Many people I spoke to had explosive tempers, delivered beatings, stabbings, and shot at their assailants. As teenagers, they got in brutal fights. And after prison, in their thirties and forties, some continued to raise hell among their partners, children, and neighbors. But just as striking, most of those I interviewed were victims of serious violence and witnesses to violence since early childhood.
I constructed life histories for a group of formerly-incarcerated men and women and found that 40 percent had witnessed a violent death as a child, and over half had lost a close friend or family member to accident, suicide or murder. The people I met talked about how they were beaten as children until their teenage years when they got old enough to retaliate.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse were also common in their childhood homes. Like Jones, who says she became pregnant as the result of a rape and who was beaten with wood planks while carrying her son, the women I interviewed suffered brutal victimization.
Most of the women in my study described rapes and histories of sexual violence that often began before adolescence and continued throughout their lives. Certainly not all victims of violence go on to be perpetrators, but victimization greatly increases the likelihood, and serious victimization is an everyday reality for women who are incarcerated.
The violence described to me grew out of poor and chaotic homes, and disorderly high-crime neighborhoods. Untreated addiction, mental illness, homelessness, and deep poverty combined to produce environments in which the respondents were often victims one day and offenders the next. Violence and the abuse of children, in particular, prick our moral reflexes.
We shrink away and demonize the abusers. But violent environments rarely present a bright line between victims and offenders. People who commit the most horrifying crimes have often suffered the darkest victimization. And for all this, Michelle Jones is much more than all the violence she has known in her life. Her emergence as a student and historian is a great and sustained act of anti-violence. In the wake of the horrific school shooting in Connecticut, many parents are wondering how, and whether, they should talk to their children.
The younger the child, the more this is true. Young children may not even be aware that something scary happened and there is no reason to bring it into their world unless it has a direct impact on them or until they begin to wonder, ask questions or express feelings about it. Answer questions clearly and directly. You might want to avoid or change the subject when your kids ask questions.
It will actually help them to see you model safe emotional expression. Imagination takes over and may lead your child to a much scarier place or a much scarier outcome than is realistic. There are no absolute right or wrong answers. Do your best and keep it simple.
Reassurance is important, your kids will need it and so will you. The younger the child, the more true this is. Editorial team. Unconsciousness - first aid. The following symptoms may occur after a person has been unconscious: Amnesia for not remembering events before, during, and even after the period of unconsciousness Confusion Drowsiness Headache Inability to speak or move parts of the body stroke symptoms Lightheadedness Loss of bowel or bladder control incontinence Rapid heartbeat palpitations Slow heartbeat Stupor severe confusion and weakness If the person is unconscious from choking, symptoms may include: Inability to speak Difficulty breathing Noisy breathing or high-pitched sounds while inhaling Weak, ineffective coughing Bluish skin color Being asleep is not the same as being unconscious.
If someone is awake but less alert than usual, ask a few simple questions, such as: What is your name? What is the date? How old are you? Wrong answers or not being able to answer the question suggest a change in mental status.
If a person is unconscious or has a change in mental status, follow these first aid steps: Call or tell someone to call or the local emergency number. Check the person's airway, breathing, and pulse frequently. If necessary, begin CPR. If the person is breathing and lying on their back, and you do not think there is a spinal injury , carefully roll the person toward you onto their side. Bend the top leg so both hip and knee are at right angles. Gently tilt their head back to keep the airway open.
If breathing or pulse stops at any time, roll the person onto their back and begin CPR. If you think there is a spinal injury, leave the person where you found them as long as breathing continues.
If the person vomits, roll the entire body at one time to their side. Support their neck and back to keep the head and body in the same position while you roll. Keep the person warm until medical help arrives. If you see a person fainting, try to prevent a fall.
Lay the person flat on the floor and raise their feet about 12 inches 30 centimeters. If fainting is likely due to low blood sugar , give the person something sweet to eat or drink only when they become conscious. If the person is unconscious from choking: Begin CPR.
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