Someone help me here

[Edythe]

I have been on this Earth for a long time. When I was a child, it was a more innocent time. In my old neighborhood, a policeman walked a beat and all of us children knew him and the other cops. We trusted them to keep us safe. The police was more involved with the community. When I was in first grade, I could walk 6 blocks to school with my friends and I was completely safe. Neighbors knew each other and they all kept their eye on all the little kids that played together. Our favorite place to play was an alley way.. and we were safe.

Nowadays, most police are recruited with certain characteristics that will make them "good cops". By 'good cop' I mean unsympathetic etc.. most of the characteristics you find in sociopaths. That doesn't mean that they are that way 24/7. I'm sure that most are loving fathers, wives and parents. Seems like at least one news item a week that talks about a person being pulled over for a minor infraction and it leads to them being shot and sometimes murdered by a cop.

It's all just snowballing out of control. I do believe that there are many people living on Earth at this time that are being born with no souls.. or at least, with souls that are malevolent and have always been malevolent from the time of their creation. This is possibly one of the reasons why there is so much more hate and violence on Earth at this time... it's like a last ditch effort to keep us from going to a higher density.

The point I'm trying to get at in a very off track and round about way is.. we live on Earth with these malevolent souls. Some of us are fortunate to live more off the grid or away from cities where we don't have to deal with it. Some of us have the freedom and safety to say that we don't need fear or guns to protect ourselves. But, most of us live in the real world where bad people prey on other human beings. I don't like to admit this, but, sometimes a little fear is a good thing. Without is, we would gladly and fearlessly walk down a dark street in a crime ridden city.. with just a smile and love in our hearts..as we get mugged, or rapped and or murdered.

Someday it will be different. But for now, we have to go through it and survive. Wishing it so doesn't make it happen. Not in this 3d existence.. but, someday, wishing will be manifesting and we will leave all the malevolence behind..

And as always.. this is just my opinion!

Love E

[Hermit]

A thought experiment, Blue. I gotta figure out how to change the glow colour here. lol Take the word gun out of every sentence in this post. Take every name of every gun right out of the post. Here, I'm going to do it for you. I want everyone to take the time to read the post without those words, ok?

The issue is more complicated than whether anyone should have a, Hermit. Your schoolyard analogy doesn't apply in my personal experience. I can't speak to the whole US of A. But in my life, I can tell you the issue is a whole lot more complicated than, "do you take the stick away from one, or give everybody sticks."

I worked with my daughters from birth, day and night, so they would understand their worth, and the value of life itself. I taught them that violence is *never* the answer. I taught them compassion and encouraged empathy to their greatest capacities.

And when each of them were away from my home, of course at different times, they were victims of bullying. Emotional and physical both. I was completely unprepared for what unfolded because I could not wrap my head around it. It created a deep disturbed feeling in me. I even hate to use the word victim, but I don't know how else to describe it. They encountered bullies.

Each daughter had to handle it on her own, eventually. Otherwise, they never would have been able to get through life. And each one found she had to defend herself. It broke my heart, that I had spent my life devoted to loving my children, teaching them that violence solves nothing. It begets more violence, and in today's US of A world, anywhere I have lived across several states, it carries the potential of escalating until (at least one) sacred human life is extinguished. And yet, to use your analogy, there was no option available to my daughters other than picking up their own "sticks". And it wasn't because I allowed it, or I approved, or I supported it. It was just the way the world worked. I did my part to envision a world of peace and acceptance. Not only envision it but live it. And give it to the next generation. And the world reciprocated with rape, murder, and hatred.

I did not own a in the city, where not only most adults owned but many of the teenagers did also. A month ago, the neighborhood middle school where my grandson attends elementary was locked down because an 11 year old had taken a to school. I do not own a now, but I also was fortunate enough to move away from cities altogether. If I ever feel I need one, I know where to get one.

If you consider that an eleven year old CHILD took a loaded to school...and you ponder the implications there...you find just how complicated this issue is. And how deeply rooted. Is it the child with the that is the problem? Is it the parents of the child? Is it the bully at school that is the problem? Is it the fact that whatever parental units are present, they have to work, leaving the child to bond with other people....who are simply available? Is it....I could go on and on.

This was all before I woke up to the fact that there are people pulling strings behind the scenes. Before I woke up to Higher callings, one direction or the other. Before I caught a glimpse of the invisible world beyond, and before I even knew there is literally a shared consciousness.

But because I had the experience I did, I understand (somewhat) why people feel the need to protect themselves. I empathize with them. I love them. But I also love the pieces of God in all (okay most) living creatures. Even if I detest their behavior.

