27.10.21

Bullying

Bullying

It is far too common that ordinary people are forced through coercion or manipulation to submit to the desires of bullies.
 
North America these days feels like being surrounded by bullies on a playground. If you don’t submit to one or another; if you choose not to play the game; if you follow the principle of justice to be independent of the status quo, you are ostracized. So, you either become detached from the mainstream or consciously submit to being part of the maelstrom of social disunity.
 
Bullying has no gender, nor race, nor political affiliation, nor idealist movement, nor religion, though anyone of them can be. It is defined by one attitude, one word and one action at a time.
 
And therein lies a problem, because it always one of these entities which choose to adopt the role of bully.
 
Like doctors attacking the external symptoms of a disease, we attack the face of the bully. And in so doing we cover up the disease and internal symptoms, under layer after layer of prescriptions that act as placebos and at worst create additional afflictions.
 
We give those faces names: men, women, immigrants, republicans, democrats, liberals, conservatives, whites, blacks, government, big business, religion. We criminalize the face and ignore the disease.
 
And when we do, we become our own worst enemy — the bully. We attack that face with vehemence; our language takes on hateful proportions; we scream and rant and threaten; we patronize and condescend; we take the all-inclusive blanket stance “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.”
 
It becomes a money-making, status-building, thrill-seeking, life-destroying game.
The real disease is marked by hatred, ignorance, prejudice. The disease itself will never disappear from society until we stop succumbing to it.

Waiting

no movement in the din of crushing silence
stillness deep within the battle zone 
in passed the enemy lines where heart beat
slows to softened whispering in safety
careful listening to the story’s tell-tale signs 
this happened before, we know this one
we nod round to one another, touching hands
fear does not live here, we will not run
the wounded and the broken will be coming
and we will be ready, always be ready
wash their hands and feet, wipe their tears away
dark skin or light skin, young or old, strong or weak

Violence Free

Racial violence, ethnic violence, family violence, sexual violence, political violence, the violence of addictions, the violence of poverty and of wealth, the violence of the market, the violence of media. Where does it end?
 
There is an aspect to the issue of violence that is often overlooked: the role which ideology plays in all social interactions, or rather the elevation of one single idea to oppress others.
 
I don’t see how solutions to these problems will ever be found until we get a handle on the relationship between ingrained ideologies and the health of ourselves, our families, our communities and our institutions.
 
On one hand solving the problem of violence and oppression can only be achieved by a community (or family) as a whole, but in order for that to happen, community (and family) must be recognized as a living organic entity, similar to both institutions and individuals. Communities are neither merely collections of individuals, nor merely legal entities presided over by local institutions, nor mere places on a map. Each of them is distinguished by unique qualities that can be traced to the essential nature of the relationships between the people within it. 
I have lived in many places from farming communities, to industrial towns, to cities in excess of 10 million people, to an isolated village north of the Arctic Circle. In every single one of those localities the dominant attitude was not how to destroy one another but to build and maintain an environment in which everyone is equal, everyone can participate, everyone has the right to love, respect and friendship, everyone can contribute to the common welfare- though these are attitudes that are not often articulated.
 
Each community had certain characteristics that distinguished it. In one cooperation was seen as necessary; in another a recognized need for tolerance and acceptance; another embodied a culture of respect; and in one an over-riding belief in individual freedom. But not all those communities shared those qualities to the same extent. Each was unique.
 
And in each, oppressive and violent attitudes, in many forms, threatened to undermine that community spirit. We have all experienced things like condescension, prejudice, manipulation, subtle suggestions and exaggerations intended to harm, destructive criticism and many of us have experienced physical violence. They are all damaging.
 
These are the real enemies of collective life on our planet, in our nations, our communities and our personal relationships.
 
On the other hand, we must face the challenge of individually ridding ourselves of oppressive attitudes founded ideas that are allowed to grow to such proportions that they dominate every other idea. 
 
While it is not difficult to find an example to illustrate the way one idea becomes an obsession, it is difficult to choose one from among the infinite number of them. It is even harder when one realizes that every example is going to strike a nerve.
Consider the man or woman who has the idea that a loving relationship means that their mate must give up all personal freedom in the name of love.
 
