|
At
least the suiciders of the East -- self-immolating Tibetan monks and East
Indian farmers -- only do in themselves, while the US West grapples with
its history of violent rampage followed by the killer
typically killing himself.
Then,
there's a bigger, global issue.
"As US mourns 20 children killed
in gun massacre amid calls for greater gun control, landmine blast leaves
Afghans mourning." [1]
In
Norway, July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik "bombed
government buildings in Oslo, resulting in eight deaths then carried out a mass shooting at a
camp of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) of the Labour Party on the island of
Utøya, where he killed 69 people, mostly teenagers." Part of the
motivation was his "far-right militant ideology." [2]
Militancy proved significant again:
"Besides the three
weapons found at the school, Adam Lanza also had access to at least three more
guns, a law enforcement source said. Investigators recovered a .45-caliber
Henry Repeating Rifle, a .22-caliber Marlin Rifle and a .30-caliber Enfield
Rifle, though it's unclear where they were found, the source said.
Investigators believe Lanza killed his mother and then took her guns and made
his way to the elementary school wearing black fatigues and a military vest,
according to a law enforcement official." [3]
The
word "sui-cide" means to "self-cut-down, self-kill."
Teen cutting is a recent, though milder, variation.
"It is estimated that 1 in 200
girls have cut themselves. 13% of 15 to 16-year-olds have deliberately harmed
themselves. Cutting occurs most often with girls/women between the ages of 13
and 30." [4]
Among
a list of reasons, suicide tends to be prompted by a great disconnect
and/or feeling there is no other way out of a painful situation.
The
spiritual lifestyle of Tibetan monks is being squelched by policies of the
Chinese government.
The
humble lifestyle of the East Indian farmer is being severely affected by the
egregious practices of agri-businesses; some farmers have killed themselves so
their families would get the insurance money.
Many
Native Americans -- after much of their lifestyle and their spiritual
traditions were taken from them -- turned to spirits, aka alcohol, which, in
these circumstances, is too often a slow suicide.
Thus,
one can assume fairly that Adam Lanza and those before him were, in some form,
deeply disconnected.
In
the article "What Is it About Men That They're Committing These Horrible Massacres" Meghan Murphy cites
other articles to present these statistics:
"In
31 of the school shootings that have taken place since 1999, the murderers were
all men. Out of the 62 mass murders which happened over the past 30 years, only
one of those shooters was a woman. The overwhelming majority of the gunmen were
white."
[5]
With
the outpouring of recent articles on the topic, one of the best
overviews I've read is the concisely written "A Culture That Condones The Killing Of Children And
Teaches Children To Kill" [6] by Lucinda Marshall, Founder
and Director of the Feminist Peace Network.
The
question of personal psychosis versus a sick culture may not be as simple as
either/or. Perhaps it is during the teen years that institutionalized
de-feminization of boys puts macho-masculinity on a pedestal, thus adding to the
already challenging issue of sexual identity. I'm no Freudian analyst, but I do
see a correlation between repressed or distorted male sexuality and the
shooting-off of bullets and other projectiles from phallic weaponry. As national
military budgets show, the age-factor is irrelevant.
Considering
that teen cutting is predominantly done by girls, perhaps issues of
self-loathing and self-image are to blame; how much of that is related to
sexuality is yet another question.
Six degrees of desperation
A
Chinese man recently went nuts with a knife at a school but no one was killed,
thus proving that guns do kill people, despite the saying "guns don't
kill people, people kill people." In that incident there were no deaths
but some suffered major injuries.
Of
this "latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks at Chinese schools
and kindergartens", it was reported that, "Most of the attackers have
been mentally disturbed men involved in personal disputes or unable to adjust
to the rapid pace of social change in China..." [7]
The
"rapid pace of social change" is another form of the aforementioned
disruptions of lifestyle and spiritual connection: Tibetan monks, East Indian
farmers, Native Americans, troubled teenagers …
Soon after
the Newtown massacre, in Newport Beach, CA, "A man stood in the parking
lot of a shopping mall in Southern California … and fired 50 shots into the
air," thus proving that neither guns nor people always kill people.
"The gunman who fired more than 50
rounds at busy Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach on Saturday was
described by police as a "destitute individual" who decided that
"this was his way of venting his life problems."" [8]
In
April 2012, "a 77-year-old man [a Greek retired pharmacist] committed
suicide … According to a note published by local media, the man said it was the
only dignified path he could take. He also compared the current Greek
government to the one the country had under the Nazi Germany occupation and
warned that the cabinet would eventually face the same fate as Italian Fascist
leader Benito Mussolini."
