Cloe Axelson in a WBUR Cognoscenti article tells us, “The kids have something to say, and we should listen.” And she’s right.
Axelson’s article focuses on student activists who survived last February’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 died.
Parkland was not the first example of a mass school shooting in this country; given that the United States has become a nation in which nearly 100 people die daily from guns, it is unlikely to be the last. [I hope you are as horrified to read these words as I am to write them and are thinking of ways to fight the NRA’s deadly work for the arms industry.]
One of the highlights of Axelson’s article is her reminiscence about another young student, Mary Beth Tinker, who was suspended from her middle school in Iowa in the 1960s for wearing a black arm band to school to protest the Vietnam War. The ACLU took her case on behalf of student rights to free speech all the way to the Supreme Court, where she won her case in a 7-2 decision.
I have same hypotheses about the child-rearing Mary Beth and other student activists experienced. I believe that in general, they were not bullied and beaten by their parents. They were not sent off to military schools to straighten them out. They were not told to shut their traps, mind their own beeswax, watch out or they’d get what was coming to them, obey…or else.
More likely, young activists like these are allowed to ask questions, wonder about injustices, read widely, educate themselves about society’s ills, and even speak out about problems they see in their communities and beyond—nurtured rather than suppressed, taught to love rather than to hate, urged to strive for a better society rather than become bullies themselves.
“Beating the devil” out of kids is not a path to a better world. Corporal punishment can beat out a lot of potential for developing a universal ethic and sense of justice—and perhaps destroy our only hope for survival of the planet. If you want to stop violence in and to the world, work to end violence in the home.
And inspire yourself! Hear Mary Beth today in this brief video.
Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter sing with Andrew Young and Coretta Scott King, together with Martin Luther King, Sr and other civil rights leaders during a visit to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In the public domain. Photographer: White House Staff Photographers
by Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D.
Note from Kathie MM: In this month during which we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., it is a pleasure to honor also another wonderful role model for peace and social justice, Coretta Scott King–the great woman not behind but beside the great man.
A special word of praise and
gratitude is deserved for Coretta Scott-King (April 27, 1927-January 30, 2006),
wife and life partner of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., for 15 years, and an
icon in her own right. Their partnership altered the history and future of the
United States.
Coretta Scott-King was a tireless
partner, and co-worker for civil rights and social change. She continued Reverend
King’s work following his assassination, and assumed new responsibilities
deserving recognition and honor.
A talented musical artist, Mrs.
King graduated from highly respected Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio,
where she majored in music and education; she then went on to the prestigious
New England Conservatory of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts, majoring in voice
and violin. It was in Boston she met Reverend King, who was studying for his
doctorate at Boston University. They were married on June 18, 1953.
Ms. King was active in developing
many freedom music and poetry concerts; she was imbued with the spirit of human
dignity, rights, and opportunities; she was a partner in Reverend King’s
efforts. She joined Reverend King in national and global struggles for freedom,
traveling with him on his many trips to Africa, Europe, and India. She was an international leader, organizing
numerous international conferences, coalitions, and peace and human rights
marches, gatherings, and demonstrations.
Throughout her marriage, Coretta Scott-King was an active partner with Reverend King in advancing the cause of racial justice and non-violence. Mrs.King was anointed with the calling to heal abuse, violence, and injustice in the USA and across the world. Following Reverend King’s death, Coretta Scott-King continued advocating for justice, equality, and freedom.
Ms. King was the force behind the successful drive to declare Reverend King’s birthday a national holiday. Clearly, more should be done to honor Coretta Scott-King for her personal contributions, and for her many contributions to Reverend King’s efforts to create a more peaceful and just society.
American soldiers taking up defensive positions in the Ardennes. During the Battle of the Bulge. In the public domain.
by Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D.
Note from KMM: Today we begin the story of another lifelong peace advocate who exemplifies John Pavlovitz’s superheroes .
WWII Soldiers Return Home: I listen to War Stories
War’s horrors were inscribed in me as we
welcomed back relatives and family friends who served in WWII. Women shrieked, kissed, hugged returning
veterans, those who survived combat!
I stared at uncles and family friends with childhood awe and reverence. How courageous! I listened as they sat around tables quietly speaking to each other. No children or wives were permitted to hear their words; I hid behind a basement furnace or crouched underneath a table, listening, thinking.
