Hi Phil .. Where I live, which is in a rural area, there have been home invasions and car robberies. My once peaceful and safe world isn't so safe anymore. Just last month, someone broke into my locked vehicle that was parked on my driveway and stole CDs and my CD player. Many other cars were broken into by the same person that night. I have done a check for sex offenders in my little country neighborhood and found out that there are 8 living very close to my home. Some are child molesters and there are 2 that are older and were convicted of violent crimes against women. If the government would disarm me, I would feel unsafe and vulnerable. But, maybe that's the point. Make us feel vulnerable so that we beg for the creation of a blatant, in your face, no question about it, police state... Create a problem (disarm the public) For the desired reaction (fear, vulnerability etc.) provide a solution (military/police state/intervention without accountability).
Wishing it away with good intentions will not make a problem like violence against children, women and the more vulnerable go away. Guns won't make predators and psychopaths go away either, but, owning a gun gives me more power to protect myself if need be. The American government uses every opportunity, real shootings and fabricated false flag events, to create a desired outcome and solution.
I'm not living in fear. I am being realistic about our world and taking and keeping my power.
And that is why I'm booking a flight off this depraved world!!!
♥E
ps.. I tend to get on my soap box sometimes.. hope I didn't sound preachy.
“The courage to Love fiercely is the first quality of a true Spiritual Warrior." ~ E
Now, now, Hermit... Of course. I would take the stick away. That is what a responsible adult would do. I am a responsible adult, therefore, I would not take my gun out on a whim. I don't need an authority/father figure telling me how and when I can protect myself and others.. because I am a responsible and reasonable adult. The government/father figure should be removing the stick/gun from the playground bullies/psychopaths/predators. Why should I be treated like I am a predator or a murderer. I have never killed anyone and I did not pull the trigger in Florida or sit in a bell tower or murder innocent people in a movie theater. I don't trust the government nor the militarized police to ensure my safety and well being. I consider it my sovereign right to protect myself and it is my decision on how I choose to do it.
I still have great hope for humankind. I have complete faith that one day there will be no need for weapons of any kind. Humans only think they need weapons now because the human body is so fragile and we live with the fear of its destruction. No one wants a hole in their human spacesuit!
♥ E
“The courage to Love fiercely is the first quality of a true Spiritual Warrior." ~ E
I see what you're saying E, I just do my best to make sure the fear isn't the only factor in the conversation.
Because healthy and as evolutionary beneficial the instinct may be, you are basing your decision to own a gun on it. Correctly, responsibly, empoweringly. Also correct in that good intentions in themselves are never enough.
I have the luxury of being an example, the voice that can afford to not own a gun. I understand it's closer to the exception than norm, but it does exist...we CAN live without them, I really try to believe that. I have to at least try to paint that picture for those that can't imagine it, maybe it will rub off on a person or two close to me, who don't realize they live in the world that I see and not some haven for humans wanting to do them and/or take their shit
Maybe I'm delusional. I'll be that dude who ends up being the person in the situation that proves you need one, knowing my luck. I always learn lessons really hard ways
Phil, you are definitely not delusional.. you are hopeful and with hope comes change. I believe that some of us know that we volunteered to live on Earth at this time of great upheaval and change. I believe that these souls have specific jobs to do. Some of us are full of hope and peace. Some of us are warriors for change. I do believe in my heart of hearts that I am a warrior spirit. We each bring about change and movement with different energies, but, one thing we all have in common is Love for the Earth Mother and Her precious souls. In the end, I do believe that Love will carry us on to the next world.
(Laughing now!!!) But, until then... The warrior for human rights says.. they will never disarm me!!!! hahahahaha!!!
“The courage to Love fiercely is the first quality of a true Spiritual Warrior." ~ E
That's a bad analogy hermit, we've never existed in a reality where authority didn't have more and bigger sticks pointed at our head...your scenario is a fantasy--albeit one I'd like to help realize
Alternatively, it's the actual analogy we (meaning most) people don't want to realize because...well, quite frankly, fear is too big of an industry.
Meaning it is easier to be afraid and more profitable to supply people with defenses than it is to be brave, recognize courage happens after the fact, and try something new.
