Violence: Missing The Elephant In The Room

This morning, 27 people (possibly more) were killed on a school shooting rampage. A large number of the the victims were children.

Another mass shooting... more fucked up shit and more completely unnecessary death!

I will keep all victims in my thoughts. To perfectly honest, events like this one are always on my mind now. Increasingly often, I just go through the day expecting disaster to strike at any moment. I just can't ignore things. I am deeply responsive to the world, and it is impossible to do that without feeling heartbroken and deeply saddened very often, just as the social psychologist Erich Fromm said.

I know many people will likely disagree with the timing of what I'm about to say, but it's really the only way we can TRULY want to honor the tragically untimely deaths of all these shootings.

It is extremely frustrating how everyone seems to limit the issue to gun control. Gun control is just a symptom of a MUCH larger problem.

Take a good, long look at the USA.

It's an aggressive, vicious, and brutal empire. Among other things, it:
- glorifies militarism and war
- zealously worships cutthroat competition, egotism, and rugged individualism (a ripe environment for utter sociopathy)
- mercilessly vilifies and dehumanizes the poor and downtrodden, as well as pretty much anybody it decides it doesn't like
- ridicules or otherwise drowns out all who try to bring about beneficial changes
- consistently supports many of the worst dictatorships on the planet
- constantly invades and bullies other nations
- uses whatever means it can (military, economic, political, black ops, etc.) in order to not only gain more influence, power, and resources, but also to promote the pinnacle of the ideals of the age-old "free market" (read: glorified Social Darwinism)
- constantly lies about pretty much everything to its own people and the rest of the world

Is it REALLY just an unfortunate coincidence that this same empire also has one of the highest domestic rates of violence (particularly gun violence) in the developed world?

Furthermore, consider this: the nation has been cutting social welfare programs for decades, and poverty and social inequality has skyrocketed as a result. Social inequality is a huge contributor to psychosocial stress, which in turn is strongly linked to violence.

Starting to get the picture?

But nobody wants to address this issue. Because the moment you start doing so, you start talking about... *GASP!*... social change! OMG, we can't be having that! Then everyone will actually have to take some fucking responsibility and face the world of bullshit!

Getting Values Straight

I am well aware that many people, especially libertarians, absolutely disdain the very concept of government and how, past and present, people blindly and religiously worship and serve government. Believe me, in many ways, I myself am consumed with utter disdain for the state and what it does.

I also understand that people are extremely alert for any signs of Marxism, especially the sicknesses that led to the Soviet Union, Maoist China, and others. I am sympathetic, though I lost A LOT of tolerance and patience for this attitude, largely because of though the sheer paranoia, social destruction, and lack of progress caused by rabid anti-communist impulse.

But what all of these folks share is a common and severe lack of a crucial understanding:

Human cooperation, social services, collective action, and the very concepts of compassion and unity are NOT the same as the evils of statism and totalitarian dystopia! Those values don't LEAD to those nightmares; when utilized en masse, responsibly, and effectively, those values PREVENT them! They are NOT negative things at all! They are in fact extremely POSITIVE AND NECESSARY things!

So knock it off with the demonization of any type of action for the collective good and for as many human beings as possible! 

Furthermore, know this: by dismissing any form of large-scale cooperation and humane, compassionate solutions as "statism" or "Marxism", you are playing right into the hands of the biggest religion and cause of death and destruction of all: the free market. This form of economic and social order has existed in one form or another since the Neolithic Revolution. It is a completely self-referencing pattern of abysmal logic and zero relevance to our modern world that is little more than glorified Social Darwinism.

When you are making the exact same arguments and vilifying the exact same things that neoliberals like Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys do, you know you need to re-evaluate whether you're on the right side...

Thanksgiving Legacy: JFK

I understand it is Thanksgiving, but people must always remember the significance of this day.

On November 22, 1963, 49 years ago on this day, we lost a great man. He was certainly far from saintly, and he had more than his fair share of wrongs and failings.

Many accounts of this man have unfortunately fallen victim to blindly romanticized myths or vilification and pure character assassination.

But I'll tell you the truth:

Towards the end of his life, this man experienced an awakening similar to what I and many others have had over the recent years. He recognized that humanity had great capacity for peace and cooperation, and that the dysfunctional system of competition, war, and profit was the real impediment to our progress.

