I also continue to say that mass shooting pictures need to be on the news and no one is allowed to look away. Since this is the society that we have chosen to live in, we are all required to see the consequences.
When native tribal warriors returned from war, the entire tribe would gather around to listen to their stories. This enabled each member to share in the burdens of the battles fought on the tribe's behalf. No one was left in ignorance or their own alternative fact bubble, and warriors weren't on their own to carry the burden alone like we have now.
Yes, we "protect" people from having to see that, but we refuse to protect our kids. It's shameful. Thanks for sharing that lovely anecdote about tribal warriors.
It really is shameful, and I plan on using "you (people) aren't entitled to ignorance" as my go-to saying from now on. It sounds very useful, and I hope it comes across as a slap in the face.
When we as a nation did nothing to change laws after first graders got shot into non-existence by a tool of war, I stopped thinking that protecting children was at the top of our list as a country. Every time it pops back into my mind, the rage returns. With tears.
Wow! What a post! Keeping people in the darkness of ignorance is the MO of the abuser, for sure. We have an inherently abusive society. The way we treat each other from childhood- schoolyard bullies being unaccountable, misguided or malignant parenting, unhealed intergenerational trauma, abusive role models motivated by power, greed and narcissism- all of these, paired with enforced stoicism (crying = weakness, especially for boys), don’t be a tattletale, etc. and all the other lessons we learn growing up contribute to this permaculture of abuse we are stewing in.
Sorry for this long comment, but I feel compelled to speak additional truth from my own experience.
I was fortunate to attend Quaker elementary school as a kid and we were not censored, antisocial behavior was not allowed, we were taught and encouraged to form rational, informed arguments and thought processes. Being released from that environment into public schools as an adolescent was the shock of my life.
When I was nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit, I used to get a lot of college kids as patients who were admitted for alcohol poisoning. Sometimes the friends would pay a visit, and their eyes got wide when they saw all the tubes in their friend who was unresponsive, when just last night he was partying with all of them. The tube suctioning the charcoal mixture out of his stomach, the bladder catheter tube collecting his urine in a bag hanging from the bed, and the breathing tube attached to the ventilator. One time there was a group of friends who visited my patient. One of them was a little entitled a-hole who thought the whole scene was funny. I told them what all the tubes were doing and then kicked the little turd out of the room. The other friends stood by, silent and embarrassed.
I saw stabbings and traumas and the rare gunshot wound. But the recovery from these injuries from violence never gets shown in the media. The permanent disabilities and rehab and the impact on a previously fully functional and healthy human being that result from a head injury or other traumas are never shown. I always wanted to be able to bring the patient’s peers in to show them all the pain, blood, invasive tubes coming out of every orifice, a chest tube reinflating their punctured lung, the person with a catheter bag attached to a tube going into their bladder, a colostomy bag attached to their bullet damaged intestines, a tube up their nose or down their throat in their stomach suctioning gastric fluids and a tube into their lungs attached to a ventilator doing the work of breathing for them. But then I also wanted those peers to follow along the process of recovery, the weeks, months, years, and permanent damage and PTSD the person suffers after the initial trauma, the inability to work, the use of wheelchairs and assistive devices replacing the ability to walk, the damage to cognitive function.
We can’t bring the public in to see these sights because we have privacy laws, but I always thought it would be a good idea to bring teens in to see these patients, maybe they would think twice about drinking too much or playing with guns…Keeping them in the dark is a disservice.
But even more than that, now I think every single elected official who votes against gun safety and other public safety legislation should be made to see the aftermath of these injuries.
We do no service to the public by hiding the true and ugly parts. I agree that people need to have a public forum to speak their truth, and to fight back against the people who enabled these atrocities.
I agree with you. Thank you for such a thoughtful and informative comment. Your experience is truly fascinating. Yes, the more people see the consequences of their behavior, the more likely they are to do the right thing. Sigh... why can't we teach that?
"Why do we never get an answer/when we're knocking at the door/about a thousand different questions/about hate and death and war..." (The Moody Blues).
Don’t they understand this is how Hitler took over Nazi Germany. Satan is losing it with so many insane regulation that people we loved in need to step up🤬🤬🤬
I agree with your sentiment, hundred percent. Not a moment do I doubt your intent. Nor its degree of vigor. Or courage that it takes to stand where you do. NO...not for a second do I doubt what you wish for others as well as yourself. Much the same, to be heard and not spoken down to. I get it. While there is much more.
Thank you for your message. While allow me to offer a thought in the form of a question. When principle is the guiding light what does one do when he or she realizes that the strategy is flawed? Hence, the possibility of a new set of tactics?
It is a proven fact that driving a car kills more people in America than any weapon that harbors a clip or magazine. So do we rid the country of cars? I wonder about that inquiry in the context of your message. And to that end, I leave you with the question, what does one do when the principle is true while the strategy to living it is flawed?
Thank you again, particularly in willing to allow me to share my voice, and its indelible truth deemed my message. Eric
I also continue to say that mass shooting pictures need to be on the news and no one is allowed to look away. Since this is the society that we have chosen to live in, we are all required to see the consequences.
When native tribal warriors returned from war, the entire tribe would gather around to listen to their stories. This enabled each member to share in the burdens of the battles fought on the tribe's behalf. No one was left in ignorance or their own alternative fact bubble, and warriors weren't on their own to carry the burden alone like we have now.
