{"id":72031,"date":"2025-07-01T12:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T16:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/?p=72031"},"modified":"2026-04-14T18:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:37:58","slug":"medium-prof-copeland-rage-virus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/medium-prof-copeland-rage-virus\/","title":{"rendered":"Medium: Professor Copeland on How \u201cRage Virus\u201d is Infecting US Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a new article published on Medium, BU School of Social Work faculty member Dr. Phillipe Copeland draws a parallel between the fictional “rage virus” in 28 Days Later and the real-world escalation of political violence in the U.S. today. Highlighting examples from the past and present, he explores the need for collective action to stand up against polarization and demonization of people with different viewpoints and identities, and against the normalization of political violence.Excerpted from “The Rage Virus Is Back \u2013 And Not Just in the Movies”<\/a> (Medium, 6\/11\/25) by Phillipe Copeland:<\/p>\n

Historians remind us that political violence is nothing new. In the U.S. for example, the \u201cKnow Nothings\u201d\u00a0encouraged White Protestants to riot against primarily Catholic Irish and Italian immigrants.<\/a>\u00a0The now well-known 1921\u00a0Tulsa massacre<\/a>\u00a0destroyed a thriving Black community. Some have drawn parallels between the January 6, 2021 insurrection, and similar acts of election denialism and violence that\u00a0took place in the 1870\u2019s<\/a>. Others perceive echoes of the 1930s\u2019 political violence and\u00a0rise of authoritarianism<\/a>, in movements using\u00a0the same tactics today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But as the \u201c28\u201d films insist, whether in the past or the present,\u00a0the cost of political violence is high<\/a>. It spreads fear, affecting things like people\u2019s willingness to speak up or to vote. As in the \u201c28\u201d films, never knowing when you could be a target puts you constantly on the defensive, ready to attack at any possibility of threat. Under such conditions, violence becomes a coping strategy, leading to more violence. The results can look apocalyptic. As in the rage virus films, some may survive but no one wins.<\/p>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Phillipe Copeland<\/a> is a clinical associate professor at Boston University School of Social Work specializing in racial justice, abolition, and health equity. His scholarship focuses on antiracist education, trauma, and the intersection of social justice and social welfare, particularly with BIPOC communities. He has contributed to the development of tools like the Anti-Racism Efficacy Scale (A-RES) and has been featured in media outlets such as The Daily Beast, The Boston Globe, and The Hill.<\/p>\n

View More: BUSSW in the Media<\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a new article published on Medium, BU School of Social Work faculty member Dr. Phillipe Copeland draws a parallel between the fictional “rage virus” in 28 Days Later and the real-world escalation of political violence in the U.S. today. Highlighting examples from the past and present, he explores the need for collective action to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25047,"featured_media":45116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7427,7440,4057],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25047"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72031"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80107,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72031\/revisions\/80107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}