Our niece gripped her cell phone, not believing the texts she got from her daughter, our grandniece, on November 30, 2021... She was hiding in a classroom, where her favorite teacher had just been shot outside the door, one of her best friends was shot (& just recently was released from ICU) and 4 others were fatally wounded. While trying desperately to sob quietly, she texted her mother that she loved her, and her little sister, just in case she didn't see them again. Oxford, Michigan will never be the same peaceful, cohesive little town in the outskirts of the Detroit Metro area.
Our family has always owned guns. Guns to hunt, guns for target shooting, guns that were family heirlooms, or cool, or old. Every kid was trained in the safe use of firearms. No one in this family has ever used their guns in anger, in a threatening manner, and all the kids in the family grew up knowing that the guns were for recreation, or putting meat in the freezer. That certitude has been shattered.
Our kids were raised to believe that you do NOT point a gun at anything you don't intend to eat. Our family values don't include cannibalism, so it goes without saying that no one in THIS family was ever suspected of being a menace to society. When the kids were younger, the guns all had trigger locks. Now they're all stored in a gun safe. Only one person has the combo. This is the type of gun ownership that the NRA originally was founded to encourage. Safe gun ownership and use, safe and responsible hunting, and safe and responsible storage. How it got this far out of control, only the NRA and the GOP know for sure.
This family heartily endorses the issuance of gun control laws, even if that means that we must relinquish some of our guns. It is more important to protect the public... men, women, and children... than it is for us to own "cool" guns.
I am so sorry for this horrendous loss..this is just horrific. Thank you for doing a great job summing things up for all of us on guns. I believe it needs to go further and guns taken from all domestic violence offenders, all drunks and all intoxicated people, mentally ill people , basically many people.
We should build a memorial wall for all the innocent victims of gun violence who gave their lives to protect the Second Amendment. It should be in the style of the Vietnam memorial in DC, with all names and dates inscribed in the wall and be built next to the NRA's headquarters!
That's a GREAT idea. But it would have to be a very big memorial. More innocent people have been killed in America than soldiers were killed in Vietnam.
Thank you. I spent weeks on this. So your words mean much to me. I won’t stop until we stop being the worst of ourselves. Failure to fix this is one of the arrows that is bringing about our demise.
So many of my thoughts and outrage, I lived in Canada 🇨🇦 for 36 years, and it’s true not a perfect nation. But I never had any fear of being in a bar or nightclub wondering how many patrons were packing heat in Canada. The answer would be 0 handguns. In the United States conceal and carry permits are issued easily. They don’t ask you wife or girlfriend or employer if it’s ok. Feeling safe should be about feeling free. You would think more Americans would be jumping up for freedom. Less guns, more freedom. More guns less safe with less freedom. Americans should have the freedom and right to send they children to school without any fear of being shot!
If you love Freedom then you must get behind any organization promoting common sense gun reforms to make our community safer.
"Know the ways of man but keep to a woman's care." Lao Tzu from his Tao Te Ching (Way of Change) circ 2,500 BC. Indeed, "Follow The Women." (except for the Marjorie Taylor Greens, Lauren Boeberts, Laura (nazi salute) Ingrahams et al)
Last night on TV I saw a commercial for GLOCKS!!! There were a bunch of rednecks gathered at a shooting range: "Together we are stronger!" How low can this country go?
Thank you for writing this incredibly honest and very necessary message. I grew up in a country where guns and gun violence aren't really a thing, but my mind has been tortured for the past 24 years in the US with the absurd inevitability both those things represent in America. During all this time, I have never had a person agree with me on the simple fact that the second amendment needs to be eliminated. Not even the most liberal journalist would ever put it that bluntly. There was, and is, always only a tepid beating around the bush. And although you likely preach mainly to the choir here, and it'll take many a gun nut to die before real changes may happen, it was strangely soothing to finally hear an American say those things out loud. Be blessed forever, Michael Moore!
*Pretend* to be civil, men. You don't really have to be civil, or gentle, in terms of avoiding mass-shooting.
I think women's non-violent attitude is due not to their DNA but to their soul, or gender image. I am a female and have been attacked by both genders, more by females than by males. Interestingly, females do not attack me when males are around, unless the attack is undetectable, while males attack me whether females are around or not. To emulate "women's non-violent property", the traditional image of femininity, being gentle, should be emulated. For this reason, I love a smart and gentle man, like Michael Moore :)
Thank you for introducing me to the movie. I did not know that such a movie, and the novel, exist. The violent nature of present Japanese as well as that of Emperial Japan should be exposed more. One thing is that those who attacked me were not just Japanese, nor just other Asians.
Others have called for more accountability, even tho atrocities were committed by the US, especially the firebombing of Tokyo and atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's evident this could've been avoided by surrounding Japan and cutting off supplies, while using conventional bombing of strategic targets. The civilian casualty loss of life, or so-called collateral damage, was a criminal, vengeful crime against Japan and humanity.
