Problem 8: How do societies give meaning to and justify collective violence?

Anthropologists suggest that a propensity towards violence is created or inhibited in different societies by the cultural meaning assigned to  violence and aggression.   There is less agreement, however, on the extent to which violence and aggression is sanctioned and encouraged in American society.  There are certainly settings that seem to encourage violence (e.g. some sports, the military, etc.); the question is to what extent are the meanings contained in these settings extended to other settings.

You will need to examine the characteristics of violent societies mentioned in the text the reader and the characteristics of peaceful societies, and select at least four settings in American society, and discuss the extent to which those characteristics are present or absent.  Settings might include educational institutions (at various levels), voluntary associations (e.g. fraternities and sororities, gangs, etc.), sports teams, military institutions, religious groups,  etc.   Try to come up with at least one setting that would seem to place a positive meaning on violence and one that would place a negative meaning on it (although that might be difficult).