[Oe List ...] Fwd: more Moore!

[R Williams]

Jack,
 
This is an insightful article.  I wish someone other than Michael Moore had written it so that more people would perhaps read it, and more who do would give it credence.
 
I was reminded of some of the conversations we used to have years ago with conservatives about how alcohol does not cause alcoholism, but rather some underlying condition(s) in the life of the addicted person.  Today's conservative argument that guns do not kill, people do, has merit as well.  What does not is the implication drawn, that the solution is therefore to arm everyone, another trite version of "might makes right."
 
Moore's key insight is in that he has indeed analyzed the underlying contradictions and names three of them.  In reading through them I was very struck as to their similarity, or sameness, with the three that HRN named way back when, which we know so well; economic imperialism (poverty), racism (Niebuhr called it "racialism" and we could probably include many of today's other "isms") and nationalism (rooted in exactly the same perversion as the "me" society Moore refers to--egocentricity, individualistic overemphasis, exceptionalism, etc.)
 
The new gun limitations that are being discussed should be enacted, but as we all know, this will save some lives but not address the underlying issues.  Also as we know, those will not finally be addressed until there has been a significant change of hearts and minds in our society that moves us from arrogance to humility, from greed to gratitude, and from a callous care-less-ness about innocent suffering to compassion in the face of the interdependence of us all.  I continue to contend that facilitating that kind of metanoia is all our outfit has, at the end of the day, ever been about.
 
Randy

"Whatever the problem, community is the answer.  There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about."  Margaret Wheatley
 

________________________________
 From: Jack Gilles <jackcgilles at gmail.com>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> 
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2012 10:57 PM
Subject: [Oe List ...] Fwd: more Moore!
  

Dear Colleagues,

I found this essay by Michael Moore on guns and violence.

Jack

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:


From: "M. Theophil" <weave.marga at gmail.com>
>Date: December 27, 2012, 10:47:59 PM CST
>To: "M. Theophil" <Weave.Marga at gmail.com>
>Subject: more Moore!
>
> 
 <image001.gif> 
>December
24th, 2012 5:13
AM 
>Celebrating
the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns 
>  
>By Michael Moore 
>After
watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference
on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only
world that was ending was the NRA's. Their bullying power to set gun policy in
this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the massacre in Connecticut,
and the signs are everywhere: a basketball
coach at a post-game press conference; the Republican
Joe Scarborough; a pawn shop
owner in Florida; a gun buy-back
program in New Jersey; a singing
contest show on TV, and the conservative
gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared Loughner. 
>So here's my little bit of holiday cheer
for you: 
>These gun massacres aren't going to end
any time soon. 
>I'm sorry to say this. But deep down we
both know it's true. That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep pushing forward
– after all, the momentum is on our side. I know all of us –
including me – would love to see the president and Congress enact
stronger gun laws. We need a ban on automatic AND semiautomatic weapons and
magazine clips that hold more than 7 bullets. We need better background checks
and more mental health services. We need to regulate the ammo, too. 
>But,
friends, I would like to propose that while all of the above will certainly
reduce gun deaths (ask Mayor Bloomberg – it is virtually impossible to buy
a handgun in New York City and the result is the number of murders per year has
gone from 2,200 to
under 400), it won't really bring about an end to these mass
slayings and it will not address the core problem we have. Connecticut had one
of the strongest gun laws in the country. That did nothing to prevent the
murders of 20 small children on December 14th. 
>  
>In fact, let's be clear about Newtown:
the killer had no criminal record so he would never have shown up on a
background check. All of the guns he used were legally purchased. None fit the
legal description of an "assault" weapon. The killer seemed to have
mental problems and his mother had him seek help, but that was worthless. As
for security measures, the Sandy Hook school was locked down and buttoned up
BEFORE the killer showed up that morning. Drills had been held for just such an
incident. A lot of good that did. 
>And here's the dirty little fact none of
us liberals want to discuss: The killer only ceased his slaughter when he saw
that cops were swarming onto the school grounds – i.e, the men with the
guns. When he saw the guns a-coming, he stopped the bloodshed and killed himself.
Guns on police officers prevented another 20 or 40 or 100 deaths from
happening. Guns sometimes work. (Then again, there was an armed deputy sheriff
at Columbine High School the day of that massacre and he couldn't/didn't stop
it.) 
>I
am sorry to offer this reality check on our much-needed march toward a bunch of
well-intended, necessary – but ultimately, mostly cosmetic –
changes to our gun laws. The sad facts are these: Other countries that have
guns (like Canada, which has 7 million guns – mostly hunting guns – in
their 12 million households) have a low murder rate. Kids in Japan watch the
same violent movies and kids in Australia play the same violent video games
(Grand Theft Auto was created by a British company; the UK had 58 gun murders last year in a nation of 63 million
people).  
>  
>They simply don't kill each other at the
rate that we do. Why is that? THAT is the question we should be exploring while
we are banning and restricting guns: Who are we? 
>I'd like to try to answer that question. 
>We are a country whose leaders officially
sanction and carry out acts of violence as a means to often an immoral end. We
invade countries who didn't attack us. We're currently using drones in a
half-dozen countries, often killing civilians. 
>This
probably shouldn't come as a surprise to us as we are a nation founded on
genocide and built on the backs of slaves. We slaughtered 600,000 of each other
in a civil war. We "tamed the Wild West with a six-shooter," and we
rape and beat and kill our women without mercy and at a staggering rate: every three
hours a women is
murdered in the USA (half the time by an ex or a current); every three
minutes a woman is
raped in the USA; and every 15 seconds a woman is beaten in the USA. 
>We
belong to an illustrious
group of nations that
still have the death penalty (North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran). We think
nothing of letting tens of thousands of our own citizens die each year because
they are uninsured and thus don't see a doctor until it's too late. 
>Why
do we do this? One theory is simply "because we can." There is a
level of arrogance in the otherwise friendly American spirit, conning ourselves
into believing there's something exceptional about us that separates us from
all those "other" countries (there are indeed many good things about
us; the same could also be said of Belgium, New Zealand, France, Germany,
etc.). We think we're #1 in everything when the truth is our students are 17th in science
and 25th in math, and we're 35th in life
expectancy. We believe we have the greatest democracy but we
have the lowest voting turnout of any western democracy. We're biggest and the
bestest at everything and we demand and take what we want. 
>And sometimes we have to be violent
m*****f*****s to get it. But if one of us goes off-message and shows the
utterly psychotic nature and brutal results of violence in a Newtown or an
Aurora or a Virginia Tech, then we get all "sad" and "our hearts
go out to the families" and presidents promise to take "meaningful
action." Well, maybe this president means it this time. He'd better. An
angry mob of millions is not going to let this drop. 
>While we are discussing and demanding
what to do, may I respectfully ask that we stop and take a look at what I
believe are the three extenuating factors that may answer the question of why
we Americans have more violence than most anyone else: 
>1.
POVERTY. If there's one thing that separates us from the rest of the developed
world, it's this. 50 million of our people live in poverty. One in five
Americans goes
hungry at some point during the year. The majority of those who aren't poor are living
from paycheck to paycheck. There's no doubt this creates more crime. Middle
class jobs prevent crime and violence. (If you don't believe that, ask yourself
this: If your neighbor has a job and is making $50,000/year, what are the
chances he's going to break into your home, shoot you and take your TV? Nil.) 
>2.
FEAR/RACISM. We're an awfully fearful country considering that, unlike most
nations, we've never been invaded. (No, 1812 wasn't an invasion. We started it.)
Why on earth would we need 300 million guns in our homes? I get why the
Russians might be a little spooked (over 20 million of them died in World War
II). But what's our excuse? Worried that the Indians from the casino may go on
the warpath? Concerned that the Canadians seem to be amassing too many Tim
Horton's donut shops on both sides of the border? 
>No. It's because too many white people
are afraid of black people. Period. The vast majority of the guns in the U.S.
are sold to white people who live in the suburbs or the country. When we
fantasize about being mugged or home invaded, what's the image of the
perpetrator in our heads? Is it the freckled-face kid from down the street
– or is it someone who is, if not black, at least poor? 
>I think it would be worth it to a) do our
best to eradicate poverty and re-create the middle class we used to have, and
b) stop promoting the image of the black man as the boogeyman out to hurt you.
Calm down, white people, and put away your guns. 
>3. THE "ME" SOCIETY. I think
it's the every-man-for-himself ethos of this country that has put us in this
mess and I believe it's been our undoing. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!
You're not my problem! This is mine! 
>Clearly, we are no longer our brother's
and sister's keeper. You get sick and can't afford the operation? Not my
problem. The bank has foreclosed on your home? Not my problem. Can't afford to
go to college? Not my problem. 
>And yet, it all sooner or later becomes
our problem, doesn't it? Take away too many safety nets and everyone starts to
feel the impact. Do you want to live in that kind of society, one where you
will then have a legitimate reason to be in fear? I don't. 
>I'm
not saying it's perfect anywhere else, but I have noticed, in my travels, that
other civilized countries see a national benefit to taking care of each other.
Free medical care, free or low-cost college, mental health help. And I wonder
– why can't we do that? I think
it's because in many other countries people see each other not as separate and
alone but rather together, on the path of life, with each person existing as an
integral part of the whole. And you help them when they're in need, not punish them
because they've had some misfortune or bad break. I have to believe one of the
reasons gun murders in other countries are so rare is because there's less of
the lone wolf mentality amongst their citizens. Most are raised with a sense of
connection, if not outright solidarity. And that makes it harder to kill one
another. 
>  
>Well, there's some food for thought as we
head home for the holidays. Don't forget to say hi to your conservative
brother-in-law for me. Even he will tell you that, if you can't nail a deer in
three shots – and claim you need a clip of 30 rounds – you're not a
hunter my friend, and you have no business owning a gun. 
>Have a wonderful Christmas or a beautiful
December 25th! 
>    
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