In the film Rhapsody in August, Akira Kurosawa has the heroine blame the atomic bombings on war itself. A Japanese proverb: "Mothers should settle matters."
Akira Kurosawa is quoted as saying:
"War isn't between individuals; it's between governments. People suffer."
This film was not accepted as a nominee at the Academy Awards because of the lingering resentment of Japan. Nazi atrocities were far worse. The US is also guilty.
There are several films and books on US atrocities. The most widely known is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which was the basis for the movie by Mike Nichols. Over 40 million civilians were killed in WW II, which could've been avoided. The mass rape of women in Asia and Europe has yet to be amended. Is it any wonder that over 70% of rape cases in the US are dropped for supposed lack of evidence?
It is evident that the US provoked the Korean War stationing troops at Chosin Reservoir near the border, and then left them to fend for themselves. The massacres that later occurred also aren't included in history books.
It's estimated that over 2 million civilians had been killed in Vietnam, mostly from questionable, relentless bombing, which set off protests here in 1968. Other estimates say it's more like 3 million.
The US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were illegal at the cost of nearly 500,000 civilian lives. The total cost: 90 Trillion Dollars. It could've been avoided if Bush the 2nd had accepted the Taliban offer to surrender Osam bin Laden, and if he'd considered other intelligence reports that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Classified documents have yet to be released on any evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
The violence we see here in the US may be connected to our history of violence.
The similarities with our war history is interesting.
Violence is a collective issue. We all have it. Yahweh sent the flood because of Man's Wrath. Gandhi, like prophets before, encourage us to be the change the world needs. It really is more for our sake, how we treat others, especially when mistreated. Karma will try and bring us around for harm we cause anyone, before it's too late.
The Judaic Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him. He knew what was coming.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reveals her struggle with her wrathful nature.
"19) The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom of flesh, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven powers of wrath.
20) They asked the soul, Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
21) The soul answered and said, What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome,
22) and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died."
(end of excerpt)
Jung saw this as the crux of our human condition, which we project on others, failing to see evil in ourselves and be enlightened, conscious or simply aware.
Jung felt he had failed, when it's a collective refusal to know the evil in us.
The Seven Powers of Wrath in Greek Gnosticism are Deities to be appeased. References to the Gods of War is badly misplaced. It really has more to do with our demonic ego. Jung wisely prescribed to know how much good and evil we're capable of, and why.
Note carefully what the Deities say to Mary Magdalene's soul:
"Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?"
Rape, pillage and plunder is biblical as it is historical. More people have been killed in God's Holy Name, same as the insane who claim God told them to kill someone. If one were to wrestle with God, as the name Israel means, and simply ask why He'd want someone killed, He might thunder, "Why do you!"
Jung and his Jewish colleagues had to help more than a few with their hatred, resentment and jealousy of others by seeing their evil instead of projecting it out on others. We can't hate anyone, only what we may all do.
This is Oprah with Jani Schofield when she was 7, the youngest known case of schizophrenia, talking about her "friends," especially the one who tells her to hit.
Jani is very aware of the difference between our world and hers. She knows her good friends and bad friends, especially the one who says to hit. If her bad friend doesn't have a good reason for hitting someone, guess who goes in timeout?
This is true with any iniquity or harm we could cause someone. The more we are aware, we're less likely to succumb. But the bigger question is why would Jani, or any of us, want to hit someone or worse? There lies our salvation and deliverance.
Jung would just sit down, maybe do some yoga to calm himself, and reflect on what might be causing him difficulty, especially if there were an image or voice he'd need to interact with. Primitives knew long ago to know the spirits in us.
The spirit-elements of our being are at the core of our "violent nature," when we fail to realize and fully understand what we feel and experience, especially about someone, where we could harm them, or even ourselves.
The movie Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, based on the book The Seed and The Sower, is referenced in the book and movie, Fear and Trembling. We need to suffer our enemies, usually our employers and colleagues, while doing what we can to deal with them peacefully.
For example: "Why are you jerking my chain, boss?"
David Bowie as Major Jack Celliars confronts the prisoner of war camp commander Captain Yanoi, who is about to execute a fellow prisoner:
Colonel Lawrence refuses to hate the Japanese, even tho they had tortured him terribly. In the end, he meets with his torturer, who is about to be executed. He says how wrong it is and would free him if he could.
It is how we can be free of our hateful wrath and vengeance.
Michael sets an example for us in being men by being a human being.
It is unfortunate that men and women can be vicious, like GOP Republicans.
They have lost their soul, which can happen to any of us when we care only for us.
Jung saw this negative dynamic to have power over others to make us feel superior.
The epic film Narayama about an old woman in a tiny, remote mountain village in the late 1800's, tries to stop the madness of men and women in their sick struggle for survival and dominance, but to no avail. Like a sage, she simply says, "You don't see what I see."
I trust, but will pray, the Deities bless you. Your enemies are jealous of you.
Just for a note: I have never taken my attackers and harassers as my enemy, nor have I thought they were jealous of me. I have no idea why they have been collectively attacking me, although the number of the attackers and the degree of the attacks have come down over the past few months.
