I was just reading an Australian news page and there was story of a mass shooting at a restaurant in North Carolina, another mass shooting at a church in Michigan, and the deployment of troops to "war-ravaged" Portland. I dunno, but this really doesn't scream of first-world standards. Is it really that bad in America?
Of course, the media is going to skew the perspective for maximum shock, outrage and click rate, but it really does seem that a lot of society is falling apart in the US and getting worse. Sure, sending in "the troops" might be a short-term measure, but if prolonged, doesn't that mean that the US becomes a police state? The troops sent to war-ravaged Portland are there to quell the protests targeting the ICE controlled immigration detention centres. Calling it a police state might seem extreme.
A police state is a system of governance where the government exerts extreme control over the population through its security forces, suppressing civil liberties and dissent to maintain power.
Or not.
Who'd have thought that if we encourage people to spend all their time watching the news, and we incentive the news to polarize the audience to maximize profit, and we turn politics into a competition of us versus them personality instead of policy, we would end up with more extremist groups. It is inconceivable and incredible to think that profit at any cost could turn people into extremists...
Or very predictable.
Essentially, it seems that all of the polarization has effectively created a lot of "terrorist cell" groups, each fighting for its own narrow purpose like zealots. And within these groups, there are individual extremists who take it that much further, enacting their own violent events independently. What the governments and corporations have "successfully" achieved through its divide and conquer strategy to maximise wealth and control over the majority, has decentralised violence down to the granular level. They have created a hydra with ever more heads, and the more they cut off, the more extreme they grow back.
Do you remember when the US went into Afghanistan to win the "hearts and minds" of the people? Twenty years of occupation and control - how'd that work out? Hearts and minds are not able to be won through force and coercion, all that does is create outwardly silent enemies, with internally boiling blood. And now, the US seems to be resembling the tribal conflicts of the Middle East more and more, and the government looks to maintain control in much the same way that the Middle East has controlled the people there. Is that they kind of country average Americans want to live in?
The Middle East has fought over many things but it is often dissectible across broad religious lines, where fundamentalists will be against the progressives, or some kind of tribal background difference. Even in the US the conservatives are still somewhat religiously aligned, but the thing is, there are many religions in the US that people will ascribe to, even though they are not organised religions at all.
People want to "belong" to some kind of group or movement and feel relevancy and meaning by identifying with something, anything, no matter how ridiculous it may be. And once they have chosen their identity of the moment, it gives them adversaries that they can see as threats and oppressors.
People love identity, because it gives them something to hate.
The challenge is that everyone has been taught to hate someone, and there is enough support to keep shifting people toward active violence, no matter the personal consequences. They can walk into a church with an assault rifle and open fire, or sit up on a roof with a long gun and assassinate, or walk into a classroom or restaurant with a handgun and take the lives of people they don't even know. And while they might all have their personal reasons for enacting the violence, it all comes back to the same place. People look at left and right, but that is not the root, because it is already divided.
To get to the root, we'd have to find the singular point, and that comes down to all of us. We are all part of the cause of the violence, because we are the whole. We might argue that we are inherently violent as a species, but to consider that this is a given that can't be changed, seems a little pathetic, considering how far we have come as a species in other areas. We must be able to overcome ourselves, but it isn't likely possible if we just keep repeating the behaviours of the past. Especially when those behaviours have led us to a world that is increasingly divided with each division feeling oppressed.
Everyone is oppressed?
It is a strange situation, isn't it? Because we have so many different kinds of groups, it is now possible that no matter what group, what person, everyone can claim to be a victim. Black people are victim, white people are victim, Christians, Jews and Muslims are victim. Men, women and children are victim. Gay, Lesbian, Hetero, Queer and all the other various slices of sexuality are all victim. Young people are victims and the elderly are victim. It is fucking endless.
A single group under the label "victim".
And every victim, feels justified to enact revenge on whomever they feel is the one who perpetrates the crime against their identity. And when they do, they are always celebrated for it by someone, somewhere. No matter how terrible the act of the perpetrator, there is always someone out there who says "the victim deserved it".
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
scorn
/skɔːn/
noun
a feeling and expression of contempt or disdain for someone or something.
