I'm not afraid of nature. I'm afraid of people blinded by faith in a killing machine.
Nothing like a click-bait-y title, eh? Well, truth is, it's not an exaggeration at all.
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The crocodile tears of mass killers no longer impress me.
The opposite of fear is not courage. The opposite of fear is beauty and freedom. It does take courage to stand up for beauty and freedom, though, in the face of violence and/or the threats thereof.
When I think about the things that are anxiety-inducing for me, they are not often things such as natural disasters like earthquakes or typhoons. These are extremely disturbing and powerful phenomena, which have killed hundreds of thousands of human beings just in recent history alone. There is, however, no mal-intent in their killing. These natural disasters happen, well, naturally, for the most part (there is some interesting information floating around about manufactured weather, but that goes beyond the scope of this post).
What am I "afraid of"? What does give me stomachaches, and lingers in the back of my mind all day, every day? Thoughts of "the state." Governments. Man-made seats of power recognized even today as being created by "divine right" (people will claim they do not believe this, but if pressed can really come up with no other justification for their irrational faith in the state).
What scares me is people who believe that possession of a plant should be punished by kidnapping and breaking up families, stealing innocent men and women from their children, and locking them in cages, depriving children of loving parents.
What scares me is the mobs and masses of individuals who still hold the irrational and outdated belief that it is my duty to pay for the bombs and machines of war that shred the flesh of infants overseas, bombing wedding parties, funerals, ambulances, hospitals, and ending the lives of men, women, and children thousands of miles away that I have never met. If I refuse to pay for this carnage, I am deemed a criminal, and deserve to be caged or killed. How barbaric. But hey, that's "civilization," right?
What scares me is not only the cops who kill in cold blood: "Cross your legs and crawl toward me! If you fuck up I'll kill you!" What scares me is also the legions of brainwashed individuals who worship these figures as virtual gods: "He shouldn't have crawled so fast! He reached back!" The cops rarely if ever receive the same punishment (if they receive any at all) that a normal, "mere mortal" would be met with. The arbiters judge themselves and justice is of course not served, while the corpses of Daniel Shaver, Aiyana Jones, and countless others rot in the ground.
All of the above examples share a common theme: irrationality and violence.
NOT ENDOWED WITH REASON.
What reason is there to kidnap a man for having a plant? For bombing a house full of children? For shooting a man on his hands and knees, who has harmed no one, begging for his life to be spared? There is no reason used here. These are irrational and violent acts.
VIOLENCE.
Irrationality alone is not really a scary thing. The man down the street spinning in circles smiling and singing in his own world may be said to act irrationally. The difference between this man and state agents is that his existence and livelihood do not depend on exercising violence against you. The same cannot be said for the cop, the bureaucrat, the soldier, or the politician.
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You give them your life and they give you a goddamned rock.
I'm tired. I'm tired of the anxiety. The world is full of people who just want to live. To smile. To laugh. To work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Things will never be "perfect," but god knows they could be a hell of a lot better than this.
We live in a culture that attempts to justify the murder of infants, the kidnapping of children and parents alike, and the killing of one's neighbors by other individuals in costumes vested with "magic power."
If that isn't a scary goddamned nightmare, then I don't know what is.
For those like me, that just want to live and let live. I'd just like to say thanks for existing. For just being. You are the salt of the earth. You bring flavor, and you also irritate the boring, the violent, and the half-dead. In the end, those with the spirit of children win. Those who violate others will have to face the consequences of these violations. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but even if it is, I am going to continue to strive in creating an existence here that is closer and closer to that vision.
Peace, and thank you for reading.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
My country was in a war 20years ago and i can tell you by first hand that war is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. Full scale destruction, countles lives lost and countles destiny destroyed forever, whole cities parished and the worst of all war crimes torture, murders and rape of civilians on a daily basis
I am so sorry to hear this. Where are you from?
i am from Croatia, we were a part of former Yugoslavia which fall apart in 1990 and then war started and lasted for long 5 years
I feel everything in this post & agree with all your points. I particularly like what you are saying about natural disasters lacking bad intent. Yeah they suck but they aren't our enemies they just happen. I hate the military and the pro-militaristic outlook many countries have. And,i grew up in it. Good ole military brat. All It did was tare my family apart. And now my brother is facing severe mental disturbance from it. Our worst enemies are these hive minded freaking people who follow orders & commands without question.
