Fight and death in conflict studies

¶ … Death

Human beings appear to be fascinated with death. Throughout history, whether observing men in staged battles, lynchings, or executions, people have gathered to witness the end of another human life. At first glance, there is no explanation for this macabre behavior. However, upon closer examination, it is clear that the very human need for dominance is behind the fascination with watching people kill each other.

The fights in the gladiator arenas reinforced dominance in two ways. The first way was that the spectators were separated from, and dominant to, the men fighting in the arena. In addition, the spectators gained dominance over each other when their gladiator caused the death of the gladiator someone else was supporting. Mankind continues to do this on a regular basis; however people do it with feigned death matches, sporting events, rather than actual deaths.

Executions worked in a different way; those killed were criminals, and the people in the crowds felt superior to them because of that fact. This feeling of superiority was reinforced when the spectators could watch the executioner, who stood in their place, end the accused's life. In this way, the spectators had actual and vicarious authority over the accused.

Like executions and fights in the gladiator arena, lynchings were done to make a dominant group feel superior. Lynchings, while allegedly done to avenge a particular incident, generally had a broader motive: to reinforce the concept of white superiority. By showing the extra-legal ability of whites to end black lives, without fear of punishment or reprisal, whites could demonstrate their feeling of racial superiority.