The entire economy is being driven by contempt and disdain for others. The internet is filled with the scorn of the entire victim group. And the practical expression of the scorn is on a spectrum of violence. From trashing the car of a cheating partner, to running down random people on a street, to sanctioned genocide of a group people in an act of revenge.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Love.
How little there is in a world where everyone is a victim who feels entitled to harm their perpetrator.
Hell hath no fury. Heaven hath no fury. Only we do.
We are the root.
Taraz
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Forgive me, but this is so well written, that I wish I wrote it.
It is satirical, but gentle, it is accusatory, but not pointing at anyone in particular, it is not so much a universal accusation, but a universal call to action, a suggestion if you will, that we take universal action, to save the collective us. And you suggest that we start with love. Per haps I may be so bold as to suggest love of ourselves, our children, our siblings, our parents, our cousins, our aunties and uncles, our friends and neighbors, and their families, their relatives, and on and on, until we realize that we are related to or friends with many, many people in the world. And we don't want to see them indiscriminally butchered, but that we have found ourselves in a land of indiscriminate butchering. And then maybe we realize that hate cannot vanquish hate, hate on gives birth to nore hate, and more hate isn't going to save us. Darkness cannot conquer darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot conquer hate, only love can do that. So in the words of John Lennon let's give peace a chance and may it start with me.
As was said, "Be the change".
The opposite of Love is not hate, it is fear. All the hate is rooted in fear of loss of something people identify with.
It’s worse.
We’re to the point where we really need a general strike to bring this regime to its knees.
But there’s a catch. I’m not aware any general strike having successfully done so in a country where the capital is not also the largest city.
Also, bread and circuses can go a long way in tamping down dissent.
How do you feel about the changes over say, the last thirty years where you are? How has the average person's life changed, and how has it got so out of control?
Well, there’s certainly been an ongoing concentration of wealth and enshitification for the less well off that started well before Trump and seems to be getting worse. And democracy has been slowly crumbling for a while now. But it’s accelerated rapidly since this January and I’m not at all sure that the U.S. could currently be described as a functioning democracy. Our Supreme Court is stacked with sycophants and Congress with cowards.
I really do feel like both Reagan getting into power and Gore incorrectly ceding to Bush Jnr were the two big downward inflection points for the US (and unfortunately the world along with it).
It would have been interesting to see Gore there.
I would literally pay so much money for a crystal ball that would allow me to gaze at that timeline.
Yeah, this is what I expected. Trump is both a symptom of the degradation, and a catalyst to drive it faster. And it is spreading globally. If something doesn't happen soon, there is no reversal possible and it will run its course all the way through, like a metastisized cancer.
not true.
TDS much
TDS much
The troops are all a political stunt. It's not like they are really needed as far as I know. It's all about you know who flexing their muscles. The church shooting in Michigan was about an hour away from where I live. I have some old friends who live in that town. I have thoughts on why it happened, but it's all speculation at this point.
There isn't enough info for me to speculate, but I am sure there is far more for you there. However, there seems to always be a "why" to justify this kind of thing and I really believe it comes down to the way we have been made to feel like we are eternal victims oppressed by someone or other.
It is all inflammatory to further drive a wedge.
I'm definitely the sort of person who can appreciate that sometimes crap just happens, so I don't really look for blame as much as some people do. This case is just laid out a bit too perfectly for it to be something else. Based on the comments I have seen about it, there appear to be a lot of people who believe the same thing I do.
I am sorry to hear you have friends there.
I hope they are okay.
I am from the states, but currently live in the pacific ocean and honestly I am hesitant to travel to the states because the violence seems so random. It's disheartening, that amongst the usual degradation of political stunts and grandstanding our children and elderly are being slaughtered. I hope we begin to develop the collective will to protect our children with metal detectprs and security guards. Perhaps we need to turn schools and churches into gunfree zones as a wake-up call to our citizenry that we have a real problem, The newss of the shootings doesn't seem to do it.
Metal detectors aren't really that effective despite what people try to make you think. They give you a false sense of security. It's definitely sad though. I'm not sure how to fix it at this point. I expect the collective will never come to a reasonable solution.
