A few days ago, I read in the newspaper about another case of a 22-year-old girl being stabbed. She was stabbed because she was listening to music at too high a volume, annoying her attacker.
Recently, several similar incidents have been reported in the media, all involving young people and all for trivial reasons. Some were for looking too long at the girl of their dreams, others for a slightly risqué compliment, etc.
Unfortunately, many young people these days attack their peers with knives they carry with them.
It should be noted that, like all objects, knives do not only have a negative value. They are used in the kitchen, for work; in the hands of a skilled chef, they become something precious.
In primitive societies, they were used to defend against animals and enemies.
Today, in the world of young people and beyond, if we think of the numerous cases of femicide where women are killed with unprecedented ferocity, it seems to be becoming a kind of status symbol.
This tool is perceived as a sign of toughness and strength, especially among young people who feel marginalised.
The episodes of violence that occur between two individuals have no valid reasons, but the spark that triggers them is a trivial, sometimes frivolous motive.
Often, the use of knives – weapons that are easy to obtain – is inherent in individuals associated with youth gangs, in order to become part of them and become affiliated. Here, it is as if this object could be a 'magic wand' against feelings of inner malaise and emotional and social disappointments. And this weapon would make us feel invincible, or perhaps just stronger.
Except for professionals, getting used to carrying a weapon with us can have repercussions on our way of being. We get used to it, and we may increasingly tend towards episodes of aggression towards others.
Leaving the house and carrying a knife with us - sooner or later, at the slightest provocation, we are tempted to use it, thus fuelling fear and increasing the likelihood of becoming a victim ourselves. In the long run, our psyche 'brings out' aspects of ourselves that may have been 'dormant' in hidden corners of our unconsciousness.
The individual ends up engaging in antisocial behaviour. And in the many goals they try to achieve, this behaviour can sometimes be harmful to themselves.
These are individuals who have a normal intellectual level, sometimes even above average.
In my experience of similar cases, referred by the Juvenile Court to the Child Neuropsychiatry Service, episodes of knife violence were associated with a low intellectual level.
These individuals often encounter failure in every initiative they take, thus increasing their sense of frustration.
They generally tend to lie and often exploit others, giving little importance to moral values.
They habitually almost never tell the truth, even when they make a promise (which they usually do not keep), showing no distress and coldly maintaining their positions.
They may be influenced by films and ancestral cultures, which can reinforce their inclination to use such weapons, without being aware of the possible consequences and the potential escalation of violence.
We 'young people of the past' were taught and passed on the ability to react constructively to the difficulties and humiliations that life inevitably brings.
Today, however, it seems that everything is owed to us, that deprivation of anything in this excess of well-being is unbearable.
And so, especially in emotionally unstable individuals, something triggers them to do harm; we are moving towards an insane, sick aggression. Not towards that 'healthy determination' that helps us overcome life's obstacles.
I have often heard from people who came before me, and perhaps also from some reading that I now cannot remember, that the most cruel beast is man. Two souls lurk in his heart: one made of sociability and a drive towards others, the other of jealousy and rivalry, of cruelty towards others.
People with these issues tend to be dishonest, to lie and deceive others, to try to exploit them, forgetting the moral principles they have learned.
These people always consider themselves 'the best'. If this is not perceived, anger rises - consciously or unconsciously.
When they cause harm, they feel no remorse and no guilt.
The line between what is legal and what is not becomes blurred. We tend to act impulsively, without considering the effect of our actions on others.
As a result, we sink lower and lower. We believe that others are only there to help us get what we want.
Often, violent or even sadistic behaviour is associated with a certain pleasure.
And here we also tend to participate in clashes with 'power'.
On a collective level, just look at the recent events in Turin, where violence is directed at law enforcement officers, those who represent the rules and seek to restore legality.
Without adhering to any ideology, I am personally convinced, leaving aside party politics, that limits must be restored from childhood. In this way, a child can grow up with a clear distinction between what is good and what is evil.
Dr Francesco Giovannozzi, Psychologist-Psychotherapist.
