In our last post, we talked about a growing mindset we’re seeing, especially among younger generations, in which meaning, trust, and hope are slowly disappearing. That mindset has a name, nihilism, but more importantly, it explains a lot of the behavior we keep reacting to.
Now let’s talk about the harder part.
How this shift can turn into real-world violence.
First, it’s important to understand something.
Most people who feel lost, angry, depressed, or disconnected will never become violent. That’s the baseline we’re seeing across society. But when that feeling becomes deeper, more rigid, and starts shaping someone’s entire identity, the risk changes.
Think of it like background noise versus a clear signal.
When hopelessness and “nothing matters” thinking become normal across a generation, it gets harder to spot the few individuals who are moving toward something darker. But those individuals almost always take it further.
Instead of just feeling frustrated, they become locked into it.
Instead of distrusting things casually, they build their whole worldview around grievance.
Instead of feeling numb, they start craving intensity, recognition, or revenge.
This is where violence can emerge.
When someone no longer believes life has value, it becomes easier to justify harming themselves or others.
When they no longer believe in truth, narratives and conspiracies replace reality.
When they no longer feel connected to people, empathy fades.
When they no longer see a future, consequences lose meaning.
Violence isn’t usually random. It’s often the extreme expression of someone who feels completely detached from meaning, belonging, and hope.
Another key point: we don’t prevent this by treating an entire generation like a threat.
Overreacting, labeling despair as criminal, or putting massive surveillance on young people actually makes things worse. It pushes people further into anger and isolation.
Prevention works when we understand the difference between normal struggle and dangerous escalation.
It works when we look for signs like:
- Rigid thinking that everything is broken and evil
- Obsessing over grievance or blame
- Increasing isolation and hopelessness
- Fixation on violent ideas or dramatic action
- Seeking notoriety or meaning through destruction
When you put this lens on many of the violent incidents we’ve seen over the past few years, the pattern becomes clear.
These weren’t just angry moments. They were often people who had fully disconnected from meaning and replaced it with rage, identity, and extreme narratives.
The bigger takeaway is this:
Violence today is often less about a single ideology and more about a deeper collapse of purpose and connection.
It’s not “senseless.” It’s the far end of a much larger social shift.
If we want to reduce violence, we have to stop only reacting to the final act and start paying attention to the mindset building long before it.
This is what early intervention, real threat assessment, and prevention should center on.
Understanding the root, not just the explosion.
Once you see this progression, you start realizing how many warning signs we’ve been missing.
And more importantly, how much harm could be prevented by catching it earlier?
