Analysis Of Pathway I: Attack A Weak Victim

Pathway I: Attacking a weak victim

Collins (2009) claims that it is easier to surmount the confrontational tension when the victim is considered weaker. Although King was a muscular man, he was outnumbered, off-balanced, and able to be emotionally dominated in the situation by officers (Aho, 2013). In Collins' study of riots, he found that violent behaviour is often committed by four or five people against one victim (Collins, 2008). Holiday's video is horrific because violence displayed in the media appears different as groups are usually balanced. Moreover, policemen with training and organisation allows them to overcome confrontational fear more easily and to readily attack a weak victim Research has shown that violence is easier for military and police forces, as they have been trained on to use weapons and to conduct violence (Worden, 1996). The presence of more police also keeps one another from leaving to maintain the group solidarity (Worden, 1996).

Pathway II: "Forward Panic"

This is "forward panic", as exemplified in the Rodney King beating as a consequence of humans’ confrontational anxieties. This concept best describes a violent situation where two sides are confronting each other for a long period of time and confrontational tension builds up (Collins, 2009). Police chased King's speeding car up to 115 miles per hour for eight miles (Karstedt, Loader & Strang, 2011). This is the build-up of confrontational tension and the dynamic sequence soon spilled forward into an atrocious