Dude, the troops to Portland is beyond parody... there's been like, 15 people protesting the ICE facility most days, but Trump got tricked by Fox News who had been showing footage of the George Floyd protests. Trump has access to the world's best intel-gathering agencies and he's making billion dollar decisions based on what he sees on Fox.
I really do think that organized religion is a huge part of the problem, especially in the US. The Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have something like a $400B investment fund, and many evangelical churches collect a ton, spend money on lobbyists and heavily influence who their congregation votes for. I honestly don't think the US Republican party would have any power at all if it wasn't for religious organizations and billionaire-owned media companies - their policies are incredibly unpopular.
That is his audience. He doesn't care about anything else except his own ego.
Religion is definitely part of the problem, as it is easy to polarise the religious behind very singular topics, like abortion. And when it comes to Mormons, we used to have Mormons come and stay with us in Australia. The first set that arrived on the first night, wouldn't sit at the table to eat dinner because of the colour of my father. My grandad (mother's side) went to their room and said that they sit at the table or they get out.
This is true, but it often comes down to ownership. I wrote about "conservatives" the other day having something to conserve. A lot of those on the left have far less ownership than those own the right - less to conserve, less to protect. But, they still want to have benefits, right? Of course the policies made to protect wealth are going to be unpopular, because most people aren't wealthy. The problem is that neither side has solutions, they are just as bad as each other, just in different ways.
When I think of 'conservatives' I think of people like Mitt Romney and Malcom Turnbull, people who want to grow the economy by reducing government spending and imposing fewer limits on business.
I think a better name for Reagan and Trump supporters would be 'regressives', people who want to regress back to a time where white, male landowners had all the wealth and power.
I personally know of US conservatives who voted for both Biden and Harris because they were more closely aligned to their values than Trump.
The way I view progressives is as investors. They want to invest in people and infrastructure to grow the economy and look after all people.
I do strongly disagree with you that neither side has solutions... I think both sides often propose very workable solutions on a whole range of issues, the problem to me is that in two party systems, there are incentives to block any proposed progress to score political points and deny your opponents any success (which in a normal world should see you voted out by your constituents).
I get your disagreement with the "no solution" comment and your explanation is why neither offer real solution - they cannot practically do anything of any real value, no matter the ideas they have. That isn't a solution, it is well - nothing. Two party, or 10 party systems don't work. There should be a singular group with changing members, with the core goal of improvement of wellbeing, whatever that requires.
Essentially a group of benevolent dictators? It would definitely be dramatically more efficient... but you lose the checks and balances that 'should' prevent, say, the singular group waging a genocide on a portion of the population.
The CCP is a pretty good example of exactly what you're describing... they've achieved incredible infrastructure that are impossible for most other countries... but they also disappear journalists, critics, enslave minority groups and bulldoze anyone that gets in the way.
Governance is just so hard to both get right and stay right. People are kind of the worst.
I lived in US for around thirty years, the political divide became more pronounced - that is for sure. Media has changed as well, but the society and realities on the ground are about the same. The current administration is doing things that are not politics as usual, it is starting to feel like freedom of speech and rule of law might be the thing of the past. Troops in Portland is another posturing from Trump to show his electorate that he is doing something as well as to normalize the deployment of troops to the US cities, so that when time comes for the third term nobody thinks anything of military in the streets...
It is exactly the first part of this point. Whether the third-term comes or not, the normalisation of troops in the streets is a massive step to cementing a police state.
This takes me back to a topic you wrote a few days ago when Charlie Kirk got killed and you mentioned that the weapons are not what kills but the human mindset.
Then, I opposed you saying that sometimes, the weapons people have gives them the mindset to do what’s not right like killing people and stuffs and at last, I suggested a ban being placed on guns.
Just look at this. Everyday, America is looking like a country we should be scared of living in. Mass shootings is making it clear that they have guns. Why can’t they place ban on gun possession?
If it’s going to be a police country, why not? You gave the definition of a police country in your article but if it is for the safety of the people, maybe they should have it that way
You're right... banning guns would make a massive difference in the US... even more controls on who has access to guns would make a massive difference (ie, anyone convicted of domestic violence should be prevented from owning firearms).