Consider the member of a minority group who decides that each and every one of their troubles is caused by all the people of the majority population, or the member of a majority population that believes that all troubles are caused by all minorities.
 
Consider the man who believes that the only way to be a man is to be the toughest, or the woman who believes the only way to be a woman is to be the sexiest... or vice-versa.
 
Each and every one of these scenarios is inherently oppressive and potentially violent by virtue of the fact that one single idea takes on unreal proportions. In fact, the attitude becomes a mental illness that harms every individual, relationship, family, community and institution that it infects.
 
Another way to look at oppression is from the perspective of the ideas themselves:
When the idea of race is articulated as a theme for social action, it becomes racism and carried into the most violent extreme becomes ethnic cleansing. When the idea of nation is formulated as a social platform, it becomes nationalism, whose ultimate form is fascism. The idea of the individual can turn into individualism, and ultimately anarchy. 
 
Every idea has its place, but no idea is worth mental, emotional, or physical violence or worth being used as an excuse for the oppression of others.
Not one… whether built on religious, scientific, cultural, economic or any other foundation. Ideological bullying is wrong.
 
If we fail to identify and address the root causes of the disease of violence, the symptoms will only become worse. If the colour of ones skin is more important than our humanity, racism will always be oppressive and promote violence. If intolerance is more important than tolerance, fundamentalism will always work to destroy us. If gender dominates our thinking, sexism of many forms will always split us apart. If science and religion do not reconcile, fanaticism will ensue.
 
We have to change the way we interact with one another on a daily basis- acknowledging the right of the individual and accepting responsibility for the quality of life in our family, our community, our relationships and our institutions.
The problem is with us… every single adult one of us, and to displace the problem away from us as individuals is the most subtle form of oppression.

Arhu

Arhu strings sing
bamboo breezes,
lotus lake,
jasmine sounds.

Sensual

A quivering rose
A placid breeze
A lingering touch
A clinging dew
A pregnant air
A whispered word
A grassy berth
A longing sigh
A luring scent
A burgeoning seed
A lover’s shawl
A naked kiss
A fervent bond
A fission heat
A fused embrace
A breathless ease

15.4.19

Talking Pages

Talking pages
listening and speaking
a pebble in a pond
the muse expires
to poet inspire

Hearing the waves
within the work
reading the poet
behind the word

Empty space
the silent language
the fall and rise
the rest and stress
unrepressed, 

Fool with it,
the Fool appears
oppress the art
the Oppressor appears




14.4.19

Dependent Independence



Dependent independence,
community yin yang,
creating elegant balance
within limits of freedom
a symbiotic synergy


Clarity of vision,
depth of understanding,
harbingers of wisdom -
inspiration, tradition
intuition and reason.


Our own two eyes
might discern, with a wide,
and stereo view,
observing vast relations
within a single glance.


But a one-eyed lens,
of particular sight,
focuses on a single point,
bound to one time and one place
“the king is in the counting house”


Creative expression,
serving fickle sentiment
of the malleable mobs,
becomes propaganda’s weapon,
vague idealism’s toy.


It is only right that
independence be preserved.
The price of its sustenance -
wise and dignified expression,
or death in a prison of desire.


Am I faithful to my duty,
to be true to my own voice
and clear in my vision,
or am I choosing sides,
adding fuel to a fire.


Conflict and contention,
can ignite raging flames,
contesting win or lose,
champions ‘til we’re not,
fighting danger games.


In all our naked glory


…………………


Overcoming injustice,
day by day, makes sense;
elevating one success to
eternal ideal is fool’s play:
today and tomorrow are not yesterday.


Racism’s lesson:
power’s superstition,
nurtured by division,
supported by conflict,
contended with ignorance,
acronym and slogan.


When one ideology
has unbridled freedom,
articulate expression
is imagined, in silence,
and we piece all the pieces
together after-the-fact.


We could look to justice,
and see with our own eyes,
leave childhood behind,
refine the city of the heart,
gain our independence
in mutual dependence