Heather Hamill (2011) is the author of ‘The Hoods: Crime and Punishment in West Belfast’, this book offers a unique perspective that equally appeals to academics and the average person. This essay will discuss violence becomes normalised and if so has this happened in the context of this book. Studying the perspectives of the residents, the youth, and the paramilitary group of the area the IRA (Irish Republican Army), as to the possible reasons behind their acceptance of the harsh levels of violence as normal.
The normalisation of violence
To define what is meant by the normalisation of violence, this essay looks at the work of “Johan Galtung’s concept of ‘cultural violence’ defined as ‘those aspects of culture, the symbolic sphere of our …show more content…
Michael Longley argues that to gain understanding of Ulster it is necessary to think of it as a ‘cultural …show more content…
These persistent offenders are aged between 10-20, and continually threatened the safety of residents, their property, through antisocial behaviour and joyriding. Hamill states that the act of joyriding and car theft is not unique to West Belfast, however, it seems that it is the chosen outlet by the youth, to voice their frustration at their society. During the conflict, these antics would have been used by paramilitaries to deter security forces away from particular areas. “Sandbagging” that is placing the youngest hoods along the back window to make sure they were not shot at. This achieved a sense of pride and created a ‘buzz’ and a rest bite from the boredom of their mundane existence. Proving themselves worthy through visible personal risk, in a way to prove lack of fear, “Only someone who is tough to the point of being uninterested or unable to calculate the cost would be able to overcome the fear and bear the physical pain. Those who chose not to fight are assumed to be weak” (Hamill, 2011, p.111). This is the general assumption of what masculinity is, what is expected from men, to gain respect from their peers no matter how temporary. This subculture of delinquency has become a way of life, even a tradition (Hamill, 2011). The book identifies that many studies agree on shared characteristics of the Hoods, they are predominantly male, started offending early, poor
The normalisation of violence
To define what is meant by the normalisation of violence, this essay looks at the work of “Johan Galtung’s concept of ‘cultural violence’ defined as ‘those aspects of culture, the symbolic sphere of our …show more content…
Michael Longley argues that to gain understanding of Ulster it is necessary to think of it as a ‘cultural …show more content…
These persistent offenders are aged between 10-20, and continually threatened the safety of residents, their property, through antisocial behaviour and joyriding. Hamill states that the act of joyriding and car theft is not unique to West Belfast, however, it seems that it is the chosen outlet by the youth, to voice their frustration at their society. During the conflict, these antics would have been used by paramilitaries to deter security forces away from particular areas. “Sandbagging” that is placing the youngest hoods along the back window to make sure they were not shot at. This achieved a sense of pride and created a ‘buzz’ and a rest bite from the boredom of their mundane existence. Proving themselves worthy through visible personal risk, in a way to prove lack of fear, “Only someone who is tough to the point of being uninterested or unable to calculate the cost would be able to overcome the fear and bear the physical pain. Those who chose not to fight are assumed to be weak” (Hamill, 2011, p.111). This is the general assumption of what masculinity is, what is expected from men, to gain respect from their peers no matter how temporary. This subculture of delinquency has become a way of life, even a tradition (Hamill, 2011). The book identifies that many studies agree on shared characteristics of the Hoods, they are predominantly male, started offending early, poor