police shooting. nonexistent justice. mass shooting. thoughts and prayers. endless imperial wars.glib patriotism. systematic racism. shameful denial. mass incarceration. modern slavery. low wages. national oppression. unfettered capitalism. orthodox corruption. ineffective government. broken system. stolen land. dishonourable history. police shooting. nonexistent justice. mass shooting. thoughts and prayers. endless imperial wars. glib patriotism. systematic racism. shameful denial. mass incarceration. modern slavery. low wages. national oppression. unfettered capitalism. orthodox corruption. ineffective government. broken system. stolen land. dishonourable history. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. police shooting. nonexistent justice. mass shooting. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. thoughts and prayers. endless imperial wars. glib patriotism. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. systematic racism. shameful denial. mass incarceration. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa.modern slavery. low wages. national oppression. unfettered usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. capitalism. orthodox corruption. ineffective government. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. broken system. stolen land. dishonourable history. police shooting. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. nonexistent justice. mass shooting. thoughts and prayers. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. endless imperial wars. glib patriotism. systematic racism. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. usa. shameful denial. mass incarceration. modern slavery. low wages. national oppression. unfettered capitalism. orthodox corruption. ineffective government. broken system. stolen land. dishonourable history. police shooting. nonexistent justice. mass shooting. thoughts and prayers. endless imperial wars.glib patriotism. systematic racism. shameful denial. mass incarceration. modern slavery. low wages. national oppression. unfettered capitalism. orthodox corruption. ineffective government. broken system. stolen land. dishonourable history. police shooting. nonexistent justice. mass shooting. thoughts and prayers. endless imperial wars. glib patriotism. systematic racism. shameful denial. mass incarceration. modern slavery. low wages. national oppression. unfettered capitalism. orthodox corruption. ineffective government. broken system. stolen land. dishonourable history.
Showing posts with label Violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Violence. Show all posts
April 16, 2021
106/365
April 5, 2021
95/365
rainy day
dark sky
lazy couch
passing hour
twitter scrolling
gruesome post
decapitated bodies
whatthehellamiseeingisthisrealhowwillilookawayhowisthisallowedontwitterinthatvillageinour livesi’veneverseenanythinglikeitwewillstillsomehowliveandlaughandgoonwhiletheybleedandthe personpostingsayssomethinginfrenchandatthewritingofthispoemiwillnotknowwherethisis happeningorwhyorbywhomsomethingsimilarhappenedinnovemberinmozambiquetheconflictin cabodelgadoaregioninthenortheastcornerofmozambiquethatisrichinoilandgasintensified significantlylastyearisthisthesamethispostwasinfrenchatleast15civilianshavebeenkilledby militiameninavillageineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongomenarmedwithmachetesattackedthe villageofbulongoinnorthkivuprovinceintheearlyhoursofmondayandsomeofthevictimswere beheadedthiswasismarch
new phone
room painted
shows watched
pie eaten
soft bed
violence distant
the blood was so red
and the heads
looked so real and fake
at the same time.
heart numb
poem written
dark sky
lazy couch
passing hour
twitter scrolling
gruesome post
decapitated bodies
whatthehellamiseeingisthisrealhowwillilookawayhowisthisallowedontwitterinthatvillageinour livesi’veneverseenanythinglikeitwewillstillsomehowliveandlaughandgoonwhiletheybleedandthe personpostingsayssomethinginfrenchandatthewritingofthispoemiwillnotknowwherethisis happeningorwhyorbywhomsomethingsimilarhappenedinnovemberinmozambiquetheconflictin cabodelgadoaregioninthenortheastcornerofmozambiquethatisrichinoilandgasintensified significantlylastyearisthisthesamethispostwasinfrenchatleast15civilianshavebeenkilledby militiameninavillageineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongomenarmedwithmachetesattackedthe villageofbulongoinnorthkivuprovinceintheearlyhoursofmondayandsomeofthevictimswere beheadedthiswasismarch
new phone
room painted
shows watched
pie eaten
soft bed
violence distant
the blood was so red
and the heads
looked so real and fake
at the same time.
