And
now for a completely different approach to the discussion of current events.
The
morning was full of bright sunlight through the windows as I wandered into the
dining room with my morning cup of tea.
"You
look rather intense, what's on your mind?" The adept asked as I sat down
at the table across from him.
"
Oh the latest mass shooting," I ventured, my voice tinged with sad fatigue
at yet another massacre.
"The
discussion- what little there is- is just a lot of noise," he said.
"What
do you mean by noise?" I asked with some irritation.
"
Talking round the subject rather than straight on. It's not about gun control,
mental health issues, politics or the NRA. What do all these shootings have in
common?" he asked as he
pulled out a deck of cards and started a game of solitaire, his favorite
meditation tool, while I contemplated. Where did these boys learn to pick up a
gun and shoot in anger? We don't see gays or women lashing out with assault
rifles.
"Angry
men," I answered.
"Yes,
and what is it that makes these men so angry they are driven to kill? No noisy
answers please," he admonished me with a smile, as I was about to offer my
own opinion. I shut up and thought again.
What
really baffles me about this latest shooting is that instead of praising
teenagers for standing up, they are being ridiculed by adults for wanting to put weapons down.
It
occurs to me there is an element of the bully culture here. Deep down adults
condone these shootings the same way they condone bullying despite claiming "zero
tolerance" of it. They secretly wish they could mete out their boiling
anger at the misfits, the loners and students who are different. They let the
bully do the dirty work then defend
them. Punishing the rebellious is an easy solution.
I
guess it's the fear of losing control that pushes the patriarchy to smear and
deride victims of violence-especially the women. Except, this time, young men
are joining in the pushback at the usual vindictive response.
"
I think this needs to be answered by men," I said in defeat; his smile
widens.
"Yes.
We need to look at the legacy handed down to us and reject a philosophy that a
only allows for angry isolation. Hundreds more will die until men learn to
express themselves beyond the narrow confines society has forced on them ."
Really?
I thought with a raised eyebrow, that's a tough sell, considering even a
discussion of feelings is seen as wimpy and emasculating.
"
I've only been waiting for men's liberation for forty years," I said sardonically.
He looked up from his game with a jerk of the head and stared at me with an
expression of certainty.
"It
will happen when love replaces anger and hope replaces cynicism, " he said
with conviction. "Embrace all of your emotions and be a full human
being," he said, spreading out his hands. I should know better than to
debate with an optimist and stared at him.
"Drink
you tea, it's getting cold."
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