Violence most often begets more violence

For every action, there is a reaction. The nature of the action determines the nature of the reaction. A violent action usually causes a violent reaction. I believe this is likely pertinent to the recent shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr. in Philadelphia.

I was once involved in an incident in Vietnam during my stint as a battalion surgeon with the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Late one night, I was called to the aid station and arrived to find a very agitated Black infantryman who had been airlifted in because of wild and threatening behavior. The medics were keeping their distance from the soldier, who was pacing, agitated, wild-eyed, fists clenched.

I’d never been in such a situation and was frightened. I could call the military police to have him restrained, but he was so distraught that I feared that would make things worse. I started talking to him, assured him that I was going to help him. I would get him to a safe place. A helicopter would take him to a new psychiatric facility, recently opened to address the terrible psychiatric costs of that war. I was surprised and relieved to see him calm down. He quietly got on the helicopter; my hope is that he got home safely after risking his life for his country.

The shooting death of Wallace reminded me of that night in Vietnam.

I wonder if psychiatric nonviolent help for him might not have resulted in a nonviolent reaction, resulting in life rather than death. Dr. Buzz Sienknecht