Like us, he knew that the real enemy was not certain policies, individuals, groups, nations, or institutions, but the very foundations of how humans lived their lives. And, in his own ways, he began to work to change things.

Then he was brutally murdered in cold blood. Make no mistake: it was not a "lone nut" at all. It was the system.

May your soul rest in peace, John F. Kennedy. Thank you for giving us hope and doing your part to buy us time.

Those of us trying to truly do justice for you and what you stood for may face scorn and ridicule, but our numbers grow every day.

As for everyone reading this, the way to really show your gratitude is to continue to wake up, and recognize that drastic transformation is needed for a better and more humane world, one that JFK and many others struggled for.

And if and when you can, read this book:

It is by far the best on JFK and his death!

The El Salvadorian Spirits Live On!

On this day, 23 years ago, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter were murdered in cold blood. Soldiers of the El Salvadorian Army stormed their home, dragged them outside, and viciously gunned them down.

Of course, few people talk about the mass murders in El Salvador at all, let alone the November 16, 1989 massacre. El Salvador, after all, was an American client state; it was fighting the EVIL, DREADED “Marxists”…

Or rather, that’s what the ignorant drones and/or death squad apologists would say.

The real, and enlightened, response is “TOTAL FUCKING BULLSHIT!”

The El Salvadorian army was nothing more than a massive mob of mafia enforcers for the gang for the rich and powerful sociopaths euphemistically known as the “government.”

Even worse, though the fact that the murdered Jesuits (or really any of the El Salvadorians butchered by the army for that matter) were neither Marists nor any sort of malevolent threat in the slightest is bad enough, the largely unknown truth remains the real kicker.

One of the Jesuits, Father Ignacio-Martin Baro, was not just a priest. He was also a prominent social psychologist. The most crucial aspect of his work was the development of a concept known as liberation theology.

Father Ignacio Martin-Baro

Liberation theology, in short, was the method of people working together to solver their own problems. They would take control of their own lives, recognize that they are both individuals and inter-connected with all other human beings and the world around them, and cooperate to solve various social problems and make the world a better place.

Wow, a way of life that allows human beings people to improve everyone’s lives by promoting peace, logic, compassion, and cooperation… what kind of human being would possibly be against that?

Oh, right. We can’t be having this “Marxist” propaganda. Then people will start asking questions and quickly realize that the sick, twisted system of competition for everything (especially survival) that inherently leads to violence, dishonesty, manipulation, lack of empathy, and countless other social ills would have to go ASAP.

This is the true reason why the Martin-Baro, his fellow Jesuits, and countless others were murdered. Like Archbishop Oscar Romero, who had been murdered by the same gangsters in 1981 for trying to speak up for the poor, they were a threat to the Social Darwinists, the authoritarians, and (most of all) the neoliberal reactionaries, both in El Salvador and in the West in general.

Archbishop Oscar Romero

Thankfully, the lives and deaths of the many martyrs in El Salvador and other countries struggling against the cancer of neoliberalism have not been in vain. Their ideas have given humanity a new path and hope, and a massive awakening is occurring all across the world.

Rest in peace Father Martin-Baro, Archbishop Romero, and all your friends and comrades! You have given us a great gift in the form of inspiration and plans to save and improve our future. And for that, you have our eternal gratitude.

The Truest Soldier Of Them All

On this day, November 11, we remember many brave and amazing men and women. I highly respect them all and I truly appreciate everything they stand for, even if I don't agree with how they are often used.


There is one truly exceptional soldier I would like to thank to high heaven, though:

Major General Smedley Darlington Butler.

This man not only fought bravely and honorably (and kicked a lot of ass), but later on he also learned (from his own experiences) the reality about the less-than-noble nature and purposes of the overwhelming majority of wars. That's really saying something coming from him, the most decorated solider in US history.

He detailed these priceless truths in a packet fittingly titled War Is A Racket.

Furthermore, he recognized that battles for a better world are not limited to foreign lands; they are a domestic fight as well. At home, he fought for human rights and social welfare programs for all Americans in the face of severe slander from the mainstream ("socialist," "anti-American," "Bolshevik," "subversive," etc... you know, all the usual bullshit).