heart numb
poem written
October 25, 2016
The Monster in You
I like to think of myself as a peaceful person. I try to avoid conflict. I act in mellow non-confrontational ways. I dare say that I am a pacifist. I have been opposing war as a concept since I was a child. I do not eat animals in order to reduce the amount of violence and the death on the planet. I understand and respect non-violent philosophies from Zen to Ghandi to MLK, so why is that last night as I watching the season premiere of The Walking Dead, I found myself salivating with some primal level need for death and destruction? Where does this masochist need for blood in fiction come from?
I don’t have too many answers in this post, so I was hope to lay out some ideas and here what you all have to say in the comment section.
I have felt this appreciate and thirst for violence before. Namely anytime Ramsey Bolton is on the screen in Game of Thrones. I watch characters like Bolton and Neegan with my jaw to the floor, entrance by their depravity. Not only do I wish to do them harm, thus awakening my need for violence, but I cannot look way from their brutal actions. What will they do next? How much more unacceptable can it be?
The writers for The Walking Dead found a nerve last night and messed with it for nearly an hour. Creating one of the most blood curling, antagonistic, tension filled hours of television of all time. Mairin and I couldn’t look away. Well, Mairin looked away while screaming oh my god. Oh my god, but I was all in. How do you explain a pacifist drooling over The Walking Dead?
I know I am not alone. Many of you out there watch the show as well. Looking at you Brighde, Carol, Mary and other seemingly sane, calm, peaceful people who love them some F'd-up shows. What are your thoughts? How do you make sense of the violence you so thoroughly enjoy in shows like these?
Of course I know that this is fiction and any intelligent person can and should be able to differentiate between reality and fantasy, but can any true self-aware Bodhisattva be entertained, and even thrilled by, the anarchy of violence during the zombie apocalypse? I am curious to hear your thoughts.
September 19, 2016
Another Mandala
I’m not sure you could call what I did today running, seeing that I walked for a lot of the way, but I decided to run home from school today. It was more of a 6.5km shuffle, but it's a start. There were moments of degrading and uncontrollable self-loathing for letting myself lapse to the point of basically starting over, followed by moments of Terry Foxian resolve and determination to get back to the half-marathon state I was in last May. My legs feel okay, heart and lungs are fine, it’s just my head that won’t stop asking, “Why are you doing this again?” I need to convince myself again that I like this torture.
…
I have a canker sore in my mouth that is making the eating of chocolate difficult.
I wish there was something new to try with my facial hair. I am over having it or not having. I am over beards, goatees, soul patches, moustaches. I am over my hair too and over my face and sometimes over myself. How do people go through years of their life looking exactly the same? Being the same?
…
The global narrative- Pipe bombs in Chelsea. Trump. Whatever else is going on is tiresome as well. We are talking to our students about UN development goals and peace and so many beautiful things, while people on Twitter are bitching about not being able to carry guns to kill suspected terrorists, while wishing that they could hang and castrate them in the streets. Ignorance and injustice and anger and violence seem so simple to cure, but we never seem to get the hang of it.
…
Maybe writing on a Monday night suffering from an irritable mouth, while tired and bored, with a slight headache and achy legs, and sore joints and an overall sense of the blahs does not make for interesting writing.
Everyday cannot be filled with rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes life is just a bout against tedious boredom. A maniacal monotony that pounds then hums, leaving giant bruises on your psyche. Wake up. Do the thing. Then that one. Eat lunch. Drink water. Do the thing. Then that one. Eat dinner. Put the kids to bed. Do the thing. Then that one.
Remember your life. Remember you're alive. Remember the days in the woods and under the sea. The cool breezes and setting suns. The full moons. The gentle kisses. The moments of exuberance and joy. Remember the trembling and the fear and the thrill of seeing. Being.
