Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Goddam It. It's Time

There is something so genuinely satisfying about shutting the chickens up safe in their hen house at night. I go in with the flashlight and do a head count and say something silly like, "Good-night, my lovelies. See you in the morning," and I stroke a soft head or two, a downy wing. They did finally decide to come out today but I don't know when because when I left, they were still huddled in the hen house. But when I got home they were all in the yard, all ten of them, and Maurice was right there, as if she were watching over them and who knows? Maybe she was. How would I know if she had decided to do hawk patrol all day for the chickens? I do know that when I just went out to shut them up, she followed me, as she always does.
Is Maurice my chicken's bodyguard?
We want to keep our babies safe whether they are our human babies or our animal babies. We just do. We want to keep our human babies safe more than we probably want anything on this earth. We go to enormous lengths to educate ourselves on pregnancy and childbirth, vaccinations, the best way to feed our babies, the best way to lay them down to sleep, the best way to diaper them and protect them from anything and everything which might threaten them that we can.
This is encoded in our DNA as surely as is our need to eat and breathe. This is why the human race is still alive. This is why, in fact, so many species are still alive. A mother of so many species on earth will give her own life without a thought to protect one of her young, whether it is from predator attack or starvation.
And some things we can control which will lead to a better outcome for our children.
And some things, we feel completely helpless to control and some things are completely out of our abilities to control and here we are, as a nation, losing our children and our sisters and our brothers and our fathers and our mothers and our citizens who are least capable of defending themselves to a sort of violent madness which we SHOULD be able to stop, which we, in fact, could stop, if those of us who are sane enough would all finally, and at last, stand together to put an end to.

What sort of guns did those gunmen, still on the loose, use today to calmly murder fourteen (at last count) people at a center for developmental disabilities in San Bernardino?
I don't know. But I can tell you this- the guns, whatever kind they were, were manufactured for one purpose and one purpose only and that is for the murder of human beings. Many human beings. As quickly as possible.

At this point, I don't give a shit what these crazy white men (it's always crazy white men, isn't it?) have or had as a motive to make them do what they did. I don't CARE if they needed mental health care that they were unable to get. I don't care what their religion was or their social or non-social lifestyle was. I don't care what video games they played or what their neighbors thought of them.
All I care about is that they were able to get these guns, these weapons of evil intent and the ammunition to go in them and use them to kill innocent people.
And of course it's always "innocent" people. School children, people in church, people in movies, people seeking health care services, people at an awards ceremony at a center for people with developmental disabilities.
Look- anyone who would do what these men do is mentally ill. That's a given. Whether they are teenagers who want to kill their fellow students or grown men who want to gun down abortion providers- they are sick.
That is not at question.
But here's what is- what sort of deep sickness has infected us as a nation which would allow this direct cause and effect to still be legal? What is it about us as a society which makes us hesitate for even a second before outlawing these sorts of weapons? What has happened to us as a species that would allow this to happen over and over again?
I don't even care if the second amendment DOES protect the rights of people to buy these guns (and I don't think for a second that it does). Let's amend the damn amendment. Because our babies are being killed.
And we are the laughing stock of the world.

So how do we do it? How do we, as a nation, say no more? 
Look- I'm at the point where I'd let the government declare martial law and send agents to every house in the nation to collect these guns. Which, of course, would lead to civil war and unbelievable bloodshed because that would prove to the gun insanists (yes, I made that word up) that the very thing they've been yelling about as a defense for owning guns has finally come true.
Nothing is going to happen overnight. It just isn't. This is a problem and a horror that may take decades before we see some results. Is that a reason not to begin the process? To outlaw these guns?
The horror and evil of slavery wasn't solved in a day. Hell, we're still suffering the consequences.
BUT IT HAS TO BEGIN SOMEWHERE!
And this absolutely undeniably psychotic love affair with guns that a certain segment of American society has must be stemmed. The finger has to be stuck in the dike, no matter how huge the force behind it threatens to be. And no jokes allowed- this ain't funny.

I'm preaching to the choir here. I know that. But let me remind you- don't vote for anyone who wavers or waffles on gun control. Just don't. Stand up and let's begin to start the process of getting these guns out of the hands of the insane. And no one in this whole world really believes that background checks really work. We have to just stop selling them. And even, dare I say? Making them?

All right. That's all I have to say now. My chickens are safe. Are my babies?
No. And neither are yours.
But maybe my babies' babies' can be. At least from death delivered by the insane with weapons insanely available.

We absolutely have to start somewhere. The sooner begun, the sooner accomplished. Lend your voice and your vote. It's like planting a live oak- we don't do that for ourselves. We do it for the generations to follow. We do it to protect our babies. As all humans should do.

Love...A Most Determined Ms. Moon










20 comments:

  1. I am so behind you on this. The insanists - great word, by the way - ARE insane. They just can't wrap their heads around known facts, they dispute them with no facts to back up their own positions, and when they can't do anything else they simply fill their voices with contempt and call people stupid. Juvenile - but dangerous.

    I hadn't heard about the shootings today. It is just so wearying that it keeps happening and a powerful segment of the population doesn't seem to see any connection with the existence of high-powered firearms.

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  2. Just came back from checking the news story, and although it's being said that the weapons were long guns, that's not usually the case.

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  3. This is you again, through and through. Your words matter so much, even when you think they don't. I agree w/ you 100%. I love you.