Yes, we "protect" people from having to see that, but we refuse to protect our kids. It's shameful. Thanks for sharing that lovely anecdote about tribal warriors.
It really is shameful, and I plan on using "you (people) aren't entitled to ignorance" as my go-to saying from now on. It sounds very useful, and I hope it comes across as a slap in the face.
When we as a nation did nothing to change laws after first graders got shot into non-existence by a tool of war, I stopped thinking that protecting children was at the top of our list as a country. Every time it pops back into my mind, the rage returns. With tears.
I think it's better to feel that emotion every time than it is to bury it and pretend we don't have a problem. Strength to you Wendy!
Wow! What a post! Keeping people in the darkness of ignorance is the MO of the abuser, for sure. We have an inherently abusive society. The way we treat each other from childhood- schoolyard bullies being unaccountable, misguided or malignant parenting, unhealed intergenerational trauma, abusive role models motivated by power, greed and narcissism- all of these, paired with enforced stoicism (crying = weakness, especially for boys), don’t be a tattletale, etc. and all the other lessons we learn growing up contribute to this permaculture of abuse we are stewing in.
Sorry for this long comment, but I feel compelled to speak additional truth from my own experience.
I was fortunate to attend Quaker elementary school as a kid and we were not censored, antisocial behavior was not allowed, we were taught and encouraged to form rational, informed arguments and thought processes. Being released from that environment into public schools as an adolescent was the shock of my life.
When I was nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit, I used to get a lot of college kids as patients who were admitted for alcohol poisoning. Sometimes the friends would pay a visit, and their eyes got wide when they saw all the tubes in their friend who was unresponsive, when just last night he was partying with all of them. The tube suctioning the charcoal mixture out of his stomach, the bladder catheter tube collecting his urine in a bag hanging from the bed, and the breathing tube attached to the ventilator. One time there was a group of friends who visited my patient. One of them was a little entitled a-hole who thought the whole scene was funny. I told them what all the tubes were doing and then kicked the little turd out of the room. The other friends stood by, silent and embarrassed.
I saw stabbings and traumas and the rare gunshot wound. But the recovery from these injuries from violence never gets shown in the media. The permanent disabilities and rehab and the impact on a previously fully functional and healthy human being that result from a head injury or other traumas are never shown. I always wanted to be able to bring the patient’s peers in to show them all the pain, blood, invasive tubes coming out of every orifice, a chest tube reinflating their punctured lung, the person with a catheter bag attached to a tube going into their bladder, a colostomy bag attached to their bullet damaged intestines, a tube up their nose or down their throat in their stomach suctioning gastric fluids and a tube into their lungs attached to a ventilator doing the work of breathing for them. But then I also wanted those peers to follow along the process of recovery, the weeks, months, years, and permanent damage and PTSD the person suffers after the initial trauma, the inability to work, the use of wheelchairs and assistive devices replacing the ability to walk, the damage to cognitive function.
We can’t bring the public in to see these sights because we have privacy laws, but I always thought it would be a good idea to bring teens in to see these patients, maybe they would think twice about drinking too much or playing with guns…Keeping them in the dark is a disservice.
But even more than that, now I think every single elected official who votes against gun safety and other public safety legislation should be made to see the aftermath of these injuries.
We do no service to the public by hiding the true and ugly parts. I agree that people need to have a public forum to speak their truth, and to fight back against the people who enabled these atrocities.
I agree with you. Thank you for such a thoughtful and informative comment. Your experience is truly fascinating. Yes, the more people see the consequences of their behavior, the more likely they are to do the right thing. Sigh... why can't we teach that?
Don’t *even* get me started on that…. but you hit the nail on the head in your original post. “Nothing to see here”
"Why do we never get an answer/when we're knocking at the door/about a thousand different questions/about hate and death and war..." (The Moody Blues).
Walter,
The terms "hero" and "warrior" are used interchangably or paired up.
How about a "Wounded by Warriors Project?" Wounded by Crusaders Project?
Wounded by "our" warriors?
Wounded by ignorance and silence?
I have a local story about the voucher thing, but may sqve it for one of my oun posts.
Fred
Don’t they understand this is how Hitler took over Nazi Germany. Satan is losing it with so many insane regulation that people we loved in need to step up🤬🤬🤬
I agree with your sentiment, hundred percent. Not a moment do I doubt your intent. Nor its degree of vigor. Or courage that it takes to stand where you do. NO...not for a second do I doubt what you wish for others as well as yourself. Much the same, to be heard and not spoken down to. I get it. While there is much more.
Thank you for your message. While allow me to offer a thought in the form of a question. When principle is the guiding light what does one do when he or she realizes that the strategy is flawed? Hence, the possibility of a new set of tactics?
It is a proven fact that driving a car kills more people in America than any weapon that harbors a clip or magazine. So do we rid the country of cars? I wonder about that inquiry in the context of your message. And to that end, I leave you with the question, what does one do when the principle is true while the strategy to living it is flawed?
Thank you again, particularly in willing to allow me to share my voice, and its indelible truth deemed my message. Eric
To my children's children's children:
"Watching and waiting, for someone to understand me. I hope it won't be very long..."