Fuck Fear

[filkertom]

Just headed off another argument on my Facebook page, this time regarding the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman verdict. And I got on a roll, and way past that specific topic, and I thought I'd put it up here to see what you all think.

It kinda meanders, although I do my best to aim toward an obvious target. Simple premise, though:

Comments

[ext_1431732]

Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

[filkertom]

This is true, BLC. On the other hand, the more they ain't dancin', the less they're gonna be able to pick the music.

The one true thing in our favor at this point is, there are heaps of evidence that the Republican leadership simply refuses to govern. Given that this is their job, it's a hell of a leverage point to elect some other people. Their jerrymandering, so often obviously illegal, is also coming back to bite them, even in the courts a bit.

I refuse to give up hope. We'll get there. I may not see it, but my nieces and nephews will.

[acelightning]

Oh, gods, yes. FUCK FEAR. (I could wax eloquent about fear on a personal level, but this isn't the time or place for that.)

But, indeed, it's very hard to be inclusive and accepting of people who would like to see us killed, driven out of the country, or forcibly converted to their beliefs. When we actively try to accept them, they get even more hysterical, because we might get our liberal/gay/non-Christian/tolerant cooties all over them. And not all of us are capable of maintaining a saintly level of love for those who proudly consider themselves our enemies. How do we include those who refuse to be included?

I don't know, although I wish I did. But I think that refusing to fear them is a good place to start.

[acelightning]

Thank you!

[filkertom]

Precisely that. Saying, "Nope, sorry, ain't buyin' into it." That HAS to be the very first step, followed by telling them why and then acting on it.

[jannyblue]

I'm reading this and now I'm thinking about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JzGOiBXeD4

This message is very sorely needed. I just hope people listen to it before things get really scary.

That Vonnegut quote keeps coming back

[filkertom]

"On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”

Re: That Vonnegut quote keeps coming back

[ext_1431732]

No matter the blood; No matter the skin; No matter the world; No matter the star; We are one. No matter the pain; No matter the darkness; No matter the loss; No matter the fear; We are one. Here, gathered together in common cause. we agree to recognise this singular truth, and this singular rule: That we must be kind to one another, because each voice enriches us and ennobles us, and each voice lost diminishes us.

Re: That Vonnegut quote keeps coming back

[liddle_oldman]

That's not Vonnegut, that's G'Kar -- his speech at the inauguration of Sheridan, I think. But it's exactly what I thought of as well.

No matter the blood; No matter the skin; No matter the world; No matter the star; We are one.

[smoooom]

I've been trying to compose a coherent response. I simply can't. I try and understand much of what happens in the US and well, I simply don't get it. I just shake my head these days and wonder how bad things will have to get before things actually explode, or change.