Couldn't agree more. Sorry to hear about your brother. Wishing him only the best and healing from his wounds.
This post is just the tippy-top of the iceberg of the violations and denigration of humanity individuals employed by the state engage in. I'm sure you know. Thanks for sharing.
War is an absolute nightmare for anyone involved, but there are some wars that have to be fought. A strong military is the best way to ensure peace because nobody would dare attack. The US has the added bonus of the Second Amendment to protect from external threats, but for other countries that restrict freedoms, the military is a necessity.
A WW2 vet once told me there are no winners in war & I agree
Great post Graham.
What scares me the most is the fact that most people buy into this horrific system of debt, death and destruction. Not only enabling the psychopaths that sit atop it but actually acting as a non paid Policing arm of it by accusing each other of an 'ism'.
Political correctness is the latest control mechanism and so many have bought into this terrible fantasy parading as a force for good, educated into the children in the government training camps they are forced to attend and shutting g down anyone who dares question the narrative.
Just look at what many now see as normal.....
Bombing innocent civilians for peace...
Shutting down free speech to protect our way of life.....
Refusing to prosecute criminal bankers for massive financial crimes whilst locking people up for possessing weed....
The list goes on and on and on.......
It needs to stop, I'm fucking sick of it mate.
So am I man. Thanks always for the good comments. Knowing folks like you are out there makes things a bit more tolerable man.
Kudos, you've just expressed perfectly what I believe is a great many people's feelings. That was spot on.
Thanks, @jerryt. I'm glad to hear that.
Fear is their only fuel. It allows ignorance to thrive and sets us against one another. The reason I put so much emphasis on community is that even when surrounded by an environment so polluted, it allows those wounds of years in fear to heal.
Keep preaching brother
You are so right here. This is something I think about so often these days. We need each other to heal.
War OF terror. that is what it really is.
I struggle with the right reaction to it. Do I waste my time trying to convincing people that it is wrong? What if they can't and don't want to hear it? they claim liberals are blind, but they are bloodthirsty crazy people.
i think both sides are nuts. each trying to silence the other.
I think you nailed it.
There are more than two sides. You're describing the neocons and Obama democrats. The Trump republicans (small r) oppose these evil acts without wanting to invade other countries. Protect your own country as much as you can and do so without stomping on other countries if possible.
to me, it is all a controlled event. all politics is a joke, there are very few real people. ron paul seemed real to me, but haven't seen one since.
it is the WWE, it is just like that.. all scripted. trump pretends to be an independent mind, but then i see how it is all playing out... he is celebrated for helping the job market... well if you kick out the immigrants that obama brought in of course there will be more jobs. that is just simple math.
and they pretend that things aren't as they are, I dunno, seems like it is all a waste of time, and all is delusional thinking.
i think this is the truth:
we are powerful creators, and as long as we are looking outside ourselves our attention isn't on what we truly want, but what we want inside a system of control. that is the matrix, that is what is happening. I think I have given to much attention to all this.. so i am returning to myself and my own desires, and only putting my attention on what I want. the universe doesn't understand 'no' only where your attention is.
Yes,imagine everyone is like a mind of a kind soul (children) just born few months later.
Very straight forward hungry they will ask by crying, happy they will laugh, upset just cry and when stop they forgot what had happen.
Children won't remember anything bad, they are easily content.
The basis of the problem is the USA main stream media IMHO.
They have managed to convince the USA people that you are all under some sort of mass threat from the rest of the world.
Sure there are some that disagree with the USA bombing them (I would also!). but as far as "Terror" goes, maybe take a look at the USA road toll each year! Why are the USA people so blind? Maybe they are not, the propaganda is VERY good! (as it was in 1940 germany!)
I agree. I’d also say that anyone anywhere in the world that believes in the legitimacy of violence-based nation states (any and all modern governments) has “lost it.”
I'm so glad to see your post. And agree that what you said. I think some funky people will never change their attitude... @kafkanarchy84
Great article, what scares me is this world view of dominance over nature, giving people the right to destroy our planet and become more and more isolated from ourselves, one another and the natural world.
So true. We need the earth and each other. We need that connection.