Great article, Michael. I can't articulate how spot on this article is. I found the picture of the father and son in the gun shop very disturbing. The pictures of the victims of the Sandy Hook Massacre are still heartbreaking. As a country, we really need term limits in our government. I know this is an ongoing battle, but it seems to have been put on the back burner. I don't think it was ever intended to be a career.
This can happen if all Americans have the vote and vote. I wish those who consider themselves human could reason half as sensibly as Michael. I'm ready to give up my two 9mms if needed. Also I wish I could write 1/100th as clear and concise as you.
Also, if not included in up coming voter legislation, legislate that all Americans must register at the US Post Office for mandatory electoral duty when voting age. Like jury duty, but keep America's elections fair and safe from stop the steal A-holes. Anybody come to mind?
Clear enough, Mr. Mark. But save your 9 mm's for the gun range as much as possible, as in Canada. Should the need arise with violent civil strife, they're always there.
The immediate access to firearms is as bad as the rush to war.
Senseless slaughter far exceeds self-defense incidents.
Keeping non-lethal firearms, pepper spray, my old baseball bat is enough for me. If somebody kills me, I trust law enforcement will apprehend them. God certainly will.
But please practice, practice, practice, as much as possible, which you know full-well. It would be great if firing ranges had areas for practice scenarios, same as for the military and law enforcement. The increase of home invasions, smash and grab thieves, car jackings etc, requires a certain diligence, despite our hectic schedule.
Can't make it too easy for someone to get the jump. Dogs are always alert.
I'm getting better at looking behind on either side with an occasional 360. I usually do this in the wilderness. But in town, I fail to check things out with so much on my mind, especially any funny feelings that something's not right.
I've had a couple close calls. I feel safer in the wilderness.
It's pretty bad here in Denver. Felons are put back on the streets because of overcrowding, only to commit same crimes of robbery, assault and homicide.
You know they're cruising, looking for easy steals and vulnerable people in out of the way areas, same as it's always been, even in broad daylight. Everybody's suspect, even me. I stopped near the entrance of an apartment building to check my phone when a man turned away as I looked up at him. I immediately apologized. I didn't think I'd keep someone away from their building.
We can't trust anyone we don't know. I try to have a healthy sense of caution without letting fear get too much the better of me where I could be paranoid.
Once when running to catch a bus years ago, I hardly noticed an old man ahead until he turned and raised his cane, presumably thinking I was going to attack him. I cut to the side and apologized keeping my gait. I didn't want to miss the bus.
I felt bad afterwards and have been careful since. I'm sure I'll do the same.
It may be why I hang on to my Louisville slugger and swing it now and then.
Most gangs take videos of themselves committing crimes. It's a tik tok thing or badge of honor, even going to jail. For them, it's a game, when there are other ways to get the adrenaline rush. It's mainly their insecurity, jealousy and control issues, wanting to have power over others to dominate, same as any country.
I've had to call police when looking out my window at night and seeing suspicious activity of young men looking in vehicles and checking door handles. Several were caught when police arrived after they broke into a vehicle. Cop told me it's mostly teens working car theft rings. Kids from well-to do families are in on it, too.
Juvenile laws keep them out of corrections, unless they hurt someone.
Cops don't want people confronting them. A person can end up in jail, except in strict self-defense. Trayvon Martin was attacked by George Zimmerman when he hadn't done anything. He had the right of self-defense. It does seem the Florida prosecutor sabotaged the case with 1st degree charges when there was no premeditation. She had been advised to go with 2nd degree charges.
I even emailed her. The jury later confirmed it wasn't Zimmerman's intent.
NYPD took the word of the young man who stabbed Tessa Majors to death, saying he did so because she fought back. They essentially blamed the victim when she had every right to defend herself when they jumped her. It's a normal reaction, same as for police when attacked.
The murderer took a plea deal so he will be out in 7 years because of his age.
I believe in the redemption of souls, but some souls can't be saved.
I have my doubts on this one, unless he responds to treatment.
Did he really kill her for fighting back? Wouldn't he fight back if attacked?
When he gets out of jail, it won't be the end of it. Sadly, many die young.
Here's something you might appreciate with your military service and may already know. This is former Navy Seal Jocko Willink on avoiding confrontations, even running away, which we practiced in Aikido, as well as rolling when knocked to the ground and twisting out of lockholds, basic wrestling stuff, etc.
It's good practice to have someone attempt a sucker punch or knock us over.
I'm not so quick sidestepping at the last instant but still give it a go.
Morihei Ueshiba, Bruce Lee and other martial artists, advise against hating or hurting anyone trying to hurt us. It can throw us off balance wanting to hurt them back. Excessive force is understandable, but needs to be tempered somehow.
Following the energy flow or direction of an opponent can be used against them.
