The Consequences of Language : A Review of Random Violence : How We Talk about New Crimes and New Victims

Ticktock. Bang! Ticktock. Wham! Ticktock. Smash! According to the latest Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, a violent crime occurs every nineteen seconds in America (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 1998). Despite perfunctorily advising readers to digest this information with caution, an indelible impression is stamped in our minds that violent criminal victimizations are inevitable; that it is just a matter of time before we become a grim statistic ourselves; and that we are witnessing the decline of western civilization right before our very eyes. Are you still incredulous and in need of more compelling evidence? Check out the newspaper headlines and stories being aired on national television. Just think for a moment about the recent pandemic of school shootings, the multitude of serial killers, innumerable satanic cultists, countless child snatchers, insatiable NAMBLA members, sexual predators, Bloods and Crips, celebrity stalkers, carjackers, home invaders, Halloween sadists, disgruntled employees on shooting rampages, drive-by shooters, pistol-packing kids, freeway shooters, criminals motivated by hatred, and the growing army of remorseless evildoers out there, somewhere, waiting to claim more innocent victims. This catalogue of horrors and villains validates an objective reality for most the world is a dangerous place because violent victimization could happen to anyone, anytime, and anywhere.