The rest of the world is watching you guys shoot yourselves to death, and maintain this logic that is dysfunctional. Collectively, that is what the majority of you are choosing.
When someone on the right in the Evangelical movement said something to the effect of as you sow so shall ye reap, he was right! Not in terms of what happened in Orlando to the LGBT community, but in terms of what American society is experiencing. Yes, it's easy for me as a Canadian to look at this and say these things, but sometimes an outside perspective is needed to intervene. People keep asking, why do these mass shootings keep happening. That is the same logic as a lifetime smoker being surprised that they have lung cancer and having no idea why.
As long as people continue to need to clutch their weapons, they are fools to think that people will not die by guns. That's the truth.
Being aware of the alt community and conspiracy, I'm surprised that you guys aren't able to see this. Or maybe... ?
Now that is a frightening thought. I think I can see the situation a lot clearer now having walked this thread with you guys. I get it. And I'm really sorry it has to be that way for you state-side.
**edit** Didn't you guys, remind me, have a president who warned about the growing military industrial complex? What exactly does a growing military industrial complex need, and if the surplus is created in the actual Armed Forces, who else can they supply to?
The issue is more complicated than whether anyone should have a gun, Hermit. Your schoolyard analogy doesn't apply in my personal experience. I can't speak to the whole US of A. But in my life, I can tell you the issue is a whole lot more complicated than, "do you take the stick away from one, or give everybody sticks."
I worked with my daughters from birth, day and night, so they would understand their worth, and the value of life itself. I taught them that violence is *never* the answer. I taught them compassion and encouraged empathy to their greatest capacities.
And when each of them were away from my home, of course at different times, they were victims of bullying. Emotional and physical both. I was completely unprepared for what unfolded because I could not wrap my head around it. It created a deep disturbed feeling in me. I even hate to use the word victim, but I don't know how else to describe it. They encountered bullies.
Each daughter had to handle it on her own, eventually. Otherwise, they never would have been able to get through life. And each one found she had to defend herself. It broke my heart, that I had spent my life devoted to loving my children, teaching them that violence solves nothing. It begets more violence, and in today's US of A world, anywhere I have lived across several states, it carries the potential of escalating until (at least one) sacred human life is extinguished. And yet, to use your analogy, there was no option available to my daughters other than picking up their own "sticks". And it wasn't because I allowed it, or I approved, or I supported it. It was just the way the world worked. I did my part to envision a world of peace and acceptance. Not only envision it but live it. And give it to the next generation. And the world reciprocated with rape, murder, and hatred.
I did not own a gun in the city, where not only most adults owned guns but many of the teenagers did also. A month ago, the neighborhood middle school where my grandson attends elementary was locked down because an 11 year old had taken a loaded gun to school. I do not own a gun now, but I also was fortunate enough to move away from cities altogether. If I ever feel I need one, I know where to get one.
If you consider that an eleven year old CHILD took a loaded gun to school...and you ponder the implications there...you find just how complicated this issue is. And how deeply rooted. Is it the child with the gun that is the problem? Is it the parents of the child? Is it the bully at school that is the problem? Is it the fact that whatever parental units are present, they have to work, leaving the child to bond with other people....who are simply available? Is it....I could go on and on.
This was all before I woke up to the fact that there are people pulling strings behind the scenes. Before I woke up to Higher callings, one direction or the other. Before I caught a glimpse of the invisible world beyond, and before I even knew there is literally a shared consciousness.
But because I had the experience I did, I understand (somewhat) why people feel the need to protect themselves. I empathize with them. I love them. But I also love the pieces of God in all (okay most) living creatures. Even if I detest their behavior.
I yearn to live in a world where we respect each other enough to not only tolerate but accept. I still live this way every day. But...it will take a whole lot more than just the few of us to see it can be done. Something deep and widespread is going to have to change before people can give up the means to protect themselves. Whether it is a can of mace or a gun.
(However, I just want to say at the end of my piece here.....who the frick needs an AK-47 for home or personal protection? That's bullshit.)
Do not fashion me a maiden who needs saving from the dragons. I am the Dragon. And I will eat you whole.