This is the Master Sensei in old age giving a demonstration:
(the soundtrack is too dramatic for me so I turn it off)
Morihei was the chief martial arts instructor at the Japanese military academy prior to WW II. He was against the war. He had been trained as a Samuri warrior in the Bushido tradition. He came to prominence when attacked by a fellow Samuri when he had no sword. By sidestepping and dodging the sword at the last instant, he exhausted his opponent, who bowed and offered the sword to kill him with, which of course, the master sensei refused.
For many of us, his spiritual experiences and writings also inspire us.
Jesus would have us love our enemies, or at least not hate them.
Yahweh loved King Solomon for not wanting to see his enemies in their gore.
Unlike his father, King David.
1 Kings 3: 5-9
1 Chronicles 22:8; 28:3
excerpt:
David was not permitted to build the house, for God said: “Blood in great quantity you have spilled, and great wars you have waged. You will not build a house to my name, for a great deal of blood you have spilled on the earth before me.”
I'm not a fan of Clint Eastwood, but I can appreciate his films on this human drama of hate raging in our psyche that we need to integrate. He does this remarkably well in Gran Torino, playing an elderly veteran from the Korean War when he confronts an Asian gang terrorizing his neighborhood. He wisely shows how for many veterans, certain memories will never fade.
For veterans like yourself, I'm sure you see a similar dynamic between war and violence in our society and the effect it can have on us. And how it can easily get out of hand because of hate. It's the problem of evil in us all. The character Clint Eastwood plays, deals with this in his own way, on his own terms. I have to commend him for this. It really is how we all need to.
The ending is violently graphic. He was rightly criticized for it, even tho it's an accurate reflection of violence in our society. What they fail to see is that he went unarmed to provoke a confrontation with the gang as if he had a firearm. He saved his neighborhood from the gangs by sacrificing himself. It's the driving instinct in a lot of us, whether for one's country or community.
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
"When discussing the issues that young Black men are going through on a daily basis, what mainly comes up is gun violence. Deservedly so, it’s an important issue that needs to be resolved. There are young Black men across the country who are taking preventative measures to make sure gun violence decreases in our communities."
My dad and his 3 brothers served in WW II. An uncle I never knew in Patton's 3rd was killed stopping Hitler's final blitzkrieg. They served our country as you have.
Thank you Michael for sharing this highly disturbing, but critically important information. I will pledge to do my part. I love and entirely agree with the 28th ammendment! You are a treasure.
Our niece gripped her cell phone, not believing the texts she got from her daughter, our grandniece, on November 30, 2021... She was hiding in a classroom, where her favorite teacher had just been shot outside the door, one of her best friends was shot (& just recently was released from ICU) and 4 others were fatally wounded. While trying desperately to sob quietly, she texted her mother that she loved her, and her little sister, just in case she didn't see them again. Oxford, Michigan will never be the same peaceful, cohesive little town in the outskirts of the Detroit Metro area.
Our family has always owned guns. Guns to hunt, guns for target shooting, guns that were family heirlooms, or cool, or old. Every kid was trained in the safe use of firearms. No one in this family has ever used their guns in anger, in a threatening manner, and all the kids in the family grew up knowing that the guns were for recreation, or putting meat in the freezer. That certitude has been shattered.
Our kids were raised to believe that you do NOT point a gun at anything you don't intend to eat. Our family values don't include cannibalism, so it goes without saying that no one in THIS family was ever suspected of being a menace to society. When the kids were younger, the guns all had trigger locks. Now they're all stored in a gun safe. Only one person has the combo. This is the type of gun ownership that the NRA originally was founded to encourage. Safe gun ownership and use, safe and responsible hunting, and safe and responsible storage. How it got this far out of control, only the NRA and the GOP know for sure.
This family heartily endorses the issuance of gun control laws, even if that means that we must relinquish some of our guns. It is more important to protect the public... men, women, and children... than it is for us to own "cool" guns.
ONG, I love you snd what you just shared. Tears in my eyes. I want to live in a country filled with millions of people like you. Bless you. Onward. 🌈
Thank you, Michael, and yes... Onward!
I am so sorry for this horrendous loss..this is just horrific. Thank you for doing a great job summing things up for all of us on guns. I believe it needs to go further and guns taken from all domestic violence offenders, all drunks and all intoxicated people, mentally ill people , basically many people.
Thank YOU, and I agree completely!
We should build a memorial wall for all the innocent victims of gun violence who gave their lives to protect the Second Amendment. It should be in the style of the Vietnam memorial in DC, with all names and dates inscribed in the wall and be built next to the NRA's headquarters!
That's a GREAT idea. But it would have to be a very big memorial. More innocent people have been killed in America than soldiers were killed in Vietnam.
mike,
such an exceptional writing on gun violence, ownership, control and elimination.
just another great example of who m moore really is. 👍
Thank you. I spent weeks on this. So your words mean much to me. I won’t stop until we stop being the worst of ourselves. Failure to fix this is one of the arrows that is bringing about our demise.
Brilliant Michael, brilliant! Such a well-reasoned piece.
