I thought that this week’s reading was a bit more on the difficult side. While I could understand most of the concepts being discussed, I struggled with some of the language and terms used. There were several topics from the Introduction that I thought were very insightful and important. First, the idea that in many cultures, particular Latin America and the Caribbean in this discussion, have structural violence engrained into everyday life. Thomas states that “neoliberalism is the culprit–shaping civil wars, legitimizing U.S. interventions, and generating gross social inequalities–and states (and those who lead them) have been partners in these processes” (11). In these countries, intervention by the United States as well as other powerful countries has helped perpetuate a culture of daily violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. I also thought the author’s discussion of the difference between violence in countries such as India compared to violence in the United States. In certain countries, there is a logical reason for the culture of violence that exists. This violence is due to a very long term subjectivity struggle, violence that is a culmination of many centuries of ethnic and religious conflict. On the other hand, Thomas states that in some countries the “latter is lacking any rationale other than violence itself” (10) – there is deeply engrained violence in the culture of these places. I thought this discussion was very interesting because I had never thought about violence in this way, varying from country to country. I am curious as to how the author will build upon this concept later on.
When getting deeper into the reading, I was honestly a bit confused about Thomas’ goals that were listed for the study. I could be incorrect but I believe that the author plans to investigate how gang war is mobilized, how violence is related to the links and relationships between and within communities, to show how violence ties broader institutional structures, and the spacial impacts of violence. I am excited to dive deeper into this reading and witness Thomas’ plans fall into place for the study.