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Prove Commitment to Peace: Post 'No Guns Here' on Lawn
Prove Commitment to Peace: Post 'No Guns Here' on Lawn (Barf or Humor?) ^ | October 14, 2001 | Giles Larsen

Posted on 10/16/2001 5:39:04 AM PDT by SJackson

During the ongoing gun rights/gun control debate we have heard a challenge from pro-gun advocates to those who decry the militarization of domestic life. The dare is for anyone to post a sign outside of their residence advertising the absence of firearms on their property. We, the members of the Wasatch Peace Team (WPT), think that this is a great idea. We firmly believe that we can not afford to rely on our rights alone to reduce the violence in our world; our hearts must join us in the task as well. We will hence post a sign on our residence similar in appearance to the house alarm signs which proliferate our neighborhoods. The difference is, our signs will say that our home is "protected by compassionate nonviolence."

We take this action in full awareness of the implications these signs will have on the world and ourselves. Far from naive passivity, this action is a form of proactive nonviolence which is taken in every moment of our daily lives. Proactive nonviolence does not wait for a threatening situation to respond to, but rather initiates creative means of preventing violence from happening in the first place. These principles, with the exception of the first, are subjective so that their application will not hinder our better judgment. In other words, we are not inviting "bad people" to take advantage of us. On the contrary, we are reaching out with compassion to restore the bonds of our entire community. Here is the foundation of our commitment:

Our nation cannot claim to be whole as long as its citizens share the same definition of peace and safety as that of its military: perpetual pre-hostility. Under this erroneous notion, peace is relegated to an intermission between ongoing violent conflict and tension.

This ideology, reminiscent of the Cold War, is precisely the view of those who feel that only an arms race between law-abiding citizens and law-breaking criminals is the solution to violent crime. Reflecting our collective withdrawal from our surroundings and the subsequent militarization of our communities, each residence has become its own kingdom, with an invasion of foreigners subject to harsh retaliation. However, much like our real-life military, we are first and foremost the victim of our own self-induced fear, which conjures up all sorts of terrifying threats to our security. This fear is often directed by scapegoating a politically vulnerable target without truly understanding the intricacies of the situation.

When guns are the target, pro-gun advocates are quick to recognize the scapegoating process in motion (Guns don't kill people, people kill people). Nevertheless, they are the first to fall into the same trap by scapegoating criminals, drug users and the mentally ill. Many are comfortable condemning the individuals in these groups as the root of the problem due to their lack of personal responsibility.

Responsibility is indeed paramount, but to pinpoint an individual or group as the root of the problem is to ignore the fact that we exist in a dynamic system of relationships in our local, national and global communities. We are not simply autonomous individuals, but also spokes in an interdependent society. Personal responsibility must be greased with social responsibility for the wheel to spin unhindered. The message which an uninvited guest delivers when they break into our home is that our social responsibilities need tending to. Unfortunately, at this point the crisis has already arrived. If we silence forever that intruder with a bullet because we were "left with no choice," the facade of security bestowed by the firearm reveals a grave powerlessness: victimized once by the intruder, and again by being backed into the position of taking the life of another.

The cycle of bloodshed will continue until we grasp this message deep within our hearts. Often content to place the blame of society's moral decay on the classic scapegoat, that which we call "evil" (be it selfishness, anger, hatred, etc.), we cease to recognize a far more debilitating moral disease: a profound indifference to the connections which thread us to the world one step beyond our lives. Indifference, much like the AIDS virus, does no direct harm to its host, instead it weakens our moral immune system to the point that we silently betray humanity. While we generally condemn overt acts of physical and mental violence, indifference enables a violence which is not always direct nor immediate. Abuses of inmates in prison, exploitation of workers, and holocausts are allowed to occur when people turn the other way.

Furthermore, modern weaponry lends indifference with no better an outlet with the excessive ease with which one can thoughtlessly pull a trigger. It takes an entirely more bloodthirsty individual to settle a dispute by smashing in someone's jaw, face down in a gutter, than someone who participates in a cowardly drive-by shooting. We should not kid ourselves: Technology certainly does kill, because the possibility of committing horrible violence is opened up to people who aren't necessarily themselves violent.

Pro-gun advocates extol the virtue of armed individuals who abide by our laws of personal responsibility as the ultimate good guys. However, regardless of how reasonable or even heroic this standard may appear in light of a kill-or-be-killed situation, legal murder will not bring an end to the commonly shared disease of social irresponsibility that likely gave rise to the conflict in the first place. It only executes the messenger, and provides an indeterminate intermission of peace within the context of perpetual pre-hostility.

Without creative proactive efforts, guns won't liberate us, they will only condemn us to a false sense of security, and a fickle heart which demonizes our brothers and sisters. Our legally granted rights set the foundation, not the ceiling, of our moral potential. Laws cannot mandate the principles we have herein committed to; it requires a heart which genuinely seeks a peaceful, healthy community. All we have to ask ourselves is, if we could live in a society rooted in the principles below, wouldn't we want to? Protected by compassionate nonviolence, No guns here, All are welcome, We will share what we can, Enough is enough.

What's stopping us? Only through unity, with a common sense of our shared responsibilities, may we be rid of our shared disease.

_________

Giles Larsen lives in Salt Lake City.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
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To: SJackson
A google search shows a connection with a lefty group called utah.indymedia.org.


