Violence
- exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse
- injury by or as if by distortion, infringement, or profanation
- intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force
(taken from
Merriam-Webster Online)
During history class, we briefly talked about the seppukku/hara kiri (ritual suicide through belly-slitting) and jigai, its counterpart for females. A very honorable thing to do at that time, but a amusing topic today?
The teacher told us about the different steps in the ritual and other stuff. He told us how dishonorable it was to not restrain oneself from reacting from the pain. He also told us how other females would opt to use the aid of the wall to force a blade through the throat, into the spine and out the other side. Then, we talked about how someone who completely beheaded another [such that the head rolled on the ground = dishonorable] who just finished with the ritual would have to perform the ritual himself.
During the discussion, a lot of hypothetical situations were raised. There wasn't a minute without laughter or jeers. Is a loss of life such an amusing topic? I guess it's because the blank wasn't filled in. We couldn't sympathize with someone general. Besides that, something done unintentionally could be potentially funny. But put yourself in their shoes and see if you'd still be laughing.
I think we're mature enough to laugh in the face of death. We understand its seriousness and then learn to look at it from a lighter side. A good thing is that we are able to openly talk about these things with little to no restriction. But then, we must be careful with our liberty, our being free from control. Should any offense be taken, laugher turns into dead silence.
