Recent from talks
Slow violence
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Slow violence
Slow violence is violence which occurs gradually and is not necessarily visible. Slow violence is incremental and is dynamic across time, in contrast with a conception of general violence as an event or action that is immediate, explosive and spectacular. Outcomes of slow violence include environmental degradation, long-term pollution and climate change. Slow violence is also closely linked to many instances of environmental racism.
The origins of the concept of slow violence can be traced back to the 1960s with the introduction of the idea of structural violence. In 1969, Johan Galtung conceived of structural violence. Some views include that structural violence and slow violence are closely linked, as structural inequality can morph into forms of slow violence. However, slow violence is thought to be different from structural violence, as slow violence occurs over a period of many years or generations.
The term slow violence itself was coined by Rob Nixon in his 2011 book Slow violence and environmentalism of the poor. Nixon defines slow violence as "a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all". Rob Nixon states that people lacking resources or people who are living in poverty are the main casualties of slow violence, as it is "built on the bedrock of social inequality". Use of the term has since transitioned to involve applications outside of environmental concerns.
Interpretations of slow violence are varied. Thom Davies challenges the idea that slow violence is 'out of sight', but that instead it could be out of sight to a particular person or people. He contrasts an immobile and fixed nature of structural violence with his and Nixon's ideas of a geographically and temporally dynamic movement of slow violence over time. Davies also states that a lack of understandings of process, interactions, and effects can result in slow violence. Ahman produces work that contributes to the shared idea that both slow violence and its responses are characterized by manipulations of time. Shannon O'Lear provides another definition stating that slow violence is indirect and latent, and that "it can result from epistemic and political dominance of particular narratives or understandings."
Digital slow violence is characterized by the gradual and often unnoticed adverse effects in the digital realm, such as extended online harassment and unauthorized sharing of personal information, which collectively can affect individuals' well-being over extended periods.[citation needed]
The definition and use of slow violence has evolved throughout time to include the following examples:
Communities surrounded by petrochemical infrastructure endure toxic pollution, which is defined by Thom Davies as a type of violence. However, this type of slow violence is not entirely invisible to the people they impact. People subject to slow violence gradually witness the daily impacts of that violence. Davies records instances of slow violence caused by petrochemical infrastructure in Freetown, Louisiana, where 136 petrochemical plants reside. This instance of slow violence is a form of environmental racism, as it is occurring on land with a population of 95% African Americans.
In 2009, a trash incinerator called the Fairfield Renewable Energy Project was set to be constructed in Maryland's Curtis Bay neighborhood. The energy the incinerator generated from burning waste and garbage would power other neighborhoods located in Baltimore and was presented as a renewable energy source. At the time, state officials were considering reclassifying incineration as a Tier 1 renewable energy source. Curtis Bay community members, high school students, activists, and scholar Chloe Ahmann argued that the project would also build upon the preexisting slow violence the neighborhood was facing in the form of further pollution. Curtis Bay is surrounded by various forms of industry such as parts of the petrochemical, steel, fertilizer, oil, and chemical industries, as well as a medical waste incinerator and various dumps. The way the impacts of these industries and other projects have accumulated over time is an example of slow violence. As described by Ahmann, health conditions – such as gastroschisis, cancers, and fatal cases of asthma – have appeared over multiple generations, all of which are concentrated in this neighborhood. Ahmann also points out how residents’ mindsets can illustrate the impact of slow violence. Many remarked on a feeling of normalcy about these conditions – that this was how it had always been. Others expressed frustrations about the inability to concretely connect current health conditions to their former occupations or long residency in the neighborhood that exposed them to hazards or unhealthy conditions.
Hub AI
Slow violence AI simulator
(@Slow violence_simulator)
Slow violence
Slow violence is violence which occurs gradually and is not necessarily visible. Slow violence is incremental and is dynamic across time, in contrast with a conception of general violence as an event or action that is immediate, explosive and spectacular. Outcomes of slow violence include environmental degradation, long-term pollution and climate change. Slow violence is also closely linked to many instances of environmental racism.
The origins of the concept of slow violence can be traced back to the 1960s with the introduction of the idea of structural violence. In 1969, Johan Galtung conceived of structural violence. Some views include that structural violence and slow violence are closely linked, as structural inequality can morph into forms of slow violence. However, slow violence is thought to be different from structural violence, as slow violence occurs over a period of many years or generations.
The term slow violence itself was coined by Rob Nixon in his 2011 book Slow violence and environmentalism of the poor. Nixon defines slow violence as "a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all". Rob Nixon states that people lacking resources or people who are living in poverty are the main casualties of slow violence, as it is "built on the bedrock of social inequality". Use of the term has since transitioned to involve applications outside of environmental concerns.
Interpretations of slow violence are varied. Thom Davies challenges the idea that slow violence is 'out of sight', but that instead it could be out of sight to a particular person or people. He contrasts an immobile and fixed nature of structural violence with his and Nixon's ideas of a geographically and temporally dynamic movement of slow violence over time. Davies also states that a lack of understandings of process, interactions, and effects can result in slow violence. Ahman produces work that contributes to the shared idea that both slow violence and its responses are characterized by manipulations of time. Shannon O'Lear provides another definition stating that slow violence is indirect and latent, and that "it can result from epistemic and political dominance of particular narratives or understandings."
Digital slow violence is characterized by the gradual and often unnoticed adverse effects in the digital realm, such as extended online harassment and unauthorized sharing of personal information, which collectively can affect individuals' well-being over extended periods.[citation needed]
The definition and use of slow violence has evolved throughout time to include the following examples:
Communities surrounded by petrochemical infrastructure endure toxic pollution, which is defined by Thom Davies as a type of violence. However, this type of slow violence is not entirely invisible to the people they impact. People subject to slow violence gradually witness the daily impacts of that violence. Davies records instances of slow violence caused by petrochemical infrastructure in Freetown, Louisiana, where 136 petrochemical plants reside. This instance of slow violence is a form of environmental racism, as it is occurring on land with a population of 95% African Americans.
In 2009, a trash incinerator called the Fairfield Renewable Energy Project was set to be constructed in Maryland's Curtis Bay neighborhood. The energy the incinerator generated from burning waste and garbage would power other neighborhoods located in Baltimore and was presented as a renewable energy source. At the time, state officials were considering reclassifying incineration as a Tier 1 renewable energy source. Curtis Bay community members, high school students, activists, and scholar Chloe Ahmann argued that the project would also build upon the preexisting slow violence the neighborhood was facing in the form of further pollution. Curtis Bay is surrounded by various forms of industry such as parts of the petrochemical, steel, fertilizer, oil, and chemical industries, as well as a medical waste incinerator and various dumps. The way the impacts of these industries and other projects have accumulated over time is an example of slow violence. As described by Ahmann, health conditions – such as gastroschisis, cancers, and fatal cases of asthma – have appeared over multiple generations, all of which are concentrated in this neighborhood. Ahmann also points out how residents’ mindsets can illustrate the impact of slow violence. Many remarked on a feeling of normalcy about these conditions – that this was how it had always been. Others expressed frustrations about the inability to concretely connect current health conditions to their former occupations or long residency in the neighborhood that exposed them to hazards or unhealthy conditions.
Recent media