21 posted on 10/16/2001 6:27:27 AM PDT by TroutStalker
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To: Ladysmith
Anyone finding themselves stuck in a neighborhood posting touchy-feely signs like that may want to consider posting this one:

"Armed and Ready To Exercise My Second Amendment Right"

actually, a couple of these please don’t rob us signs in the neighborhood
could be helpful... like canaries in the coal mine... yes?

22 posted on 10/16/2001 6:31:40 AM PDT by glock rocks
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To: SJackson
I think this moron has taken one too many LSD trips. Security comes from having my .357 magnum close at hand, along with the knowledge and will to use it, if necessary.
23 posted on 10/16/2001 6:37:17 AM PDT by wjcsux
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To: SJackson
Dear Mr Larsen, I want to commend you and your family for your stand against violence. I'm glad to know there are Americans thinking like you do still. I'm going to move to your neighborhood so we can share your stuff, ok ? I'll be there as soon as I get my Nikie's on and the next spaceship arrives.See you soon. Your friend, M-
24 posted on 10/16/2001 6:39:06 AM PDT by Marobe
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To: SJackson
Salt Lake City Tribune

Figures!

25 posted on 10/16/2001 6:40:48 AM PDT by KateUTWS
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To: tet68
"Pusillanimous" - yeah, that's it! LOL
26 posted on 10/16/2001 6:42:03 AM PDT by Constitution Day
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To: SJackson
The message which an uninvited guest delivers when they break into our home is that our social responsibilities need tending to.

I'm sorry. I couldn't get past this statement. Did the article continue on in a similar vein, or did it veer suddenly back into reality a few lines later?

Semper Fidelis

27 posted on 10/16/2001 6:42:09 AM PDT by Jarhead_22
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To: D Joyce
"...their little fairy signs..."

With a name like "Giles", what kind of signs did you expect? ;-D

28 posted on 10/16/2001 6:44:35 AM PDT by Constitution Day
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To: Chipper
"When are these people gonna realize that some people were never good, cannot be good, and never will be good."

That needs repeating.

29 posted on 10/16/2001 6:46:26 AM PDT by Constitution Day
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To: Ladysmith
"Armed and Ready To Exercise My Second Amendment Right"

I like that one, but I'll put a sign out that says:
Don't rob us, our neighbors are UNARMED

FMCDH
30 posted on 10/16/2001 6:47:54 AM PDT by Johnny Gage
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To: glock rocks
Yep, it could be!
31 posted on 10/16/2001 6:50:49 AM PDT by Ladysmith
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To: Brookhaven
I would like to have a sign that says "No Burglar Alarm". However I would make a slight change to what it read.

"No Burglar Alarm. Police might arrive while we are trying to bury the bodies."

32 posted on 10/16/2001 6:51:16 AM PDT by Chewbacca
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To: SJackson
legal murder will not bring an end to the commonly shared disease of social irresponsibility that likely gave rise to the conflict in the first place

Remove enough criminals from the population and the rest might get the message that the price is too high to prey on people who earn what they have.

33 posted on 10/16/2001 7:00:28 AM PDT by MrB
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To: glock rocks
You can leave comments on their site here.
34 posted on 10/16/2001 7:01:56 AM PDT by TroutStalker
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To: SJackson
our signs will say that our home is "protected by compassionate nonviolence.

My sign says, "This home is protected by a gun three days a week, you guess which days."

35 posted on 10/16/2001 7:03:50 AM PDT by MosesKnows
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To: SJackson
I think this is a great idea, I REALLY want to see these people start putting signs saying "protected by compassionate nonviolence" in their yards. The big question. Should we use our weapons to defend them when they start getting robbed continually? Hmmmmm.......
36 posted on 10/16/2001 7:13:18 AM PDT by ScreamingFist
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To: SJackson
Hey Giles Larson, I have a 44 that is loaded by my my bedside. I'll be blowing the brains out of the first burglar to invade my house because the court system may let the idiot off.......allowing for further crime. I will stop crime perpetrated against myself and my neighborhood. My neighbors are armed and have the same atitude I have.

When did Salt Lake City go totally stupid and allow an idiot like gikes move in and ruin the neighborhood? Is he a California transplant who is unaware of how the west was settled? Giles, when you get robbed - you deserved it; not because I support crime - but because you invited robbery with your lunacy.

37 posted on 10/16/2001 7:22:37 AM PDT by Issaquahking
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To: ScreamingFist
I think everyone who is holds the Second Amendment dear needs to cheer these people on. These folks need to contact HCI and get them on board, quick!!!!!!!

I say, get HCI and all other gun control folks on board QUICKLY!! Giles and his group need to act fast to get all anti-second amendment folks to put a sign in their yard RIGHT NOW.

Why? Because shortly after they put up the signs, they'll most likely be attacked by the scum of the earth and then they'll not be supporting anything except 6 feet of earth.

38 posted on 10/16/2001 8:55:09 AM PDT by Gig
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To: Gig
"Giles and his group need to act fast to get all anti-second amendment folks to put a sign in their yard RIGHT NOW."

I would be willing to lay a bet that mr. larsen, fine socialist that he is, lives in a gated and guarded community. Any takers on this bet?

39 posted on 10/16/2001 12:40:18 PM PDT by ScreamingFist
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To: SJackson
Giles Larsen is either a psychotic or an extremely gifted parodist.
I'll need some pretty hard evidence to convince me this editorial wasn't a joke.
40 posted on 10/16/2001 12:41:50 PM PDT by Tony in Hawaii
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