Force, Coercion, Violence, and Abuse
Coercion and violence are endemic in our society. We are constantly exposed to
it in the news, and in fears for our safety. Sometimes, coercion or violence
touches our lives directly, at work, in our communities, or at home. How do we
deal with these constant threats?
The principle of non-violence, as taught by Gandhi and by Martin Luther King,
is often held up as the ideal, and sometimes as the only moral response.
Moderate positions, such as the use of violence when non-violence fails, are
held up as extreme, when in fact the extreme position is the use of violence as
a first response, as exemplified by brutal tyrants such as Mao Tse Tung.
Non-violence as an absolute, unbreakable principle is just as extreme.
Non-violence has an inherent limitation; it depends on the humanity of the
oppressor to recognize the suffering of the victims, and to recognize that
their suffering is a direct result of the oppressor's action. From
international relations to domestic violence, the world is rife with situations
where this level of humanity is apparently missing.
Willingness to use violence, even within limits, carries great risks. Violence
cannot be allowed to cycle endlessly; "an eye for an eye" simply leads to a
society in which all are blind.
There are no hard-and-fast rules about when to use violence. It's a relatively
simple decision for Buffy when she faces an ordinary vampire; vampires in the
Buffyverse are already dead, bodies inhabited by demons, with a moral standing
on the level of serial killers and rapists. But what about a vampire who is
unable to kill, or a vampire who works for good? What about humans who actively
conspire with evil? The moral strictures against killing humans run deep, but
there are times when both Buffy and Giles make the decision to kill a person,
or to allow a person to be killed by vampires. There are other occasions when
they allow a truly vicious vampire to live, if there is good that may come of
letting them go.
Violence can deaden the soul; each use of violence makes it easier to resort to
violence again in the future. Buffy's ties to friends and family help her to
maintain emotional balance. Even so, she often fears that she is losing her
ability to love. In "Intervention," she seeks guidance from the Slayer spirit
guide, who gives her contradictory messages, saying, "You are full of love" but
also "Love is pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain," and "Risk the
pain. It is your nature. Love will bring you your gift.... Death is your gift."
When Buffy encounters the First Slayer in one of her prophetic dreams, the
First Slayer tells her, "No friends. Just the kill. We are alone."
It is not Buffy's nature to be alone. In "The Wish," we get a glimpse of Buffy
as she would have been without the support of friends and family to keep her
balanced. Kendra, the Slayer called when Buffy dies in "Prophecy Girl," has no
emotional attachments at all; this leaves her vulnerable to the first vampire
who tries to use emotional control over her, and it costs Kendra her life.
Faith, the Slayer called after Kendra, is in touch with her own emotions but
resists connection to others; this makes her vulnerable to the corruption of
evil. Establishing those connections is a large part of what brings Faith back
from evil.
Clearly, love and loyalty with family and friends help Buffy to maintain her
balance, and so it is with the others. Willow, too, has her turn in facing the
evil inside her. Buffy fights Willow even while caring deeply for her, but it
is Xander, Willow's life-long best friend, who gives Willow the love that
brings her back from the edge.
Another difficult issue for Buffy is that part of her is attracted to the
violence of her calling. Besides the rush of adrenalin, there is some
satisfaction in doing the right thing, and in stopping evil. At the same time,
the violence and killing sicken her, and she fears that she is losing her
humanity. As time passes, she wonders how much difference there really is
between herself and the monsters that she pursues.
Violence, of course, is rarely an end in itself. Whether subtle or brutal,
violence and coercion are means to ends such as power and control. These may be
as short and sharp as a random killing, or drawn out into an abusive
relationship. Examples of abuse are common throughout the series, starting in
early episodes with Principal Snyder's abuse of power over his students at
Sunnydale high school. Xander's father is a raging alcoholic who terrorizes his
family. Willow has problems with addiction to magic, which for her becomes both
a drug and a crutch for low self-esteem, with all the concurrent problems of
dysfunctional relationship issues with her lover. When Angel goes bad, he
stalks and tortures Buffy's family and friends. Buffy herself comes from a
broken family, and during a period of serious depression, she has a sexually
abusive relationship with the vampire Spike. By that time, Spike has long been
obsessing over Buffy and has been stalking her.
This is the core of the horror in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All too
often, there is no distance between the monsters of the night and the monsters
of our own souls.
Next: A Philosophical Framework for Violence