The
retired pharmacist did not take a bunch of pills, rather he "committed
suicide in central Athens by the nation's parliament, shooting himself with a
handgun in apparent financial desperation … A suicide note has been found on
the old man, saying 'The Tsolakoglou government has annihilated
all traces for my survival. And since I cannot find justice, I cannot find
another means to react besides putting a decent end [to my life], before I start
searching the garbage for food and become a burden for my child.' " [10]
We need more than a modest proposal
"A Modest Proposal … is a
Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift
in 1729. Swift suggests that impoverished Irish might ease their economic
troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. This
satirical hyperbole mocks heartless attitudes towards the poor, as well as
Irish policy in general." [11]
A
modernized Swiftian proposal would be the encouragement of (typically white) male
suicides. That is, if these deranged killers simply killed themselves, a
lot of lives would be saved, a lot of trauma avoided.
Lawrence
Ferlinghetti, in the documentary "The Coney Island of Lawrence Ferlinghetti,"
cites the May 4, 1970 Kent State University massacre as a turning point in
American history, i.e. the political revolution died, though the social and
consciousness revolutions continued.
The
country is still dealing with police-state sponsored brutality, as the more
peaceful rubber bullet, tear-gas and night stick crackdown on the occupy
movement encampments proved.
The
Kent State massacre "involved the shooting of unarmed college students by
the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds
over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others,
one of whom suffered permanent paralysis. Some of the students who were shot
had been protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia, which President
Richard Nixon announced in a television address on April 30." [12]
Pardon
the dark humor, but "67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds" is
overkill, a similar pattern recently witnessed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Though
debatable, reports that the Japanese were already in the process of or willing
to surrender raises the question: were not the bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki examples of overkill? [13]
Is
not the reported number of humans killed (from around 100,000 to 1 million
plus) from the war on Iraq (based on false information) not overkill and
cause for weeping? [14]
Are
not the drone strikes and killings of Arab children and civilians not overkill
and cause for weeping? [15]
Is
not the US military with its 700 to 1000 global army bases perpetuating a
culture of overkill?
We
need to look again at and further discuss the huge sums of money being
spent on surveillance and so-called security, neither of which stopped
hurricane full moon Sandy nor Adam Lanza (the difference being that the former
was a natural phenomenon).
Let the weeds grow
The America People have been known to
be suckered into Corporate-America's destruction of others. Think of how the
perfect lawn -- with every blade of grass the exact same color, at the exact
same height standing at attention like little green chemicalized nazis -- got
so promoted and accepted that it led to a big bucks herbicide industry of weed-killers,
with the cheery dandelion as one of the perennial victims.
Yes, in quiet little sleepy
neighborhoods across America, stocked on quaint little hardware store shelves
and sold by innocent teenagers on their first job, sit an overkill of weed-killer
products. Recently, however, small hardware stores as well as big boxes have
started carrying organic and Mother-Earth-friendly products.
Until
we as a species make the connections that, for example, a culture that embraces
a seasonal ritual of overkilling living things in its own yards is fostering emotional
numbness and disregard for life, those prone to violent outbursts will more
severely teeter on the fence.
If
we do not examine the concept, nay, the reality of overkill, as well
as the great disconnect from Nature, we will continue to argue over
whether it is guns or knives or a bad hair day or people with mental conditions
or the culture that kills people.
Let's
get to the root of the overkill and disconnect sociopathology. Let's do it so
we don't have to keep watching that damned breaking news. Let's do it for the precious
children. Let's do it for the divine variety of grasses and for all the kids
that, deep in their hearts, really want to grow like weeds and make wishes by
blowing on dandelion seeds.
Notes:
2.
“Anders Behring Breivik”
3. “Connecticut school victims were shot
multiple times”
4. “Teen Cutting Facts” & “Teen Cutting Defined”
5. “What Is it About Men That They're Committing These Horrible Massacres”
6.
“A Culture That Condones The Killing Of Children And Teaches Children To Kill”
7. “Chinese man attacks 22 children” & “China attack illustrates
U.S. gun law divide”
8. “Newport Beach mall
shooter called 'destitute'
9. “Pensioner's suicide over
'occupation govt' sparks riots in Greece”
10. “Pensioner
shoots himself at Greek Parliament, refuses to 'search for food in garbage'”
11. “A Modest
Proposal”
12. “Kent State shootings”
13. “Was Hiroshima Necessary?: Why the Atomic Bombings Could Have Been
Avoided”
14.
“Casualties of the Iraq War”
15. “Do Arabs Cry For Their Children
Too? The Obama Hypocrisy”
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_65229.shtml
Mankh (Walter
E. Harris III) is an essayist and resident poet on Axis of Logic. In addition
to his work as a writer, he is a small press publisher and Turtle Islander. He
edited the anthology, The (Un)Occupy Movement: Autonomy
of Consciousness, Practical Solutions, Human Equality,
and hosts an audio show "Between the Lines: listening to literature
online." You can contact him via his literary website.
READ MORE OF MANKH'S POEMS AND ESSAYS ON AXIS OF LOGIC |
Print This 
Print This 