This too shall pass says the monk sweeping away another mandala.
Oh and the Raiders lost a game they should have one. 1-1 here we go.
…
I have a canker sore in my mouth that is making the eating of chocolate difficult.
I wish there was something new to try with my facial hair. I am over having it or not having. I am over beards, goatees, soul patches, moustaches. I am over my hair too and over my face and sometimes over myself. How do people go through years of their life looking exactly the same? Being the same?
…
The global narrative- Pipe bombs in Chelsea. Trump. Whatever else is going on is tiresome as well. We are talking to our students about UN development goals and peace and so many beautiful things, while people on Twitter are bitching about not being able to carry guns to kill suspected terrorists, while wishing that they could hang and castrate them in the streets. Ignorance and injustice and anger and violence seem so simple to cure, but we never seem to get the hang of it.
…
Maybe writing on a Monday night suffering from an irritable mouth, while tired and bored, with a slight headache and achy legs, and sore joints and an overall sense of the blahs does not make for interesting writing.
Everyday cannot be filled with rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes life is just a bout against tedious boredom. A maniacal monotony that pounds then hums, leaving giant bruises on your psyche. Wake up. Do the thing. Then that one. Eat lunch. Drink water. Do the thing. Then that one. Eat dinner. Put the kids to bed. Do the thing. Then that one.
Remember your life. Remember you're alive. Remember the days in the woods and under the sea. The cool breezes and setting suns. The full moons. The gentle kisses. The moments of exuberance and joy. Remember the trembling and the fear and the thrill of seeing. Being.
This too shall pass says the monk sweeping away another mandala.
Oh and the Raiders lost a game they should have one. 1-1 here we go.
July 9, 2016
Ten on Ten
Ten piece of advice for my daughter on her tenth birthday:
1. Leave every space you are in better than you found it.
Whether you are in your own room, a restaurant, a park trail, the beach, a classroom, a sidewalk, a park or a car always pick up after yourself and leave no trace of yourself behind. If you can make it better by picking up other peoples’ trash or pushing in a chair or setting down some flowers, then do it. Sweep if it needs sweeping, wash if it needs washing, tidy when tidiness is needed. Arrange things to make the next person enjoy the space more than you did.
2. Every person has a story and has suffered in ways you need to understand.
Do not judge people or gossip in hurtful ways. You do not know the pain that people may have faced. Put yourself in their shoes and give them the benefit of the doubt. Even when they are mean or cruel, try and understand their anger. Listen when you can and ask questions before you react. Many people in life will act from pain and suffering and they may warrant your wrath, but give them your grace instead. The ugliest people need love too, and sometimes you might be the only one that can give it to them.
3. Do not act violently or in anger.
You will see suffering and injustice that will make you want to hate. You will see ignorance and racism and violence, that is so intense that you will think the only answer is equal amounts of anger and violence, but know this- love and peace will be the only way out of this trap. Even in the face of unspeakable atrocities, your love is the only way forward.
4. There is no right. There are only different ways of seeing things.
Anybody who tells you they know the right way to be, to think, to pray, to believe is not to be trusted. There is no “right” way to exist in the world. Only blinded, close-minded people think the world is so simple as to have a right way to experience it. Take it all in. Listen, trust, believe, explore. Try to balance opposing ways of thinking. Try to make sense of two opposing truths at once.
5. Art, music or a book will always make things better.
You are not the first person in the world. There have been countless others on this journey. They have sung and written and painted and sculpted their love and pain onto vinyl and stone and paper and canvas. Their pain and joy is your pain and joy, learn from it, be swallowed by it. Seek it. Devour it. Love and be loved by it. There is no question that cannot be answered by the exploration and/or creation of art. Music. Books. Dance. It will always be there for you. Create it. Turn yourself inside out and tell your story. It has value and is beautiful and necessary.