So many of my thoughts and outrage, I lived in Canada 🇨🇦 for 36 years, and it’s true not a perfect nation. But I never had any fear of being in a bar or nightclub wondering how many patrons were packing heat in Canada. The answer would be 0 handguns. In the United States conceal and carry permits are issued easily. They don’t ask you wife or girlfriend or employer if it’s ok. Feeling safe should be about feeling free. You would think more Americans would be jumping up for freedom. Less guns, more freedom. More guns less safe with less freedom. Americans should have the freedom and right to send they children to school without any fear of being shot!
If you love Freedom then you must get behind any organization promoting common sense gun reforms to make our community safer.
Perhaps the sex that gives life, has a higher standard when it comes to taking life.
Wow. Spot on.
"Know the ways of man but keep to a woman's care." Lao Tzu from his Tao Te Ching (Way of Change) circ 2,500 BC. Indeed, "Follow The Women." (except for the Marjorie Taylor Greens, Lauren Boeberts, Laura (nazi salute) Ingrahams et al)
A brilliant and tragic synopsis of the gun violence in our country. Shame on us. Let us never stop fighting for gun control.
Last night on TV I saw a commercial for GLOCKS!!! There were a bunch of rednecks gathered at a shooting range: "Together we are stronger!" How low can this country go?
Thank you for writing this incredibly honest and very necessary message. I grew up in a country where guns and gun violence aren't really a thing, but my mind has been tortured for the past 24 years in the US with the absurd inevitability both those things represent in America. During all this time, I have never had a person agree with me on the simple fact that the second amendment needs to be eliminated. Not even the most liberal journalist would ever put it that bluntly. There was, and is, always only a tepid beating around the bush. And although you likely preach mainly to the choir here, and it'll take many a gun nut to die before real changes may happen, it was strangely soothing to finally hear an American say those things out loud. Be blessed forever, Michael Moore!
*Pretend* to be civil, men. You don't really have to be civil, or gentle, in terms of avoiding mass-shooting.
I think women's non-violent attitude is due not to their DNA but to their soul, or gender image. I am a female and have been attacked by both genders, more by females than by males. Interestingly, females do not attack me when males are around, unless the attack is undetectable, while males attack me whether females are around or not. To emulate "women's non-violent property", the traditional image of femininity, being gentle, should be emulated. For this reason, I love a smart and gentle man, like Michael Moore :)
I mean I love Mcichael Moore, who is smart and gentle. - Phew! English is difficult!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Trembling_(film)
Thank you for introducing me to the movie. I did not know that such a movie, and the novel, exist. The violent nature of present Japanese as well as that of Emperial Japan should be exposed more. One thing is that those who attacked me were not just Japanese, nor just other Asians.
Others have called for more accountability, even tho atrocities were committed by the US, especially the firebombing of Tokyo and atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's evident this could've been avoided by surrounding Japan and cutting off supplies, while using conventional bombing of strategic targets. The civilian casualty loss of life, or so-called collateral damage, was a criminal, vengeful crime against Japan and humanity.
In the film Rhapsody in August, Akira Kurosawa has the heroine blame the atomic bombings on war itself. A Japanese proverb: "Mothers should settle matters."
Akira Kurosawa is quoted as saying:
"War isn't between individuals; it's between governments. People suffer."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_August
This film was not accepted as a nominee at the Academy Awards because of the lingering resentment of Japan. Nazi atrocities were far worse. The US is also guilty.
Movie Trailer: (see any anti-US resentment?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=342LbwLJh5w
(2:43)
There are several films and books on US atrocities. The most widely known is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which was the basis for the movie by Mike Nichols. Over 40 million civilians were killed in WW II, which could've been avoided. The mass rape of women in Asia and Europe has yet to be amended. Is it any wonder that over 70% of rape cases in the US are dropped for supposed lack of evidence?
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/worst-wwii-war-crimes-us.html
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168668.Catch_22
Movie scene: (this is satire at its best in making a point)
Captain Yosarian refuses to bomb a non-strategic target:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcmwPYCUysw
(2:34)
It is evident that the US provoked the Korean War stationing troops at Chosin Reservoir near the border, and then left them to fend for themselves. The massacres that later occurred also aren't included in history books.
https://www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war
https://asiasociety.org/education/massacre-nogun-ri
It's estimated that over 2 million civilians had been killed in Vietnam, mostly from questionable, relentless bombing, which set off protests here in 1968. Other estimates say it's more like 3 million.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War
Several times when I've met someone from Vietnam, I bow and apologize, especially when it became known that My Lai wasn't the only massacre.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12292260-kill-anything-that-moves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Vietnam
The US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were illegal at the cost of nearly 500,000 civilian lives. The total cost: 90 Trillion Dollars. It could've been avoided if Bush the 2nd had accepted the Taliban offer to surrender Osam bin Laden, and if he'd considered other intelligence reports that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Classified documents have yet to be released on any evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/15/world/nation-challenged-president-president-rejects-offer-taliban-for-negotiations.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/22/iraq-war-wmds-an-intelligence-failure-or-white-house-spin/
US atrocities were exposed by a brave few.
