Bowling for Florida to Ban Guns and Question Violence!!

Published Wednesday, 21st February, 2018 | By Susan AKA Peacefull

Bowling for Florida to Ban Guns and Question Violence!!

Published Wednesday, 21st February, 2018 | By Susan AKA Peacefull | Edit

When I studied Peace Studies at La Trobe University, I recall Dr. Tom Weber speaking about guns. We discussed if the gun is the problem? Is it an object? Is it us that holds the gun and shoots? This course was all about exploring nonviolence. It was one of the most profound courses I had the privilege of attending as it opened my mind to solutions to violence and repression in all its forms.

The gun is not the problem. The problem is the fear that drives a society to arm itself in the false belief that arms protect people rather than the reality of arms creating greater insecurity. I recall when I was in San Diego, US in 2013. I was staying with Rotarians near a navel base at Port Loma. I recall the large aircraft carriers rolling gently almost majestically into the harbour. I had to remind myself that these are not just large ships they are deadly in warfare. I grounded myself in the reality of why these ships exist. We can so easily romance war when in truth it is not about loving each other but finding enemies to give us a sense of power. The real power is quite different. At the time there were media reports of Christopher Dorner who had gone on a rampage and killed four and wounded three people. One of the victims was the daughter of a Los Angeles Police Department Captain. See the story here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Dorner_shootings_and_manhunt

I observed every media channel reporting over and over how dangerous this man is. I thought about operant conditioning (programming). People were warned not to walk on the street and the fear was ramped up. I am a peace fellow and part of my work is to face fear. So I went for walks (I do this at night too). I chose not to live in fear whilst the city around me was panicking as images of a wild, violent, dangerous man permeated their thoughts as real and disturbed the peace of their lives. Now others would argue that you have to be scared, that this is rationale. That it is sensible to warn people, that it is wise to stay in doors. Only a fool goes outside. I guess I am a fool, I would say it depends on how you choose to live your life. I do not allow others to determine my state of mind and I choose my thoughts. I do not want to add to the fear, I wish to remain in a state of peace and in the reality of now (what is real). That means right now I am safe. I am not unsafe walking out my door. Something may or may not happen. I could be hit by a car (likely as an Aussie looks the wrong way often). I allow life to unfold I am not controlling life, just allowing it as a flow. Part of my work has been to explore near death (those who have died and come back) which states through research that we live on after death, that love is the purpose of this life. So what I am saying here is that life is meant to unfold and I have no control over that. I can choose my thoughts and change the quality of my life in every moment. I can live in fear or love. I am choosing love to the best of my ability. Of course I have moments but my desire and goal is to love under all conditions.

Fear is very powerful and palpable when believed and it is the reason why people arm themselves. It is the reason why the Industrial Military Complex is funded to the tune of nearly 1 trillion per year, it would be wise to remember former soldier President Dwight Eisenhower’s comments refer http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ike-was-right-all-along-the-danger-of-the-military-industrial-complex-2186133.html It is the reason why the Australian government has chosen to allocate $200 billion of taxpayers dollars to fight a threat that is not here right now. I note Lockheed Martin on the news. It is an imagined future they fund with lethal consequences for civilians. I am conscious of the law of attraction – what we think about we bring about, what we focus on expands. This means as you look for threats you will see them. As you look for peace you will find it. So consciousness reveals to you whatever you believe. Are we the subject of the world or the creator (author) of the one we manifest consciously or unconsciously? I recognise that all thought creates. That is what I know today. So we all definitely choose the world we live in and co-creating in the future. I envisage a world solving its problems, taking responsibility, learning to access inner peace and envisaging global harmony. I feel it. Feeling is not a throw away word, it is where we feel the world and it is in the emotional sphere that we create. Those who are at war will focus on it intensely, they will look for flaws in the enemy, weaknesses, they will savage the argument, they will demonise, they would build a case for war. That includes those in a society who focus on violent video games, watch violent videos, think negatively, bully, enact domestic violence and community violence (brawls, one hit punches, neighbour disputes, abuse), all of this is war in its many forms. It is to fight against something or what is not wanted. As you fight it you put in firmly in place. This is a universal law. To embrace, to invite, to allow is what de-escalates tension and you start to see solutions arise as you no longer fear what is not wanted. You recognise the world is based on both fear and love and you choose.