And here's something you'll NEVER hear about in the MSM:

Butler's perhaps greatest achievement was that he gave the USA some breathing room when a bunch of corporate gangsters and sociopaths tried to overthrow FDR and implement pure, unbridled fascism in the US (it should be noted that these same forces were among the most powerful and important factors that helped bring fascism to Europe). The conspirators approached Butler and asked him to lead the coup because he was immensely popular with the troops, especially veterans. But then something unexpected happened: Smedley refused to sell his soul, and he blew the whistle on the plot to Congress!

Of course, it was all hushed up in the Ministry Of Truth, but the Congressional investigation fully confirmed Butler's testimony and the extreme extent of the danger in its final internal report.

His sacrifice bought America the time it needed to develop incredible achievements in social welfare, education, public health, and many other areas crucial to society's well-being. These gifts did the people so much good and were something to be treasured and nurtured... at least, until they started being reversed in the last few decades...

We should not merely remember this man. We should continue to fight for what he stood for, while never forgetting who the true villains are: the market and competition themselves.

If anything, considering what's happening now, we should use Smedley Butler's sacrifice as even more ammunition to fight the cancer of neoliberalism. The "reforms" of that poisonous ideology are destroying everything good that America and numerous other nations created and nurtured with very positive results throughout the 20th century up until the present. It is an understatement to say that the consequences of neoliberalism are devastating, both on human beings and the environment.

We need to fight off this sick culture of competition. It is unproductive, inefficient, and utterly destructive and unhealthy. We must work for a society founded on cooperation and the other virtues of humanity. Smedley knew that... and so should we!

Always In The Matter

I’m a big fan of music. Not only do I listen to it a lot, but I also like to analyze it and its meaning. Quite often, during situations that seem appropriate to me, it will play in my head. I won’t lie: I really do wish real life were like the movies, where music plays out loud during critical or epic moments.

Oh, yeah. The wind will be blasting “Here Comes The Sun” into your ears in no time!

One of my favorite songs is one that was introduced to me by a good friend from Scotland: “Together In Electric Dreams” by the Human League.

Not only is the song great to play while chilling or driving, but the lyrics also contain insightful meanings. The song is about people inspiring each other and always being there for each other. More importantly, it talks about how strong bonds and true human connections never fade over distance.

That’ll come in handy if I’m ever stranded here…

The most incredible aspect stems from the eponymous lyrics “together in electric dreams.” This line could refer to the various forms of electronic communications that allow people to keep better contact than ever before.

For me, however, it represents something much deeper:

Human beings are all made of matter. We contain atoms, particles, ions… just like everything else in the universe, living or not.

As the late George Carlin said:

“… If it's true that we are all from the center of a star, every atom in each of us from the center of a star, then we're all the same thing. Even a coke machine or a cigarette butt in the street in Buffalo, is made out of atoms that came from a star. They've all recycled thousands of times, as have you and I. And therefore, it's only me out there, so what is there to be afraid of? What is there that needs solace seeking? Nothing. There is nothing to be afraid of because it's all us…”

No matter what happens, I will never truly leave anyone close to me, and they will never leave me. And none of you will ever leave each other.

"Hey it’s me! I was once your best friend… or, at least, part of him…"

We are all inter-connected.

We must never forget that fact. Not only is it an important moral, spiritual, and scientific lesson throughout our personal lives, but it is also something we need to implement it into our society as a whole. We must truly heed it and live by it if we are to create a better and more humane world.

“I’m telling you, honey, he’s out there… somewhere! Just, uh… look more to the right! Yeah, I think he’s at… that star, right there!”

Hurricane Sandy: Reflections

Hurricane Sandy has come and done what all hurricanes tend to do: sweep in, destroy a lot of things, and move on. While causalities are thankfully fairly low this time, much damage has been wreaked on property and infrastructure, especially in New York. People are, understandably, pretty shaken and spooked.

I fear natural disasters just as much as anyone does. I am very lucky and glad that none of my friends or family were hurt. Also, I know full well that the destruction caused by hurricanes and other natural disasters can not only be crushing but also REALLY annoying in the MANY setbacks it causes.

Yet in some ways, I really do respect hurricanes like Sandy and their impacts.

Now, before anyone gets indignant or offended, I’ll explain.

People tend to have a lot of fears. Many of these sources of nightmares are regularly displayed on the mainstream media: terrorists, school shooters, muggers, rapists, serial killers, drunk drivers, etc.

A variety of threats, sure, but they all share something in common: they are man-made or man-originated threats. Against these things, we can take safeguards… we can make laws… we can change things and begin to address the causes of these dangers.

