I’m reading a book that is set in the 1850’s and in it there’s about to be a public execution. People have been camping out since the night before to see it as if they were trying to buy tickets for a Justin Bieber concert or something. (Perish the thought.) It’s all rather grizzly, and almost as bad as the Ancient Romans who flocked to the Colosseum in the 2nd century to see slaughter on an almost daily basis.
My gut reaction is to say that we’ve come a long way since then, but in retrospect, uh, no. Maybe not. A certain portion of humanity still likes to view carnage. That’s why we still have dog fights and cock fights and bullfights and boxing matches. That’s why we pay football players a fortune in spite of the fact that the risk of brain and bodily injury is very high.
It’s hard to conceive of a rugby match or a hockey game without a certain amount of bloodshed. And many NASCAR enthusiasts will admit they look forward to the car crashes. And then there are those who watch wrestling although it’s most certainly staged. Scarier still, even as you read this, somewhere on the planet there’s sure to be a circle of children in a schoolyard chanting, “Fight! Fight!“
The fact is, these are still violent times. I’ve never met a woman who hasn’t experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse at least once in her life. Violent crime hasn’t exactly disappeared, either. And the fact that in 2013 we can still have a sexual assault scandal in the US Military is deplorable.
Next time you think we’re on a higher plane than other animals, think again. At least when other animals draw blood, they are doing it for survival.
The View from a Drawbridge 
Even more terrifying, is that now girls and women are becoming aggressors. Women are not fighting back in their own defense, but with other women, for status, domination and power over others. Violence for violence sake is no longer just a mans game.
Things like this make me wonder if we’re regressing.
I no longer wonder. I fear.
If they built a coliseum and had gladiatorial games to the death, people would have tailgate parties while they waited.
And paint their faces blood red, or something.
No doubt.