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k3/us.html
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202109/1235240.shtml
https://archive.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/atrocitindex.htm
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2018/Human%20Costs%2C%20Nov%208%202018%20CoW.pdf
Michael was the only one speaking out publicly at the risk of losing his life.
That in itself is the worst, in trying to silence someone. It's biblical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Is43K6lrg
(1:57)
The violence we see here in the US may be connected to our history of violence.
The similarities with our war history is interesting.
Violence is a collective issue. We all have it. Yahweh sent the flood because of Man's Wrath. Gandhi, like prophets before, encourage us to be the change the world needs. It really is more for our sake, how we treat others, especially when mistreated. Karma will try and bring us around for harm we cause anyone, before it's too late.
The Judaic Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him. He knew what was coming.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reveals her struggle with her wrathful nature.
http://gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm
(excerpt)
"19) The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom of flesh, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven powers of wrath.
20) They asked the soul, Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
21) The soul answered and said, What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome,
22) and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died."
(end of excerpt)
Jung saw this as the crux of our human condition, which we project on others, failing to see evil in ourselves and be enlightened, conscious or simply aware.
Jung felt he had failed, when it's a collective refusal to know the evil in us.
The Seven Powers of Wrath in Greek Gnosticism are Deities to be appeased. References to the Gods of War is badly misplaced. It really has more to do with our demonic ego. Jung wisely prescribed to know how much good and evil we're capable of, and why.
Note carefully what the Deities say to Mary Magdalene's soul:
"Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?"
Rape, pillage and plunder is biblical as it is historical. More people have been killed in God's Holy Name, same as the insane who claim God told them to kill someone. If one were to wrestle with God, as the name Israel means, and simply ask why He'd want someone killed, He might thunder, "Why do you!"
Jung and his Jewish colleagues had to help more than a few with their hatred, resentment and jealousy of others by seeing their evil instead of projecting it out on others. We can't hate anyone, only what we may all do.
This is Oprah with Jani Schofield when she was 7, the youngest known case of schizophrenia, talking about her "friends," especially the one who tells her to hit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR1o8K4MeMs
(1:38)
Jani is very aware of the difference between our world and hers. She knows her good friends and bad friends, especially the one who says to hit. If her bad friend doesn't have a good reason for hitting someone, guess who goes in timeout?
This is true with any iniquity or harm we could cause someone. The more we are aware, we're less likely to succumb. But the bigger question is why would Jani, or any of us, want to hit someone or worse? There lies our salvation and deliverance.
Jung would just sit down, maybe do some yoga to calm himself, and reflect on what might be causing him difficulty, especially if there were an image or voice he'd need to interact with. Primitives knew long ago to know the spirits in us.
The spirit-elements of our being are at the core of our "violent nature," when we fail to realize and fully understand what we feel and experience, especially about someone, where we could harm them, or even ourselves.
The movie Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, based on the book The Seed and The Sower, is referenced in the book and movie, Fear and Trembling. We need to suffer our enemies, usually our employers and colleagues, while doing what we can to deal with them peacefully.
For example: "Why are you jerking my chain, boss?"
David Bowie as Major Jack Celliars confronts the prisoner of war camp commander Captain Yanoi, who is about to execute a fellow prisoner:
The Forbidden Kiss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AALrrgEOlvU
(3:34)
Colonel Lawrence refuses to hate the Japanese, even tho they had tortured him terribly. In the end, he meets with his torturer, who is about to be executed. He says how wrong it is and would free him if he could.
It is how we can be free of our hateful wrath and vengeance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVxuv9ne32U
(2:40)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2074490.The_Seed_and_the_Sower
Michael sets an example for us in being men by being a human being.
It is unfortunate that men and women can be vicious, like GOP Republicans.
They have lost their soul, which can happen to any of us when we care only for us.
Jung saw this negative dynamic to have power over others to make us feel superior.
The epic film Narayama about an old woman in a tiny, remote mountain village in the late 1800's, tries to stop the madness of men and women in their sick struggle for survival and dominance, but to no avail. Like a sage, she simply says, "You don't see what I see."
I trust, but will pray, the Deities bless you. Your enemies are jealous of you.
It can bring one down to The Lower Depths.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lower_Depths_(1957_film)
Again, I thank you and I agree with you. Michael Moore says that smart and civil people will win in the end. I believe so, too.
Just for a note: I have never taken my attackers and harassers as my enemy, nor have I thought they were jealous of me. I have no idea why they have been collectively attacking me, although the number of the attackers and the degree of the attacks have come down over the past few months.
While not totally sold on the wording of your 28th amendment, I pretty much agree with everything you just said. I'll be glad if it passes.
Beautiful, honest piece. Thank you.
Great article, Michael. I can't articulate how spot on this article is. I found the picture of the father and son in the gun shop very disturbing. The pictures of the victims of the Sandy Hook Massacre are still heartbreaking. As a country, we really need term limits in our government. I know this is an ongoing battle, but it seems to have been put on the back burner. I don't think it was ever intended to be a career.
