Why is Western society so violent?

[JollyBengali]

One possible theory, I think a huge factor is the western diet, which is highly industrialized and processed, full of enriched bread, excess sugar, oil from vegetable seeds, and artificial ingredients. Not only is it bad for the body, it makes us more angry and prone to violence. I've known of people who switched to paleo/keto and cut out processed foods, and they said they noticed a subtle change in their psyche, less aggressive and irritable.

[wanderlust]

The short answer is there are a lot of angry people. There are triggers for anger everywhere in the world, but in many places people successfully process them and they don't drive an aggressive culture.

Here are some factors we face in the US:

1 - Poor health relative to the rest of the west. More sedentary, too much sugar. This drives insulin resistance and blood sugar problems, causing lower serotonin and greater irritability.
2 - Higher consumption of red meat than most places. This has been tagged as a factor for aggression.
3 - Alcohol consumption. BIG factor at my workplace. Lowers serotonin.
4 - Testosterone is lower than in the past. Well documented and true even adjusting for age. Sounds counterintuitive, but you can google "low testosterone + aggression" and find supporting evidence.
5 - Internet pornography. Actually any kind will have adverse results but the internet is more intense and realistic. Again, this is shown to make people irritable and less sociable, particularly after a binge.
6 - Video games. First person shooter games have been shown to boost narcissism and reduce empathy, from what I've read. Again, info is just a few clicks away if you want to google it to verify.
7 - Weaker perceived social networks of support. Family ties are weaker here than many places. Fatherless boys are well known to have more problems with aggression, as a group. Here is a link giving the breakdown of living arrangements of kids in the US, displayed as a pie chart:

http://family-studies.org/more-than-60- ... l-parents/

58% are living with both biological parents, 23% are with a single mother, and the rest is a mix of arrangements.

8 - Poor parenting, failure to teach self control and set clear limits, allowing too much access to television and a selfish, pleasure-driven life is obviously should get some of the blame. The worst and meanest kids tend to be the ones allowed to run the show.

9 - Poor sleep habits = lower testosterone, lower norepinephrine, lower serotonin. Sleeping pills are not a solution and don't provide quality rest.

[Stag]

10. Lack of jobs, and no job security exists like it did for our fathers, etc. This also drive frustration, anger, and feelings of hopelessness.

[Zambales]

I was speaking to a Russian guy a few years ago. He must have been in his sixties and according to him, out of all the numerous countries he's lived in, the UK was by far the most safest.

[OutWest]

Any reason why America and most other Anglo countries are so violent? And, no...not all of it can be attributed to 'Black people' as Whites can be just as violent as they are...

I'm not necessarily talking about crime rates in countries, but violence in society like beatings, fights, rapes and assaults. And I'm also talking about 'acting tough' and 'intimidation' as a sign of masculinity in men.

I've been back to the States after having been abroad, but I notice that people here try to act all hostile and aggressive, and try to intimidate people as much as possible. Even the women act like the men, LOL!

I never feel safe anywhere in the USA--even in rural areas; that's why America has such a high porportion of people owning guns for 'protection.'

I know African and Latin countries are also pretty violent, but why is Asia the exception?

Your assertions are simply false. Firstly, most "Anglo" nations have quite low rates of murder and violent crime. Ever hear of Canada, Australia, new Zealand and the UK? Yes, whites can be just as violent as blacks, but obviously, they choose not to be. I can truthfully say that Japanese can be as violent as blacks, but obviously, on average, they choose not to be that way. As far as you feeling unsafe in rural America...thats more like a personal issue vs reality. Well armed rural Americans make it quite unsafe for thugs from the cities to go out rampaging in the country. American thugs know this, and avoid going to rural areas.What other "Anglo " nations are there? Oh, the big USA? If you take the third world mentalities as demonstrated by American blacks and Mexicans out of the picture, the rates of violence in the USA are about like Canada.

Much of Asia is far more dangerous than
China or Japan. Brazil (not Asia or Anglo) India have the two highest number of murders in the world and India murder rate exceeds that of all Anglo countries except the USA's racially aggregated figures. It would be safe to say that traditionally Buddhist countries have a low rate of crime. The others, not so much. Then again, in China, violent crimes committed by the state far exceed those committed by free ranging private criminals.
The number if murders committed by the state apparatus in China since WWII exceed the total numbers of dead from crime in all Anglo countries combined in modern history. It's not even close.
I would grant you, there is within some if east Asia a sense of general safety on the streets. I think any kind of random attack is quite rare. That said, that is also true if the medium sized Oregon town near where we have a house in the USA.