happened to catch a portion of an episode on PBS called "The Violence Paradox". Believe it or not, even though it sounds extremely counterintuitive, our species is becoming less violent. I suppose that I am bringing this up in the hopes of making you feel better, (and myself) and perhaps it means nothing to the people suffering today.

There are bloodthirsty elements in every human group, I fear. What is more important than anything is not normalizing their behavior and NOT letting them have ruling power in any society.