The argument that if someone doesn't have a gun they'll just use a knife or something else isn't supported by the data:
Australia has strict gun control and sees 0.22 stabbing deaths per 100,000 people whereas the US has 13.7 gun deaths per 100,000 people. It makes sense right? It's so much easier to kill someone with a gun than anything else, and with the assault weapons they can kill a lot of people very quickly.
Anyone who disagrees with me is welcome to test their theory by taking a knife to a gun fight, haha.
There is also a cultural difference in Australia - but more importantly, let's say that you ban guns from all the people who would kill someone with a gun - they are still potential killers, right? That means that knife crime increases, or some other form of murder increases, like driving a truck through a crowded event like in Germany or Sweden or numerous other countries. Banning guns will adjust the numbers and there should be very strict control on them everywhere, but it isn't actually a solution for the violence we are seeing.
You're right, if someone is absolutely determined to kill people, they'll find a way... so then it becomes a question of harm-minimization.... what can you do to limit the damage a murderous person could do?
If there were as many 'driving trucks into crowds' attacks as there are US mass shootings, then we'd construct concrete bollards in areas that crowds gather (we have them in Bourke St in Melbourne after that one attack a few years ago).
I personally wouldn't be able to kill as many people with a machete as I could with an assault weapon, so you reduce harm by not allowing me an assault weapon.
The data shows that people who engage in domestic violence have an outsized likelihood of shooting someone, so you reduce harm by banning those people from guns.
The end goal should be to solve all the reasons someone might want to murder another person, but until we can do that, we should definitely be taking steps to minimize harm... which in the US would be improved gun control laws and enforcement.
Perfection isn't the goal, incremental improvement is.
You'd be surprised. Look at that stabbing in the mall in Sydney a few years ago - that was what, six? Lots of people with assault rifles don't get that high.
But my point is, where there is a will, there's a way. And even if there is less per event, the number of events can also go up - which is happening with the knife crime around the world too. I have a couple friends who have left London and one the UK altogether, because it was getting too stabby.
For sure. It is insane in the US and the amount and types of guns people have without any control is ridiculous.
I'm sorry to hear about your friends, that super sucks.
I still have to disagree on the numbers though... London had 112 homicides in 2024 with 72 involved a knife. It's got about 9 million people.
Chicago has 2.6M but had 804 homicides, 84% involving guns.
I just don't think the number of events go up nearly enough to offset the fewer deaths per event... and guns just make it so much easier to successfully murder someone. If someone wanted to do you harm, I'm sure you'd much rather they had a knife than a gun.
Making it harder to kill people by restricting firearms is still a massive win by the data.
Very little is done for the safety of people, it is done for control of resources. People are resources. Banning guns doesn't fix the root problem. If the root problem is still there, other weapons will be used,which is why there many knife attacks and car rankings and everything else.
Actually, if you take some time to go over any newspaper today, it is absolutely discouraging. Crime, terrorism, pornography, drugs, war, corruption, poverty....
It is not just the US, is the whole world that is going towards a completely disaster direction
Yes - it is everywhere. I just used the US as an example, but it is spreading globally. In Australia, groups of kids are having brawls with machetes - what kind of world is this? They are behaving like they have grown up in a dystopian jungle, not a place with schools and hospitals and parklands.
It's the drug gangs that are getting the kids to attack people with machetes. I really think a more progressive approach to both drug addiction and drug legality would probably solve this problem.
There is also a racial element to it it seems, so it isn't just drug crime or use related. Society is crumbling at fundamental levels, which means that more and more kids (and everyone) is becoming less socially responsible.
I don't truly know if the problem is that people are becoming less socially responsible, or if people are being more desperate. I'd like to believe that people wouldn't choose a life of crime if they'd be able to meet all their needs legally - and so solving problems like the cost of living crisis/housing, etc would see a reduction in these attacks.
In reference to my other comment, I don't think introducing assault weapons into the mix would help here, haha.
Fair point, but what if the hurdle to "being desperate" is lower now due to changes in the ways people manage themselves? I wonder if there were many mass casualty events in the US during the depression in the 30s. There weren't any school shootings like today until in the 60s.
It looks like there were... but obviously dramatically reduced in number. The US probably has this many in a fortnight now... so it's hard to say how much desperation or social responsibility play into this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States
I do think the school shootings in the US is from socially maladjusted young men (with likely mental health issues) getting access to assault weapons... whereas the machete attacks in Australia is more likely motivated by gang activity (drugs, money, etc) which are less likely to exist without people feeling desperate.