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  4. I'm just heartsick and weary and feeling completely powerless. What is it going to take for this country to DO SOMETHING ALREADY about this madness? No one is safe anywhere anymore and nothing is sacred.

    And I just heard the name of one of the suspects that has just been released and it sounds like a middle eastern name and won't THAT turn into a shitstorm? God help us.

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  5. My babies told me years ago that they did not want babies of their own. On days like this - which are getting to be more and more frequent - I can't say that I blame them at all. I am so sad and my heart has hurt all day. On Friday in Colorado Springs, six children were left without a parent. I wonder how many children were left without a parent today? How many parents were left without a child today?

    I have to grit my teeth to keep from screaming when the officials of San Bernadineo County call this senseless shooting an "incident" or an "event".

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  6. I wish you were running this country. It would be a better place. I agree with you as someone who was threatened by a mentally ill person who would not stay on meds and probably did not get what she needed from all of our various medical, social and other "systems."

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  7. You say it so well. It's been a sad day in CA. All I can say is Amen. I feel beaten down right now.

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  8. I so agree with you on all of this . Just unbelievably tragic. I just cannot fathom why men want to do this .

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  9. I don't know about laughing stock, but what's maybe worse is I'm starting to shrug when I hear of toddlers killing themselves with their families' guns. And maybe even thinking, well, that's one less future NRA member. Which is horrific, I know.

    But I tell you who's shrugging too... gun lobbyists.

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  10. Ms. Moon, you speak the truth.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c65EsngpABY&feature=youtu.be

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  11. Yes.
    And I too don't give a damn about the backstory on the tragic/disfunctional/challenged lives of these murderers.

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  12. yes yes yes. the 2nd amendment is fine as written. It's the much later SCOTUS interpretation (fueled no doubt by the NRA) that has allowed this to happen. That and the constant hate speech and fear speech and incitement to violence that is rampant in this country. but yes, start. we have to start. there are so many things we can do but our paid off politicians won't.

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  13. Two years ago, we cycled along a peaceful and scenic river in SW Germany for a couple of days, all those timber framed medieval small towns, castles and ancient churches - and in one particularly peaceful little town three of the world's biggest weapons manufacturers. Their factories nicely tucked away behind the greenery, but just as evil.
    We may not sell guns as easily as your country does, but we make them and sell them.

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  15. Thank you, Mary. That was so eloquently written.
    I agree whole heartedly.
    I wish that could be published nationwide, it would make a difference.

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  16. I am just going to cut and paste the comment I left at Elizabeth's blog. With an edit.

    I love how both you and Ms .Moon don't mince words. I am only one Canadian and can't speak for the rest of the world. I know I am certainly not laughing. But I am appalled that what is supposed to be "the greatest nation on earth" allows (yes, allows) this to happen. At what point will gun lobbyists say that enough massacres have happened and maybe the Amendment needs to be dissolved? Are these people as concerned with the other 26 (is it 26?) Amendments or is it just the right to "keep and bear arms"? How many of them give a shit about the other Amendments? How many would be able to quote even one of them? Because it all comes across as bullshit to me. I can't help thinking about a funny bumper sticker I saw once. "Nice truck. Sorry about your dick" Just what are these gun lovers trying to prove? To me, living here on my little island, it would appear that it is people who feel small that need to carry a fucking gun. Someone who is afraid and insecure. What other reason is there? Carrying a gun, in my opinion, gives people a sense of power, of control, and yet did carrying a gun stop any of these maniacs? No.
    Fuck. I don't know. Sadly, I think as a nation the United States is too far gone on this particular issue. There is no way to fix this.
    And as always, I LOVE so many of my U.S. blogging buddies but when it comes to gun control I shake my head.
    Now I will sit here worrying that I sound self-righteous. I'm not. Canada is also in a huge fucking mess. Our only hope is that Asshat Harper is no longer in power

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  17. jenny_o- I'm not sure that they can't wrap their heads around the facts. They just choose not to.
    AND a woman was involved. Jesus god. She had a six month old baby.
    FUCKED UP.

    SJ- I love you too, woman. I surely do.

    Jennifer- Yep. Let's classify them as "terrorists" and not worry about gun control. Right?

    Ms. Peace Thyme- We are becoming way too dulled about all of this. It is NOT normal and it is NOT an event. You are right.

    e- And if that person had chosen to get a gun, they probably could have.

    Joanne- As do we all, dearheart.

    Angella- I think our choir needs to sing louder.
    I love you.

    Leisha- We will never, ever be able to prevent these things from happening by figuring out "motives." We have to stem the tide of guns. I swear.

    Jo- May they struggle right into hell.

    MichiganMom- Wow! Yes. We are definitely on the same wavelength.
    Thank you. Fantastic song.

    Marty Damon- It's pointless at this point.

    Ms. Vesuvius- I know. I know.

    Sarah- Sing it, sister.

    Ellen Abbott- I could not agree with you more.

    Sabine- That is true, isn't it? And isn't it always true that it's about the money? Thank you for reminding me.

    liv- The only thing that will truly make a difference is if we all stand together and say, "NO MORE!" Can we do it? I pray so.

    Birdie- One of the things I love about this community the most is that we come from such different backgrounds, such far-flung places. And yet we find so much to agree on. Thank you, sister.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.