This can happen if all Americans have the vote and vote. I wish those who consider themselves human could reason half as sensibly as Michael. I'm ready to give up my two 9mms if needed. Also I wish I could write 1/100th as clear and concise as you.
Also, if not included in up coming voter legislation, legislate that all Americans must register at the US Post Office for mandatory electoral duty when voting age. Like jury duty, but keep America's elections fair and safe from stop the steal A-holes. Anybody come to mind?
Love you, MM
Clear enough, Mr. Mark. But save your 9 mm's for the gun range as much as possible, as in Canada. Should the need arise with violent civil strife, they're always there.
The immediate access to firearms is as bad as the rush to war.
Senseless slaughter far exceeds self-defense incidents.
Keeping non-lethal firearms, pepper spray, my old baseball bat is enough for me. If somebody kills me, I trust law enforcement will apprehend them. God certainly will.
We Need To Be Like Canada
Stan, thanks for your thoughts. I was planning on keeping my 7" 22 cal. magnum revolver for home protection, much more accurate.
But please practice, practice, practice, as much as possible, which you know full-well. It would be great if firing ranges had areas for practice scenarios, same as for the military and law enforcement. The increase of home invasions, smash and grab thieves, car jackings etc, requires a certain diligence, despite our hectic schedule.
Can't make it too easy for someone to get the jump. Dogs are always alert.
I'm getting better at looking behind on either side with an occasional 360. I usually do this in the wilderness. But in town, I fail to check things out with so much on my mind, especially any funny feelings that something's not right.
I've had a couple close calls. I feel safer in the wilderness.
It's pretty bad here in Denver. Felons are put back on the streets because of overcrowding, only to commit same crimes of robbery, assault and homicide.
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/11/04/robert-avila-denver-bond-release-suspect-police/
The need for more interventions is evident.
You know they're cruising, looking for easy steals and vulnerable people in out of the way areas, same as it's always been, even in broad daylight. Everybody's suspect, even me. I stopped near the entrance of an apartment building to check my phone when a man turned away as I looked up at him. I immediately apologized. I didn't think I'd keep someone away from their building.
We can't trust anyone we don't know. I try to have a healthy sense of caution without letting fear get too much the better of me where I could be paranoid.
Once when running to catch a bus years ago, I hardly noticed an old man ahead until he turned and raised his cane, presumably thinking I was going to attack him. I cut to the side and apologized keeping my gait. I didn't want to miss the bus.
I felt bad afterwards and have been careful since. I'm sure I'll do the same.
It may be why I hang on to my Louisville slugger and swing it now and then.
Most gangs take videos of themselves committing crimes. It's a tik tok thing or badge of honor, even going to jail. For them, it's a game, when there are other ways to get the adrenaline rush. It's mainly their insecurity, jealousy and control issues, wanting to have power over others to dominate, same as any country.
I've had to call police when looking out my window at night and seeing suspicious activity of young men looking in vehicles and checking door handles. Several were caught when police arrived after they broke into a vehicle. Cop told me it's mostly teens working car theft rings. Kids from well-to do families are in on it, too.
Juvenile laws keep them out of corrections, unless they hurt someone.
Cops don't want people confronting them. A person can end up in jail, except in strict self-defense. Trayvon Martin was attacked by George Zimmerman when he hadn't done anything. He had the right of self-defense. It does seem the Florida prosecutor sabotaged the case with 1st degree charges when there was no premeditation. She had been advised to go with 2nd degree charges.
I even emailed her. The jury later confirmed it wasn't Zimmerman's intent.
NYPD took the word of the young man who stabbed Tessa Majors to death, saying he did so because she fought back. They essentially blamed the victim when she had every right to defend herself when they jumped her. It's a normal reaction, same as for police when attacked.
The murderer took a plea deal so he will be out in 7 years because of his age.
I believe in the redemption of souls, but some souls can't be saved.
I have my doubts on this one, unless he responds to treatment.
Did he really kill her for fighting back? Wouldn't he fight back if attacked?
When he gets out of jail, it won't be the end of it. Sadly, many die young.
Here's something you might appreciate with your military service and may already know. This is former Navy Seal Jocko Willink on avoiding confrontations, even running away, which we practiced in Aikido, as well as rolling when knocked to the ground and twisting out of lockholds, basic wrestling stuff, etc.
It's good practice to have someone attempt a sucker punch or knock us over.
I'm not so quick sidestepping at the last instant but still give it a go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xDANla3L24
(2:24)
Morihei Ueshiba, Bruce Lee and other martial artists, advise against hating or hurting anyone trying to hurt us. It can throw us off balance wanting to hurt them back. Excessive force is understandable, but needs to be tempered somehow.
Following the energy flow or direction of an opponent can be used against them.
This is the Master Sensei in old age giving a demonstration:
(the soundtrack is too dramatic for me so I turn it off)
Watch what he does when attacked.
