The Philosophy of Violence

My son's been dealing with a bully lately. He's been getting pestered, pushed, followed, and called a pussy for not doing anything about it. He told me he hasn't fought back because he doesn't want to get into trouble.

Part of the problem is this nonsense they teach in public schools, that "violence is never the solution." Sure it is. That's why we have wars. Sometimes a little violence is what it takes to settle a dispute. However, violence should never be your first solution.

A rational man never initiates physical force. However, a rational man may respond to physical force with physical force because allowing it to happen is essentially sanctioning its use by its wielder.

Another part of the problem is that we like the bad guys. Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Hannibal, The Blacklist… the list goes on and on. We could do the same with hip hop music. Hollywood desperately wants us to cheer for the villain, which means to cheer for the lack of morality, to take sides in fights that aren't our own in conflicts where there are no good guys.

Of course, every well-written villain can be said to be the hero of their own story. But just because someone feels like they're right, does that mean they're objectively right? Can there be any such thing as objective good or evil?

Take Thanos from the MCU. He's fascinating as a character. A believer in "the ends justify the means," he's willing to kill anyone to see his vision come to life, just like any good statist. One of the most interesting aspects of his character was when he destroyed the Infinity Stones using their own power in order to remove the temptation of further use. This is something no good statist would do; statists never give up power willingly.

There were two major issues with his plan, though. First, he used force rather than reason because his idea was not good enough to be voluntary. Good ideas never have to be mandatory (I'm looking at you, taxes!). Secondly, he said it would be random and impartial, but neither he, nor his daughters, nor any of his followers from the Black Order got snapped away. Like any tyrant, it was "rules for thee, but not for me."

We have a real problem if villain worship is the best we can do. Yeah, we'd like to see the bad guy change his mind and get some kind of redemption arc where they make up for their past. Maybe this is why I love anti-heroes but not villains? Sometimes the hero can be lame and boring, but sometimes we can cheer for people who take matters into their own hands because the government, which only exists to protect its people from the use of unjustified force, is too inept to do so. The Punisher, killing mafia members, pedophiles, and terrorists, all of whom hurt innocent people. Batman, using his brains and wealth to do the same. Geralt from The Witcher. Good anti-heroes frequently use violence to achieve noble goals. This is not the same as believing the ends justify the means like Thanos. The Punisher would never kill innocent people getting in the way of his goals. Ghost Rider's penance stare only affects the guilty. Thanos? He's pure villain. His snap saw no difference between child and child molester.

I told my son to tell his bully verbally that he wouldn't put up with his physical abuse anymore; to go somewhere else if it starts again; and to knock the kid's teeth out if he persists. Good people shouldn't cheer for the bad guy, but they also shouldn't feel guilty for defending themselves and others from the world's a-holes.

-Ellis Novak

2025-05-04