We can at least somewhat control these things.

Emphasis on “somewhat”

We can’t control nature... at all.

No matter how civilized, no matter how organized, no matter how mature we may be, we can never outmaneuver the force that gave us life. It has its own agenda, one the human mind is beyond comprehending. Thus, we’re doomed to follow it and its dictatorship of laws.

You WILL fall down for your clumsiness, dumbass!

It is a reminder of the vulnerability of humanity, and the utterly random and chaotic nature of our universe. It is capable of anything anytime; don’t ever let yourself be lulled into thinking otherwise.

Just ask the dinosaurs.

To sum it up: humans may be bastards, but nature is a BITCH!

Especially you, wind! You’re a total fuckwad!

Are We Truly Against Bullying?

Rarely do more than a few days go by without me hearing about another victim of some sort of bullying, whether passive or active. Many of them haven taken their own lives because simply trying to get by another day was too painful and miserable. It is a truly depressing, heartbreaking, and utterly horrible reality in today’s world. As someone who was severely psychologically bullied as a very young boy, I can completely relate to the many victims, and my heart goes out to them and to those hurt with them.

I have noticed that many people out there have taken enormous action to promote awareness of the sheer amount of bullying that occurs every day in schools across America and other nations. This activity has become especially prominent on social networking sites like Facebook. As a result, the campaign to raise awareness and work to prevent bullying seems to having a significant amount of successes. Several major popular and highly successful films have reached large audiences, and numerous institutions are taking strong steps to prevent bullying.

On the one hand, this campaign against bullying is very effective and inspiring, and by itself makes me very happy and determined to do what I can to contribute to it. On the other hand, as I have begun to analyze this campaign as part of a much larger context, I have become extremely troubled because I notice it is in many ways quite shallow, ineffective, and ignorance and negligent of much larger causes and issues that are directly tied to bullying in schools across the USA. To truly begin to understand bullying, we need to look at its place in our society, both historically and presently. The question that we should start off with:

Do we as a culture and collective group, directly or otherwise, support and/or encourage bullying?

Many Americans would immediately, almost as a knee-jerk response, answer no; they are a moral people, and they recognize that bullying is bad. Furthermore, their many various adult and authority figures, along with their general government and society, officially declare that bullying is wrong and should be punished. It is of course natural for people to explicitly condemn bullying, along with other malevolent deeds, as well as believe they are morally sound. Most Americans are also at least decent human beings, so their attitude is somewhat grounded in fact.

The problem with this answer, however, becomes apparent upon much closer inspection of everyday society. Bullying does not just occur at schools; it is rampant in workplaces, in social gatherings, in entertainment, in academia, in politics, in business operations, in international relationships, and countless other fields of the present day. Bullying is also not a new thing, despite what some may think. It is as old as time.

These facts by themselves are quite troubling, but there is another angle from which we have yet to look: social and environmental influences. If there is anything we human beings should have learned by now, it is that we are extremely vulnerable creatures who are thoroughly programmed by culture, so much so that we are often influenced without even realizing our conditioning. We would like to believe we are independent (and in some ways, that claim is certainly truer of some people than it is of others), but at the end of the day none of us are truly so.

With our social programming in mind, let’s start to take a look at America’s history, since before at its very inception. Long before the USA even became an independent nation, many of the areas that be known as the 13 colonies were founded almost exclusively by two groups: vicious conquerors, exploiters, and/or imperialists of various nations who were hungry for riches and resources, and by Puritans, who supposedly came for religious freedom… and then established ruthless theocracies.

Fast forward to the American Revolution: the Founding Fathers were extremely wealthy and elitist landowners, slave owners, businessmen, and con men (John Hancock, for instance, was a big time gangster and smuggler, while it is well-known that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, among others, were slave owners). They created the Bill of Rights mostly as a symbolic gesture and pacification of the majority, of whom they were terrified. Since its creation, the Bill of Rights has been regularly violated with impunity by America’s government, often in defense and support wealthy and powerful interests. Furthermore, the Founding Fathers were intent on having a government of, for, and by wealthy white men.