Metal detectors are at the entrance hall of many high schools in the USA, just that is a clear sign where the world is going, and the speed of "shit" spread with all the digital networks and now AI will definately not help...
I think it's a start on protecting our children. Schools need to become safe zones with Police protection. So do churches. We must start protecting people in churches and schools while we work our way through this violence. The slaughter of the innocents must be slowed down, until we can find solutions.
It will happen in Europe too soon enough.
I think we should change our focus from blaming and seeking revenge to understanding and showing compassion if we want to change this path before it becomes too late.
For sure. I am a huge proponent of compassion, but to be compassionate, means to be able to identify the suffering. When each of us is focused primarily on ourselves, how can we be compassionate toward others?
I suspect these recent shootings has something to do with how the Trump administration is running the country. It began with the attempted assassination of Trump, then several others followed after he assumed office. Maybe he's polarized America so much that a lot of hate is brewing and the shootings are a way of expressing the hate. Whatever. Something is fundamentally wrong with the American society at this time and has to be fixed before all hell breaks loose.
I am afraid that all hell has indeed already broken out.
It has been happening before Trump, but the situation is getting more divided with each passing day, and he is pushing more of the rhetoric that speeds it up.
Despite everything that happens, there is still the idea of the American dream where many prefer to travel because they will earn 5-10 times more than in their country, they do not think about anything else, security, education, language, politics are non-existent topics, the idea of belonging to a group is so strong that your needs or dreams do not matter, only being within a group to feel accepted matters.
yeah, 5-10x more than in their home country, but that might still be 50% less than the average American. This is a big part of the problem with what ends up creating so much inequality and division.
The problem is not only earning much more there in the USA, but it seems they forget that there are also expenses, many times they are so high that the salary does not compensate, they return to the same reality of their country, they stop getting into debt in their country, to go and get into debt in another country =/
Wow coincidentally I talked about revenge today in my own article. It's almost like everything is built to keep people divided and angry. If we keep fueling the cycle of blame and revenge, nothing changes and the frustration won't end. Love and compassion are not soft answers, not easy to do too when there's a world of pain around us but they’re the only real way forward
The cycle will likely never end - too many people hold grudges for years, over minor things. For centuries and millennia over the major.
We live in a very sick world today and the hatred is only increasing.
I wonder if there is a maximum hate point where it gets so high, it turns into love.
Lets hope people with trancent the spiral of violence. No matter how harsh things are, mutual respect and the try of understanding are our only bets to turn this boat around
I have so little faith in the majority of humanity these days.
Which is understandable. If you look at the bigger picture you see it is a mess. We only can change on small scale and hope for the best
There are so many reasons for violent incidents that we frequently witness them even in wealthy countries like the US and Scandinavian countries. Even here, we can see the fragility of individual and societal vulnerabilities. As you said, violence is at the core of human nature. Educating people, raising awareness, and increasing punishments can reduce violence, but they won't completely end it.
I think the punishments won't have much effect in a population that is becoming increasingly nihilistic anyway.
yea.. those poor poor people! :P but, u gotta have something to fuss over / talk about..
I Bet Trump Is losing sleep over it..
Trump doesn't lose sleep - he sleeps like a baby.
🤣
It's true that sometimes the news is deliberately distorted to make people angry and watch, so they can make money. I'm one of those who would say that the victim deserves to get revenge on the perpetrators if something bad was done to them. It's also a good feeling to get rid of the bad people. and they deserve that.
And this exactly is the spiral of hate that causes all of the problems we are seeing. People who get good feelings from hurting others, are called sadists.
Are you still called a sadist if you just want to get justice and also punish them for what they did? Sometimes karma is not expected, you also need to retaliate if possible. but I haven't done anything to others yet. I'm just supporting the victims who are being bullied so badly.
You are supporting all victims, because everyone sees themselves as a victim. So, you are condoning the revenge for everyone who feels they are a victim.
Isn't the victim someone who was oppressed? There are people who truly feel like victims, but the person I support is the one who has actually been harmed. Not the one who, despite being at fault, feels like a victim.
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