Anyone who has known me for a length of time knows I am not a fan of war metaphor. I am not a fan of using violent rhetoric to fire up the masses.
You see it all the time. The war on Christmas. The front lines of the battle to win their hearts. We need to target our political rivals. We need to destroy our enemies.
It gets to me a lot when I hear people use violence to make their point.
Maybe people don`t understand why it can be so bothersome... at least until now. The event on the weekend in Arizona. I would post links to the news stories, but due to the 24 hour news cycle, the only thing I can find is articles on how this victim is the third cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow. Really? Is that where we are going with this story? How does it effect the pretty people?
The thing is, this dude thought it was a viable idea to shoot people because of their political beliefs. What do you think made this person think that? Was it Grand Theft Auto? Was it rock and or roll music? I am pretty sure this dude was not listening to Marilyn Manson. I could be wrong, but so far he seems less like the Cypress Hill type and more like the Toby Keith type.
The point I am making is that war metaphor and violent speech has become pervasive. pervasive in only a way the comfortable people can make it. Let me be frank and clear.
Those who have experienced violence, those who understand it, and those who know the results never invoke violence in their speech unless it is necessary. Unless they mean it. The reason for this is that they know what happens. They know what it means to dominate, to destroy, to hurt others.
Only the weak minded, poor spirited, comfortable people can easily reach in to the bag of tricks and pull out, we need to target our enemies. Only the comfortable and small minded can produce a website that uses targeting reticules over the faces of their rivals and not understand the meaning of it.
As long as we keep telling people these things we will always develop the violent, disaffected mind, and we will always incite them to take actions. I haven't seen a reaction from some of these people, other than to quietly and quickly remove these images and vitiolic messages from the public eye. I can guarantee you we will hear it is not my fault. It is not what I meant.
In communication two things happen. The sender encodes a message, and the receiver decodes the message. Language, visuals, these matter people. The way in which you code your message have an effect on the way others get the message. While you continue to use war metaphor you are part of the problem.
In this case, the receiver decoded the message and was unable to draw a line between hyperbole and reality. There will always be these people. They will always misunderstand, or take things to the worst point. We cannot get around that, but we can stop fueling them.
There is a line between entertainment and satire, and the pubic discourse. Music, comedy, movies, have always, and will always create caricatures of things that go on in our society, but when our society becomes a caricature, then we have crossed the line. No longer is it that rock music is parodying the blow hard. The blow hard has gone so far int heir discourse that we have lost perspective. How can you parody the crazy when the crazy have gone to the point where Marilyn Manson says....unless I pretend to be a politician actually eating babies, I can't top them.
I want to point out someone I work with. He uses violence in his speech nearly non stop. Whenever he is perplexed, frustrated or challenged he says something about punching you in the face or smacking you hard, or some such bullshit. It is the refuge of the tired weak mind. His intellect is not strong enough to develop other statements.
In political discourse we have gone from making a change and yes we can to we need to target our rivals. We need to break them. Take our country back. The revolution is coming.
Do you see the difference? Do you comprehend the change?
There is no war on Jesus. There is no war on family values. People disagree with you. Instead of making your case, you yell, you threaten and you push.
These are bullies who want to get their way, just like the guy at work.
Their chickens now roost. Someday, somehow, the guy at work will get hurt and understand he is just a bully. I do hope the media and politicians are starting to get it. It is terribe that people had to die. It is terrible we had to have this violence descend on us for us to get the message.
I want to commend Keith Obberman for taking ownership of his role in this, and for coming out and making a strong case, for saying it better than I can. This is what Keith said.
I won't say anything about the actual weapons. I will say, escalating the rhetoric, escalating the violence is the wrong direction, no matter who is doing it.
The revolution is coming. But not the one you are looking for. Not the one that will bring happiness or a return to your values. The revolution that is coming is anarchy.
The comfortable will not survive. They will need to adapt.
Let's break the revolution before it gets started. Not by breaking the revolutionaries, but by creating an environment where it is unacceptable to be a bully. Unacceptable to fight over ideas. Make it unacceptable to target your rivals.
30 years ago people saw the way we were and spoke out against it, but we continue to go down that road.
We can blame video games, we can blame metal, but we would be wrong.
Guns, fear, anger, self loathing, self righteousness, pride, weak mindedness are to blame.
Let's stop being weak minded, and let's demand more from our leaders.
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