6. You are nature.
Never think that you are something different or separate from the ocean and the stars and the moon and the universe and every leaf and bug and animal on the planet. You are the planet. Love yourself and love all life. There is no need to kill. Respect the powerful form of nature that runs through you. Spend time in the forest and the desert and the ocean. Admire and protect every piece of life, from the tiny plankton to the giant whale. Learn about biology and chemistry and zoology, and be sure to spend time in nature. Take hikes, dive, ski, swim in rivers. Marvel at the clouds and the small breezes. Pay attention to shadows and leaves and trees everywhere you look.
7. Be kind even when it feels like unearned.
Smile at strangers. Especially when they have their heads down and scowling. Hold doors for people and let others go first. Pay for people when they are short. Compliment your friends and send handwritten thank you cards. When someone makes you feel bad, forgive them. When they insult you, know that they are dealing with their own insecurities. Go out of your way to make people feel better. Put other people’s needs before your own.
8. Being alone is not the same as being lonely.
Love that voice in your head. It will be with you till the end. Trust your gut. Love yourself. Long and hard. There is no one in the world who will be there for your more often and with more consistency than yourself. Take quiet walks. Watch movies alone. Lose yourself in a book. Eat alone at restaurants. Talk to yourself and ask questions. Never lie to yourself. Trust yourself. Be kind to yourself. You are doing your best. You are enough.
9. Stay away from guns and people who love guns.
Nothing was ever made better by a gun. They are weapons of destruction, anger, violence and pain. You can live your whole life and never even see a gun, I have done it. When people have guns, go somewhere else. If you meet people who glorify or love guns, leave them and find people who love peace and nature. People might say that they are good for hunting or shooting or protection. They are good for nothing. If you are in a place with a gun, move to another place without a gun. Your life will be much lighter and more beautiful if you avoid guns and people who love guns.
10. There is no such thing as race or countries or religions.
You are no better than anyone else for any reason. We are all human beings, regardless of what we believe, where we were born or the color of our skin. Love all people with the same enthusiasm as if they look and think just like you. Don’t believe in dogma or flags or passports. You are a child of the world, a wonder-star in the universe, never limit yourself to something as petty as a nation or a race. Love people. The more oppressed and poor that they are, the more they need your love. Take people in. Love them. Fight with them. March. Protest and stand up for the voiceless. If someone says that they are oppressed, do not question their oppression. People are scared of poverty and so they make excuses to hurt and oppress the poor, but you do not need to be scared. You simply need to listen and love.
1. Leave every space you are in better than you found it.
Whether you are in your own room, a restaurant, a park trail, the beach, a classroom, a sidewalk, a park or a car always pick up after yourself and leave no trace of yourself behind. If you can make it better by picking up other peoples’ trash or pushing in a chair or setting down some flowers, then do it. Sweep if it needs sweeping, wash if it needs washing, tidy when tidiness is needed. Arrange things to make the next person enjoy the space more than you did.
2. Every person has a story and has suffered in ways you need to understand.
Do not judge people or gossip in hurtful ways. You do not know the pain that people may have faced. Put yourself in their shoes and give them the benefit of the doubt. Even when they are mean or cruel, try and understand their anger. Listen when you can and ask questions before you react. Many people in life will act from pain and suffering and they may warrant your wrath, but give them your grace instead. The ugliest people need love too, and sometimes you might be the only one that can give it to them.
3. Do not act violently or in anger.
You will see suffering and injustice that will make you want to hate. You will see ignorance and racism and violence, that is so intense that you will think the only answer is equal amounts of anger and violence, but know this- love and peace will be the only way out of this trap. Even in the face of unspeakable atrocities, your love is the only way forward.
4. There is no right. There are only different ways of seeing things.
Anybody who tells you they know the right way to be, to think, to pray, to believe is not to be trusted. There is no “right” way to exist in the world. Only blinded, close-minded people think the world is so simple as to have a right way to experience it. Take it all in. Listen, trust, believe, explore. Try to balance opposing ways of thinking. Try to make sense of two opposing truths at once.
