Violence also arises from a belief that if we are hurt, we have a right to seek revenge. Victims of crime are often taken to task for not protecting themselves better. Those with money and power are able to loot and plunder, figuratively if not literally, with impunity. The powerless then feel free to do the same in a more physical fashion. Finally, a belief that those who are different are either threatening or inferior can also lead to violence.
Events elsewhere show that it takes very little for such hatred to be expressed more violently.
Uprooting violence Legal sanctions and education can only restrain but not eradicate our human urge towards violence. The Old Testament injunction against murder was based on the truth that human beings are created in God's image, and their life belongs to God. Anyone who spills another's blood is answerable not just to their victim and the community, but to God himself. Since life belongs to God, only he has the right to take it. The Israelites were commanded to carry out God's judgment against the Canaanites.