A Refresher on Narratives & Violence
This refresher guide focuses on Over Zero’s core area of expertise: Unpacking the narrative patterns and underlying psychosocial dynamics that precede and occur throughout identity-based violence.
We release this guide in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli government’s ongoing assault on Gaza – violence that has collectively killed tens of thousands and displaced millions more. As we’ve supported our partners in better understanding and addressing the dangerous narratives playing out in the United States related to this violence, they have requested written guidance on the core concepts surrounding communications and violence for their work and for personal reflection.
Our hope is that this guide is a very small contribution in supporting partners who are leading their communities in finding a different way forward, toward rejecting identity-based violence and acknowledging, valuing, and celebrating our shared humanity. We share it with humility and compassion, noting that the violence abroad and here at home affects many of our partners and their communities directly.
You can download the guide here.
Words make worlds. Amid the deep grief, fear, division, and anger that characterize this moment, our words matter more than ever. It is easy to feel that in moments of intense emotion and high stakes–such as this one–exceptions or justifications can be made. It is in fact just the opposite. In these moments, our words can most directly lead to further violence. These moments mandate that we take the strongest care to use our words responsibly, and to proactively address communication that paves the way for violence.
As violence prevention practitioners committed to a world free from identity-based violence and other forms of group-targeted harm, our underlying values and longstanding work teach us that mass violence against civilians is never justified. We also know that neither grief nor love is zero-sum. We grieve for the over 1,200 Israelis killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, the 250,000 displaced, and the 240 taken hostage, 135 still held in Gaza. We grieve for the over 20,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, and the millions more missing, displaced, trapped, and facing a deepening humanitarian crisis and siege. We grieve for the over 275 Palestinians killed and more displaced in the West Bank by Israeli settlers and security forces. And we grieve for the pain and trauma that victims, survivors, and their families and communities now carry. We hold close the Jewish, Arab, and Muslim communities facing spikes in anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab violence and incidents globally, including in the U.S., and note these trends with great concern and alarm.