A tiny 115 lb gal did the same to me.
She thought it was funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Sa0PLquFg
(13:15)
Morihei was the chief martial arts instructor at the Japanese military academy prior to WW II. He was against the war. He had been trained as a Samuri warrior in the Bushido tradition. He came to prominence when attacked by a fellow Samuri when he had no sword. By sidestepping and dodging the sword at the last instant, he exhausted his opponent, who bowed and offered the sword to kill him with, which of course, the master sensei refused.
For many of us, his spiritual experiences and writings also inspire us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morihei_Ueshiba
Jesus would have us love our enemies, or at least not hate them.
Yahweh loved King Solomon for not wanting to see his enemies in their gore.
Unlike his father, King David.
1 Kings 3: 5-9
1 Chronicles 22:8; 28:3
excerpt:
David was not permitted to build the house, for God said: “Blood in great quantity you have spilled, and great wars you have waged. You will not build a house to my name, for a great deal of blood you have spilled on the earth before me.”
https://www.quora.com/Bible-Study-Why-David-wasnt-allowed-to-build-the-temple-Chronicles-17#:~:text=David%20wasn't%20allowed%20to%20build%20the%20temple%20because%20he,her%20and%20getting%20her%20pregnant.&text=%2C%20former%20Director.&text=Because%20he%20had%20shed%20much,his%20service%20for%20Almighty%20God!
I'm not a fan of Clint Eastwood, but I can appreciate his films on this human drama of hate raging in our psyche that we need to integrate. He does this remarkably well in Gran Torino, playing an elderly veteran from the Korean War when he confronts an Asian gang terrorizing his neighborhood. He wisely shows how for many veterans, certain memories will never fade.
For veterans like yourself, I'm sure you see a similar dynamic between war and violence in our society and the effect it can have on us. And how it can easily get out of hand because of hate. It's the problem of evil in us all. The character Clint Eastwood plays, deals with this in his own way, on his own terms. I have to commend him for this. It really is how we all need to.
Other movies and books also indicate this.
Gran Torino official trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMhbr2XQblk
(2:25)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Torino
The ending is violently graphic. He was rightly criticized for it, even tho it's an accurate reflection of violence in our society. What they fail to see is that he went unarmed to provoke a confrontation with the gang as if he had a firearm. He saved his neighborhood from the gangs by sacrificing himself. It's the driving instinct in a lot of us, whether for one's country or community.
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015%3A13&version=NIV
The gang members were arrested for killing an unarmed Clint Eastwood.
Please don't click on this unless you've already seen it:
(graphic violence, profanity, racial epitaphs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQN-3p2HqPA
(4:36)
As it is, gangs are a way of life that will never go away.
Some are able to break away and try to help others to.
Gun violence is the main issue. (please see below)
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/09/17/denver-gang-violence-2020/
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/broadway_17th/2015/11/husted-the-rev-leon-kelly-on-urban-violence-and.html
https://www.theroot.com/in-denver-suicide-among-black-men-is-soaring-1848157889
(excerpt)
"When discussing the issues that young Black men are going through on a daily basis, what mainly comes up is gun violence. Deservedly so, it’s an important issue that needs to be resolved. There are young Black men across the country who are taking preventative measures to make sure gun violence decreases in our communities."
(end of excerpt)
This is one of the worst incidents here recently.
I'm still dealing with the anger.
And a lot of hate.
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/11/09/ken-barhite-longmont-100-year-veteran-dies-shoved/
My dad and his 3 brothers served in WW II. An uncle I never knew in Patton's 3rd was killed stopping Hitler's final blitzkrieg. They served our country as you have.
Please Be Safe Mark
And practice, practice, practice.
("drill, drill, drill and drill some more")
Godspeed, Sir.
Active Shooter Class and Economics 101
by Jack Burgess
(Dedicated to the ghost of Ayn Rand)
I went to the head of the class.
I could get out of my seat, my comfort zone,
pick up and move desks toward the door,
so that my friend who had a gun could keep it,
so that the Acme gun folks could keep their profits,
so that frightened politicians could keep their seats,
I gave up mine and crawled under it,
lay on the floor in the dust,
wondering how we got here.
I went to the head of the class,
and shoved my desk firmly
against the door,
so others could follow,
so we could all feel just
a little bit safer,
here in the land of the free.
Home of the brave,
I guess.
Down on floor I felt the grit of my
forbearer students,
viscerally understood
Freidman economics,
Cramped against the hardwood,
feeling my anger rise,
wondering if I’d rather
be dead.
Though that would rob nameless
merchants of whatever lifetime of profit
my buying habits might provide their bottom line.
Anyway, I saved the lives of several of her
young customers, who still had a lifetime of spending ahead.
The ghost of Ayn Rand points a boney finger
at a weeping Wordsworth--and laughs.
Thank you Michael for sharing this highly disturbing, but critically important information. I will pledge to do my part. I love and entirely agree with the 28th ammendment! You are a treasure.