From there, the nation continued its development, largely via the following: exploitation of various powerless groups (workers, poor people, minorities, immigrants, etc.), egotism, manipulation via fear and chauvinism, racism, violence, war, slavery, mass murder, and worst of all, genocide of the Native Americans. Large-scale prejudice, along with various forms of vigilantism, was rampant throughout society well into the 1960’s, though thankfully the excesses of prejudice significantly toned down some successes of the many civil rights movement. Modern American culture, however, has largely replaced overt bigotry with much more covert and implicitly programmed prejudice, especially towards minorities such as blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, and gays. Finally, let’s not even get started on the countless lies, manipulations, and deceptions told by the American government and oligarchy throughout history to justify and/or pursue a treasure trove of thoroughly despicable goals, including (but certainly not limited to) imperialist aggression, resource grabs, criminalizing dissent, halting social reforms, and forced implementations of free market "reforms" in foreign nations.

Can you say “bullying” yet?

If that’s not enough, let’s try to understand the role of bullying even further by looking at the present and historical basis for our society: the free market. Years of propaganda and bullshit aside, what does the free market actually do? In short, it forces people to fight each other for survival and any and every advantage they can get over everybody else (wealth, materials, intellect, sex, etc.). As a direct result, we must do whatever is necessary to gain more for ourselves and ensure less for every other human being.

Now think about it…

…

And answer me this:

…

IS IT ANY FUCKING WONDER WHY BULLYING IS SUCH A PROBLEM?!!

No, and it shouldn’t be! We live in a culture that is built on and thrives bullying!

If we truly want to deal with bullying, we need to change our behavior and our environment. Period!

Idealism + Cynicism = Realism

Many a time we here are warned to not be naive. You can tell in people's wording and tone that they have pure and utter contempt for those who make the mistake of being too positive. Those people need to grow up, the "realists" say, because life is not fair.

On the other hand, there is now an extremely frustrating, demoralizing, and frankly disturbing trend where being cynical, nasty, and bitter is considered being "mature" and "wise".

Frankly, both extremes are bullshit and very dangerous, but especially the latter.

It is very true that there are very dark and nasty things about life and the world we live in that you must acknowledge. I cannot even begin to describe the damage that can occur from people refusing to open their eyes to the truth. Ignorance is not bliss, because it is only so long until the bubble bursts.

But cynicism is not always wisdom. Refusing to have hope and work for a better world is not mature; it's cowardly and traitorous to humanity. There are many out there who point out that happy endings are impossible, that there is not such thing as true goodness, and that humanity is doomed. Their motto is "life sucks, nothing makes sense, nothing matters, and then you die."

If all you do is crush hope by endlessly repeating that humanity and life suck, there is no point in trying to improve things, and that good people cannot exist while insulting those of us who believe we can do better as "naive", "stupid", or "utopia-seekers"... well, frankly you are saying infinitely more about you than you are of us.

If you wish to be truly "realistic", you will understand that life is all about balance. Life is not fair, and it is full of problems, dark truths, challenges, and tragic elements. But it also contains a lot of wonderful aspects and provides many opportunities for happiness, growth, and improvement.

At the end of the day, if you have good and strong personal relationships, if you have been as productive as you could, if you tried to have as much fun as you could, if you did all that you could to improve the world around you, and if you know that you were the best person you could be, you will have a lot less weight from regret and worries on your shoulders. You will not be guaranteed a happy life or ending, but at least you made the most of what you have.

For each of us that does, we improve every human being's chances of living the best lives we can.

Youth And Change

I've lost count of how many times I've heard "The youth are our future!"

Each generation states the one after it is supposed to be the instigator of a better world.

Yet, simultaneously, I must ask this question: if that is what adults widely believe, why is it that so many times I and others have been dismissed, not taken seriously, or patronized because we are "too young"?

Sure, we young folks tend to be more immature and we thus have a lot to learn, but a number of older folks don't seem to heed that fact that ALL of life is a learning experience.

Countless older people act as if change, reform, and hope for a better world are almost exclusively a "young people" thing. It isn't.

The universe is CONSTANTLY and CONSISTENTLY changing, folks. It doesn't stop evolving just because you're no longer an adolescent, or you turn 40, 50, or 60. It has changed, is changing, and will continue to change for as long as it exists, and we have a duty to change along with it.

I know older people have reasons for looking to the young for change. They are getting weaker and more vulnerable, and they tend to be a lot busier and bogged down with various things. But that is not an excuse to just sit around, wait, and watch.

ALL of humanity must work together to bring about a better world, especially considering the times we live in now. Every single individual that doesn't adds a another layer to a massive iron wall that is our obstacle to succeeding.