5. Art, music or a book will always make things better.
You are not the first person in the world. There have been countless others on this journey. They have sung and written and painted and sculpted their love and pain onto vinyl and stone and paper and canvas. Their pain and joy is your pain and joy, learn from it, be swallowed by it. Seek it. Devour it. Love and be loved by it. There is no question that cannot be answered by the exploration and/or creation of art. Music. Books. Dance. It will always be there for you. Create it. Turn yourself inside out and tell your story. It has value and is beautiful and necessary.
6. You are nature.
Never think that you are something different or separate from the ocean and the stars and the moon and the universe and every leaf and bug and animal on the planet. You are the planet. Love yourself and love all life. There is no need to kill. Respect the powerful form of nature that runs through you. Spend time in the forest and the desert and the ocean. Admire and protect every piece of life, from the tiny plankton to the giant whale. Learn about biology and chemistry and zoology, and be sure to spend time in nature. Take hikes, dive, ski, swim in rivers. Marvel at the clouds and the small breezes. Pay attention to shadows and leaves and trees everywhere you look.
7. Be kind even when it feels like unearned.
Smile at strangers. Especially when they have their heads down and scowling. Hold doors for people and let others go first. Pay for people when they are short. Compliment your friends and send handwritten thank you cards. When someone makes you feel bad, forgive them. When they insult you, know that they are dealing with their own insecurities. Go out of your way to make people feel better. Put other people’s needs before your own.
8. Being alone is not the same as being lonely.
Love that voice in your head. It will be with you till the end. Trust your gut. Love yourself. Long and hard. There is no one in the world who will be there for your more often and with more consistency than yourself. Take quiet walks. Watch movies alone. Lose yourself in a book. Eat alone at restaurants. Talk to yourself and ask questions. Never lie to yourself. Trust yourself. Be kind to yourself. You are doing your best. You are enough.
9. Stay away from guns and people who love guns.
Nothing was ever made better by a gun. They are weapons of destruction, anger, violence and pain. You can live your whole life and never even see a gun, I have done it. When people have guns, go somewhere else. If you meet people who glorify or love guns, leave them and find people who love peace and nature. People might say that they are good for hunting or shooting or protection. They are good for nothing. If you are in a place with a gun, move to another place without a gun. Your life will be much lighter and more beautiful if you avoid guns and people who love guns.
10. There is no such thing as race or countries or religions.
You are no better than anyone else for any reason. We are all human beings, regardless of what we believe, where we were born or the color of our skin. Love all people with the same enthusiasm as if they look and think just like you. Don’t believe in dogma or flags or passports. You are a child of the world, a wonder-star in the universe, never limit yourself to something as petty as a nation or a race. Love people. The more oppressed and poor that they are, the more they need your love. Take people in. Love them. Fight with them. March. Protest and stand up for the voiceless. If someone says that they are oppressed, do not question their oppression. People are scared of poverty and so they make excuses to hurt and oppress the poor, but you do not need to be scared. You simply need to listen and love.
July 8, 2016
Even Today
Not too long ago I was swimming in a river with my daughters and my mom and wife at a Zen retreat in the mountains off the coast of California. I was oblivious to the world and the violence it is in the constant state of perpetuating.
Even today…
I still can’t do it.
I have been writing everyday in this space since January, but the words on nights like this don’t help. They don’t make sense. I am so entangled with anger, sadness, despair, guilt, shame, so many emotions that when I sit to articulate them, I end up feeling more lost and confused.
I have been glued to the stories out of Dallas and the opinions and ideas coming out of the events of the last few days.
I feel I have no right to write about such things- I was canoeing on a lake in paradise today for god’s sake.
Tomorrow is my daughter’s tenth birthday and I feel I don’t have the words to untangle the violent, racist, gun-obsessed web that is the very country I have brought her to, so she can “set some roots.”
But what do my selfish worries have to do with the reality that so many people actually living in America have to face? I wanted to come “home” and get a better glimpse of this country, and within a few weeks- #orlando, #altonsterling, # after # after # and more death and hate and more god damn guns.
