Borders don’t have to be proven to be bad for the above “Borders are violence” to be true. But that doesn’t necessarily make them good either. Borders are pissing contests that result in wars, crime and ostracism. They also can help keep a national identity, a sense of stability and protection.

When a border conflict exists in the form of a line that separates us from them, it tends to highlight the pretty arbitrary and hurtful attributes of borders.