War is US
Go ahead, make my day
--Sudden Impact (1983)
What if I had a spear?
--Bowling for Columbine (2002)
___________________
Signe's cartoon shows a bullet with various American sites of gun violence, and the caption, "Does not discriminate by race, creed or national origin." Except when it does. Maybe we should not use the word "discriminate", but "select" or "target".
Why does this political cartoon not include Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and all the other places in which the U.S. government kills people with firearms every day? We act shocked when the violence on our home ground is occasionally fed to us in the headlines, but that is a disingenuous posture. Violence is us.
We focus on the local and obvious while ignoring the larger problem, which is: We are a society which officially condones violence.
We are engaged in an illusion when we think to turn violence on and off. We are not separate from that anger or violence. We cannot hold it and only express it over there, or only sublimate it via some word or action. We are violent, and until we find a way to understand that, violence continues, sometimes more, sometimes less spectacularly. The National Rifle Association's unofficial motto, "guns don't kill people -- people kill people" is half right; the modality does not matter -- if violence is there, it will find expression.
We often call violence a good when expressed as competition, or protection born of divisiveness or a sense of high and mighty righteousness, but it is all violence, expressed in more or less socially acceptable forms. Thinker J. Krishnamurti said:
Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear. So violence isn’t merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper, and we are inquiring into the very depths of violence. When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent.
And we do these things every day of the week.
--Jim & Lisa
Labels: exporting violence, krishnamurti on war, socially sanctione violence, U.S. violence, war is us
posted by rangeragainstwar at 8:40 PM
5 Comments:
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My dad is from Waycross, just across the Okefenokee from you. One of the first bits of education he imparted to me was the wisdom of native son Walt Kelly.
Has avedis been sprung yet from his predicament, any updates?
bb
bb,
Walt Kelly saw it, too.
I'm sure avedis will appreciate your concern; I am certain he will update us soon.
I do appreciate your concern bb. Not much to update other than I contacted the NRA and they recommended a lawyer in our area. My better half and I are meeting the gentleman for the first time this afternoon.
His initial opinion, offered during our phone conversation, is that jail time is unlikely, but it is good to be prepared just in case. Also, it is good to make a strong show of force so that any plea agreements will not involve an unreasonable fine.
We would like to obtain a dismissal, but would be fairly happy with a plea of no contest and community service in lieu of a fine (we really cannot afford a fine at this point. I paid for my father's hospice stay and all final costs out of pocket and it was a big financial hit).
On the off chance that they want to be jerks about this, the NRA civil rights defense fund is potentially available to take this well beyond what the local yokels ever imagined possible. I want guys in a row boat to know that we can call in fire on them from 16 inch guns if necessary.
First hearing is May 1st. That's when we will have a better sense of how they want to play.
avedis
BTW, that is a great krishnamurti quote. The longer I live, the more I appreciate the sentiment.
avedis
Thank you for appreciating K's thoughts. I believe his teachings have a lot to tell us.
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