Maybe someday I could write a coherent, helpful post or essay about what all of this violence means to a nation, but once again, tonight, I can only look on in awe and shame and pity and anger and all human emotions at once.
Find someone out there, doesn’t matter who and love them, even for a few seconds.
Even today…
I still can’t do it.
I have been writing everyday in this space since January, but the words on nights like this don’t help. They don’t make sense. I am so entangled with anger, sadness, despair, guilt, shame, so many emotions that when I sit to articulate them, I end up feeling more lost and confused.
I have been glued to the stories out of Dallas and the opinions and ideas coming out of the events of the last few days.
I feel I have no right to write about such things- I was canoeing on a lake in paradise today for god’s sake.
Tomorrow is my daughter’s tenth birthday and I feel I don’t have the words to untangle the violent, racist, gun-obsessed web that is the very country I have brought her to, so she can “set some roots.”
But what do my selfish worries have to do with the reality that so many people actually living in America have to face? I wanted to come “home” and get a better glimpse of this country, and within a few weeks- #orlando, #altonsterling, # after # after # and more death and hate and more god damn guns.
Maybe someday I could write a coherent, helpful post or essay about what all of this violence means to a nation, but once again, tonight, I can only look on in awe and shame and pity and anger and all human emotions at once.
Find someone out there, doesn’t matter who and love them, even for a few seconds.
June 13, 2016
Never Needed A Gun
"paradise is a world where everything
is a sanctuary & nothing is a gun."
—Danez Smith, from "summer, somewhere"
An American “Muslim terrorist” who was a US citizen with Afghani roots, and had “pledged allegiance” to ISIS, commits the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States, killing 50 black and Latino homosexuals and injuring 50 more, during Ramadan, on the eve of Pride weekend. There are countless complex and broken systems at play here that need unraveling, but I know at least three words that are a good place to start- Acceptance. Education. Love.
All day long, I have been absorbed with twitter feeds and news stories. Watching every group, from every side politicize this tragedy, only to criticize opposing groups of politicizing things in a different direction. The Christian Right, The Muslims, The NRA, The Congressmen and women sending their “thoughts and prayers, as if they didn’t have a more powerful tool at their disposable. As if they were not elected by the people of these United States to legislate safety, justice, or freedom. As if their sole purpose was not to ensure that the citizens of our fine nation didn't have to live in fear of being murdered for simply being a human being.
“Thoughts and Prayers” spoken by people who are powerless is a sad enough statement, but when “Thoughts and Prayers” are the modus operandi of the very people chosen to create and enact laws, well…then it becomes criminal.
But this post was not meant to lay down words that assign blame. I was hoping to avoid the anger and the rage, for at least a few minutes of the day. The finger pointing and self-appreciating of being “right” in the face of such death and destruction feels hopeless.
The web that has been spun from which this monster has been hatched is too tangled for simple answers, but it is clear that we are dealing with a broken culture. And while their are many contributing factors to what has broken American culture to the point where we not only export wholesale violence to every corner of the land both with our military, but also with our cancerous capitalistic system, but now the violence that has made our dreams possible has turned inward. And it is destroying the very fabric of our land. From shootings in churches to Gay clubs. From Ferguson to Trump’s wall to rapes on college campuses, we are a nation suffering from fear and hatred and ignorance. We sit shell-shocked, immobile, numb and powerless.
But it doesn’t have to be this painful or difficult. We live in an age of unprecedented diversity in our nation. We live in the digital information age, where exposure to ideas and people is a swipe or click away. Why are so many of us ruled by fear and hatred? Why do so many people dwell in their insecurities and follow their hate? What the hell are we so afraid of?
This culture of xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, and racism do not happen by accident. These fear-based views of humanity are taught in our churches and our mosques. They are the platforms of our political parties. They are garbled and twisted and spewed from our televisions and “news” networks. We have allowed ourselves to look away from ourselves. We've wrapped ourselves so tightly in a blanket of ignorance and hate for far so long, that we are terrified that we might freeze to death without it.