In Peace Studies we learn about the escalation of arms. One side arms up then the other side has to arm up as they fear the vulnerability of defenselessness, then the other side gets more arms, creates sophisticated weapons, the other responds and on it goes. This is the basis of the arms race. Fear drives this accumulation of weaponry, it is primarily a male game as it is socialised as male power, manhood and patriarchal control. Women are psychologically oriented in different ways and their role models are not armed or aggressive. However, I note young female images are becoming more violent as they emulate this as power. Of course all violence is powerlessness parading as power. All abuse is pain and fear within projected. If a person or group had power they wouldn’t need to gain it through creating fear of control over others. The most afraid people are the ones who encourage arms or find ways to fight. Insecurity is what drives the need for power. I recall the film Bowling for Columbine, produced by journalist Michael Moore an activist questioning government power and highlighting corruption. This film talks about the Columbine shooting in the US. I recall watching the footage and seeing these guys walking around casually shooting students. It was horrific to see this, really haunting. I wondered at the mindset that feels no compassion for the frightened students on the ground. That feels the power that feels better than powerlessness and hopelessness. That makes the decision for life or death of another in a moment. What drives this type of psychopathic behaviour? This is a critical question. Gun control is less important as naturally demand will stop when people realise they are fuelling violence through arms.

In my own work I am exploring emotional disconnection as part of my peace work to investigate why people do not respond compassionately to the suffering of others. I contemplate military training to dehumanise soldiers so they can kill civilians (90% of fatalities in war). I have personally interviewed military personnel as part of my media work and discovered growing percentages of them with post traumatic stress disorder, as killing is not natural. In Men That Stare at Goats (starring George Clooney) refer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats there is a scene when they first land in Vietnam. The soldiers are new recruits. They see a Viet Cong and the commander says ‘shoot’ urgently. They are slow to do it then shoot over the person’s head. They all missed. He stood there shocked and then was shot by that lone person. Lying bleeding he had a vision of a woman saying ‘the gentleness is the strength’. This is a true story. This then became the beginning of his search for the real power. He created the New Earth Army who were tasked to be agents for peace and nonviolence, in the prevention of war. Reagan apparently supported this unit as he was interested in the paranormal. They developed what was called ‘super powers’ and recognised this potential was only accessible through positivity and love.

I met a group of former soldiers who were ‘refusniks’ those who stand up against war. They were sending a clear message to their government that the war they participated in was not about freedom but based on business agendas. It is not surprising to see that the US Defense Department is joined with Energy, is it not surprising to see wars in the Middle East where most of the world’s oil is. Thus the fusion of industry and military which is not in defence of a country but used to open new markets by force not competition which is supposedly the basis of what is freedom. Trade was supposed to replace war but became another theatre.

So how does this link to shootings in schools? I go back to Bowling for Columbine. Michael Moore powerfully highlights in Columbine the Lockheed Martin factory in this area. Refer http://www.lockheedmartinjobs.com/military.aspx He talks to a PR person about the shooting. The guy shows remorse and speaks of funding programs to help the community. Michael tries to show him the link between murder globally and murder locally and the mindset of war. Of course the PR guy seeks to avoid the obvious as this doesn’t help the brand image sanitised by female CEO’s and focusing on protecting people (the good). This is how we solve problems through violence or indeed extending power through a formula that has been going on for 1,000′s of years. Violence is both overt and covert, it emerges from negative thoughts of harm for another emerging from fear of weakness. Revenge is a feature of this. Insecurity fuels it as they seek for certainty through control. The argument will go along the lines of arming keeps us safe from enemies. Keep the wolves from the door. Yet when people are affected directly on the ground they will become angry and demand it to stop! Can they look beyond their own backyard and extend this sentiment to global warfare, it is indeed the same thing. The violent video games were produced by the military as part of their cyber training. Can people see the links? Can they see their own taxes going into the extension of this type of violence around the world? Is it right (good guys) or wrong (bad guys) to kill civilians in Syria? To kill children in schools? To kill Sudanese? Rwandans? Chechens? Somali’s? and the list goes on. Is it fine to destroy other families, homes in cities in the name of so called ‘freedom’? Does this bring true freedom? Is freedom – freedom of thought, lifestyle, religion, philosophy or belief? I think of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here. How does violence, torture and fear make the Syrian, US, Russian or Saudi people free? Can you have a free Syrian army? Is it possible to find freedom through violence? Is it the freedom to extend market capitalism?

What if violence attracts more violence? What if it moves us away from true freedom which exists in a complete state of inner peace and fearlessness. Can you imagine living like that? What would you do?

