The Chris Hedges Report: Breaking the cycle of American violence

American society is the most violent of any nation in the industrialized world. Nothing we do, from administrating the world’s largest prison system to militarizing our police, seems to help. Dr. James Gilligan argues that childhood abuse, and the shame it engenders, is the engine that fuels America’s deadliest epidemic. This abuse and shame, he argues, fosters a dangerous numbness that breeds a deep self-loathing and inchoate rage. It is only by understanding the causes of our national epidemic, and addressing those causes, that we will have any hope of stemming the nihilistic violence that grips American society. Dr. Gilligan grounds his writing not only in case studies of the violent patients he works with, but Greek myths and Shakespeare. Dr. James Gilligan is a professor of Clinical Psychiatry at New York University. Formerly, he served as the director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane in Massachusetts. He is the author of Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes, and Holding a Mirror up to Nature: Shame, Guilt, and Violence in Shakespeare, which he co-authored with David A.J. Richards. Watch The Chris Hedges Report live YouTube premiere on The Real News Network every Friday at 12PM ET. Listen to episode podcasts and find bonus content at The Chris Hedges Report Substack. Pre-Production: Kayla Rivara Studio: Adam Coley, Cameron Granadino Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Help us continue producing The Chris Hedges Report by following us and making a small donation: Donate to TRNN: Sign up for our newsletter: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: #chrishedges #therealnewsnetwork #trnn