But what do I know? I have no answers. This is hard and difficult and it hurts. So may groups marginalized, raped, murdered and for what? Really for what? There are so many places in the word where people just get along. They live and let live. Places where people are not doomed by their own fear. Places where the diversity of our species is celebrated and rewarded. It doesn’t have to be so hard America. All you have to do is act from a place of love, understanding, and acceptance. Do you remember how to do that?
Here is a clue, in this place…this place of love and understanding you don’t need your gun. So -please check it at the door, or leave it at your hunting lodge, or better yet melt it down and recycle it into something more useful.
Love has never needed a gun and it never will.
is a sanctuary & nothing is a gun."
—Danez Smith, from "summer, somewhere"
An American “Muslim terrorist” who was a US citizen with Afghani roots, and had “pledged allegiance” to ISIS, commits the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States, killing 50 black and Latino homosexuals and injuring 50 more, during Ramadan, on the eve of Pride weekend. There are countless complex and broken systems at play here that need unraveling, but I know at least three words that are a good place to start- Acceptance. Education. Love.
All day long, I have been absorbed with twitter feeds and news stories. Watching every group, from every side politicize this tragedy, only to criticize opposing groups of politicizing things in a different direction. The Christian Right, The Muslims, The NRA, The Congressmen and women sending their “thoughts and prayers, as if they didn’t have a more powerful tool at their disposable. As if they were not elected by the people of these United States to legislate safety, justice, or freedom. As if their sole purpose was not to ensure that the citizens of our fine nation didn't have to live in fear of being murdered for simply being a human being.
“Thoughts and Prayers” spoken by people who are powerless is a sad enough statement, but when “Thoughts and Prayers” are the modus operandi of the very people chosen to create and enact laws, well…then it becomes criminal.
But this post was not meant to lay down words that assign blame. I was hoping to avoid the anger and the rage, for at least a few minutes of the day. The finger pointing and self-appreciating of being “right” in the face of such death and destruction feels hopeless.
The web that has been spun from which this monster has been hatched is too tangled for simple answers, but it is clear that we are dealing with a broken culture. And while their are many contributing factors to what has broken American culture to the point where we not only export wholesale violence to every corner of the land both with our military, but also with our cancerous capitalistic system, but now the violence that has made our dreams possible has turned inward. And it is destroying the very fabric of our land. From shootings in churches to Gay clubs. From Ferguson to Trump’s wall to rapes on college campuses, we are a nation suffering from fear and hatred and ignorance. We sit shell-shocked, immobile, numb and powerless.
But it doesn’t have to be this painful or difficult. We live in an age of unprecedented diversity in our nation. We live in the digital information age, where exposure to ideas and people is a swipe or click away. Why are so many of us ruled by fear and hatred? Why do so many people dwell in their insecurities and follow their hate? What the hell are we so afraid of?
This culture of xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, and racism do not happen by accident. These fear-based views of humanity are taught in our churches and our mosques. They are the platforms of our political parties. They are garbled and twisted and spewed from our televisions and “news” networks. We have allowed ourselves to look away from ourselves. We've wrapped ourselves so tightly in a blanket of ignorance and hate for far so long, that we are terrified that we might freeze to death without it.
But what do I know? I have no answers. This is hard and difficult and it hurts. So may groups marginalized, raped, murdered and for what? Really for what? There are so many places in the word where people just get along. They live and let live. Places where people are not doomed by their own fear. Places where the diversity of our species is celebrated and rewarded. It doesn’t have to be so hard America. All you have to do is act from a place of love, understanding, and acceptance. Do you remember how to do that?
Here is a clue, in this place…this place of love and understanding you don’t need your gun. So -please check it at the door, or leave it at your hunting lodge, or better yet melt it down and recycle it into something more useful.
Love has never needed a gun and it never will.
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