I recall a brief moment noticing a documentary the other night where a beautiful Syrian father was speaking about his precious precious children, that the only thing that matters is that they were safe. Sounds like a loving parent. His house was in rubble. He said that can be rebuilt, his children’s lives were far more important. He had his priorities in order. Children first. He sent his children secretly to a teacher (no schools) so they could learn to read and write. The ISIS/L movement is another Taliban and I’d be interested to know more about who is behind the rising of this group in endless wars of terror. I know that the Taliban were the orphan children from the madrassas in Pesha’war’ (I see war in that), Pakistan. I know that the US and Saudi’s funded the Islamists to fight the Russians (cold war). Creating another front. Osama bin Laden was actually trained by the CIA. Charlie Wilson’s war shows Senator Charlie Wilson influenced by Joanne Herring the wealthy Texan Christian socialite who wanted religious freedom in Afghanistan. She was lobbied by the Pakistani government. She was honorary consult to Pakistan. Check Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War She used her influence and connections to ensure the secret black budget at the Pentagon (not accountable to the American people) was increased to the tune of $1 billion dollars to fund the Afghans. This budget grew because the arms dealers in Israel made money as they secretly sold Russian weapons to the Afghans to ensure the weapons were not identified as coming from the US. The Saudi’s were interested in the oil and profits in an alliance with the US, President Carter at that time and later the Bush family. Refer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbusto_Energy The Saudi’s funded US $1 for every US $1 (50:5O). Now the weapons flooded into Afghan hands and the Afghans were trained to use ground to air heat seeking shoot down missiles to bring down Migs and helicopters, this changed the course of the war. The Americans saw this as the extension of the Cold War and justified their input on the basis of defenseless Afghans who have a right to religion. They were wanting the Russians to be bankrupted by downing their military aircraft. The same happened to the US in Vietnam. The public of course pay taxes for this but have no say and are only informed by nationalist information (unless they look for independent sources). At the end of this film it is sobering. After the blood lust was over, they kicked the Russians out of Kabul, cheered and felt like heroes, Charlie was given an honorary award by the intelligence community. Charlie with the advice of Gust Lascaris Avrakotos (CIA case officer who was pushing Charlie to help the people) attempted to gain $1 million in funding for rebuilding of schools, fifty percent of the citizens were under 20 (children). From a crowded room of men loving war it was reduced to 5 men indifferent to social policy. He asked for the $1 million and one of his colleague responds using the wrong name of the country and asking are we still going on about this? The film ends with the statement of:

“…These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world… and then we fucked up the end game….”

This was the rebuilding of a country absolutely destroyed. It was to rebuild the schools so the children have a future. Now today we still have the Taliban menacing the civilians (same backers as ISIL). The heroin trade is central to this. https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-10-15/afghanistans-taliban-and-isis-have-same-funding-model-drugs The Huffington Post discusses the drugs, I can feel myself recalling Laos in South East Asia. Here is there article https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/how-the-taliban-gets-its_b_8551536.html

I can then feel myself moving to ICE on the streets. All are connected to the same energy of violence, greed and disconnected humanity in the name of profit and power. This is the rabbit hole Americans must go down in order to begin to take responsibility for the violence on the planet emanating from the terror-ism within themselves. This is what fear and ideologies do. The same applies to my own country who are now actively expanding their participation in the arms trade. Of course this is the way you attract war to your own country and then say, see we need to arm up, not realising the escalation and focus on fear and war attracts it to you. That is why fear is promoted around the world to make people frightened enough to support diminishment of civil liberties, supportive of excessive expenditure on war rather than welfare or social policy, this is what creates the conditions for endless wars of terror that the few feed off and the many suffer through.

So we are at a choice point!

Trump despite how he is perceived and his clear capitalist values to win at all costs, is indeed inspiring movements around the world. The #metoo movement is the beginning of women finding their power. There is a tide turning. The indiscriminate murders of students in Florida are activating the young ones who are increasingly disempowered at universities through banning protest and their realisation of a world that is out of control and multinationals that have no concept of shared power. We are at a precipice of losing our humanity if this continues. Protest is absolutely essential for the maintenance of democracy and the de-escalation of violence. As I learned from my wise teacher at La Trobe University (Peace Studies), protest is what provides a release to a pressure valve, it is essential that dissent is aired and cleared for healthy community and for diverse voices to be heard rather than violent insurrection. Calls against freedoms such as protest are remnants of fascism in the form of unquestioned power that believes its views and activities matter.

No power can continue without the consent of the people. They are the real power who do not know they have power. The fear in government is the rising of this power. As Gandhi said:

Mahatma Gandhi

“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.”

― Mahatma Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth