“There have been periods of history in which episodes of terrible violence occurred but for which the word violence was never used…. Violence is shrouded in justifying myths that lend it moral legitimacy, and these myths for the most part kept people from recognizing the violence for what it was. The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence we humans have ever committed.”
–Gil Bailie
“And so, to the end of history, murder shall breed murder, always in the name of right and honor and peace, until the gods are tired of blood and create a race that can understand.”
–George Bernard Shaw, “Caesar and Cleopatra”
On July 14th, 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, deliberately drove a 19-ton cargo truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. He murdered 84 people and injured more than 300. Bouhlel was shot and killed by police.