I yearn to live in a world where we respect each other enough to not only tolerate but accept. I still live this way every day. But...it will take a whole lot more than just the few of us to see it can be done. Something deep and widespread is going to have to change before people can give up the means to protect themselves. Whether it is a can of mace or a .

(However, I just want to say at the end of my piece here.....who the frick needs an for home or personal protection? That's bullshit.)[/quote]

Two things. You read that post and you know exactly where to insert the word "gun" or "AK-47". You know this because the original post was written with those words, about those words, and about the complex subjects and issues that surround those two words in your country. But the second thing I want to point out to you is that there are statements in your post that make incredible sense, demonstrate that you not only have a grasp of the situation but that you've demonstrated yourself as an incredible agent of Love in this world! And you didn't need the word gun or ak-47 to do it. So, I would suggest that in this case, Occam's Razor suggest that yes...perhaps removing the guns IS the best solution, but given the dynamics of the culture south of the border, it will probably take generations for you to realize that, and even further generations before you do it. That is a very sad thing because unlike the word gun, it can't kill another human being. We know it's going to happen again. We know that after it happens, everyone will say "How could this happen?" You all know how it happened. You simply refuse to do anything about it because the fear of *what might happen* is bigger than the courage it would take to do it, and probably, benefit from it.

[Hermit]

Someday it will be different. But for now, we have to go through it and survive. Wishing it so doesn't make it happen. Not in this 3d existence.. but, someday, wishing will be manifesting and we will leave all the malevolence behind..

And as always.. this is just my opinion!

Love E

E?

Why do you assume this is only a 3d existence? What if it isn't?

And what if beliefs based on that possibility, like people who believe the earth was flat, were wrong? Sure, they behaved as if that were true...but they weren't right were they?

“Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right.”

[Edythe]

Someday it will be different. But for now, we have to go through it and survive. Wishing it so doesn't make it happen. Not in this 3d existence.. but, someday, wishing will be manifesting and we will leave all the malevolence behind..

And as always.. this is just my opinion!

Love E

E?

Why do you assume this is only a 3d existence? What if it isn't?

And what if beliefs based on that possibility, like people who believe the earth was flat, were wrong? Sure, they behaved as if that were true...but they weren't right were they?

“Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right.”

Hi, Hermit I don't assume this is only a 3d existence..not only. I do believe that dimensions overlap and can become thinner in areas and that higher (and lower) dimensions can merger in and out of the 3d. But, we are all affected by what happens in the 3d. Our human spacesuits still exist in the 3d and they can become worn out with time...or shot full of hole by a person who is firmly rooted in the 3d. Until we no longer need our human spacesuit, we are still living physically in this troubled dimension.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear about my insights. And I'm really enjoying this good discussion!

Love! E

[Hermit]

Thanks for clarifying!

[Blue Rising]

Hermit, I've been thinking about this some more. I do see what you are saying...I think.

When I taught school, it was a very odd environment in which I taught. (I'm sorry, I have told some of this many times...) There were gang members who were our students. And not just members of one gang, but members of three. Latin Kings, Crips, and Bloods were all well represented.

What we set out to do, and what we were successful in doing, was having a gang-free zone. I know there were things that slipped in, no system is slip-proof I reckon. But guns, "colors" and issues between them were left outside the door. I laugh now, wondering how many weapons were stashed in the bushes outside the building...but that's not the point. We effectively disarmed them. And believe it or not, these kids who had very rough lives outside of school, voluntarily contributed to this safe zone.

We did not arm the entire student body to even the odds. We disarmed the students who felt they needed to be badasses at home. And you know what? They probably did need to be badasses at home. It was simple survival. You should have heard the stories. But what won out, what we put into place, what we lived every moment, was a safe place for every student to pursue the same goal no matter what challenges they faced outside the building.

Once in a while when we encountered someone who did not cooperate with the system, they made the decision to either get on board or get out of the system.

Now. That said...it was a lot of work. And in the end, I was fired...the principal and I were both fired...and won not only lawsuits against the school for wrongful termination but the school was shut down because of the practices we brought to light. (It wasn't money that we sought, and we received very little monetary compensation for this ordeal.) In other words, tptb (I'm sorry, but this is actually the case in this situation) did not like us to color outside the lines. They put pressure on us to conform, using illegal means. We did not conform so we were fired. We shined a light on their practices which led to them being shut down.

In the end...we had a model that worked. Possibly before its time. One day, though Hermit. One day it will be time. I choose to believe this.