Family and family friend veterans would sit
together alone after dinner dishes were cleared. Ash trays and a bottle of Four Roses whiskey, shot glasses, and soiled
napkins still gripped in hands. Salute!
Shot glasses would be raised. Names and places, memorialized: Patton, Nimitz,
MacArthur, Eisenhower, Bradley, Clark; Places: France, Bulge, Aleutians. Heads nodded in agreement.
Cigarette smoke hung in the air: Camels, Lucky Strikes, Chesterfields. No
filters! Veterans sat with bent elbows on table, looking down, occasionally
wiping watery eyes with a crinkled napkin. Crying was unacceptable. Soldiers
don’t cry!
Uncle Jimmy B . . .
I remember a close family friend we called
Uncle Jimmy. Even as a child, I recalled his appearance as he went off to the
wars in the 1940s. Uncle Jimmy was typically Sicilian in appearance and
temperament: dark complexion, black wavy hair, a big smile on his face,
constant jokes with me and cousins, a show of bravado, a display of courage to
comfort those who would await his return.
When Uncle Jimmy returned home after the war, however, his hair was white, his skin pale, his eyes had bags, and his demeanor was serious and detached. There was no bravado, no Sicilian joviality, no presence; a few hugs, soft voices, silence. Family faces were grim! They understood something I could not imagine.
Jimmy sat quietly at the dinner table as my
mother and aunts brought him and others pasta and salad: “Eat, Jimmy, eat! Do you want
some more? Nina! Get Jimmy some bread.” My aunts kissed his head and shoulders.
Uncle Jimmy was an infantry soldier! He ended
up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, one of the major battles of WWII. In December, 1944, Germany made a final
effort to stop allied advances. The German military massed tanks and artillery
in an area in the Ardennes region of Belgium and France, surrounding the
American troops between December 16, 1944, and January25, 1945, pounding them
daily artillery and fresh assault troops.
American soldiers fought back gallantly, but
were over-matched in supplies and weapons; the American Airforce was grounded
because of dense cloud cover. I remember my Uncle Jimmy saying the frontline
troops hunkered in frozen foxholes, shitting and pissing, awaiting a deadly
shell or German attack. It is estimated 19,276 American troops were killed; the
second highest number in any battle.
As I tried to understand my Uncle Jimmy’s face and behavior, my mother, Nina, took me aside and said: “Uncle Jimmy was in battle. Don’t talk with him now. He doesn’t want to talk about it.” I shuddered. And then the child’s obvious question: “But why is his hair all white now, and why does he look so sad? He survived! He should be happy!” My mother never answered.
Uncle Jimmy died shortly thereafter! It was called “shell-shock.” No care was provided for many of the WWII vets who served. This remains a problem today for returning veterans from the Middle-East wars; there are 22 suicides each day. War! War! War!
Image licensed under CCA-Share Alike 4.0 Internatl. Culture Jam activism sticker mentored by Avram Finkelstein, Center for Artistic Activism. Author: BettyTkao.
“They’re Devious and Dishonest.” From condemning
labor activists to vilifying racial justice advocates, one-percenters will
portray their adversaries as treacherous, devious, and evil in intent. With
this mind game, they’ll encourage us to be suspicious and unsympathetic toward
those who are facing difficult circumstances or insurmountable hardships. When
this appeal works, we’re more likely to turn our backs on the victims of the
self-aggrandizing rich and powerful.
“They’re Different from Us.” Whether they’re stigmatizing
immigrant groups or progressive reformers, the 1% will describe those they
deplore as unworthy of our trust, casting them as different and out of touch
with what most Americans want. Whenever this deceitful ploy is successful, it
leads potential allies to view each other as adversaries. In this way, natural
coalitions that could develop among individuals and groups opposed to today’s
plutocrats are squelched or destroyed.
“They’re Misguided and Misinformed.” From the
corruption on Wall Street to the further militarization of foreign policy,
one-percenters will argue that their critics are misinformed and unreliable,
and that their judgments are not to be trusted. Whenever we’re persuaded by
such defensive appeals, we discount or entirely disregard important voices of
dissent. Crucial opportunities for tackling inequality and advancing the common
good are lost as a result.
“Trust Us.” Whether it’s billionaire union-busters or lobby-backed politicians, the 1% will promote themselves as paragons of integrity. They know their efforts and policies will be much harder to counter if we mistakenly view them as trustworthy and selfless in word and deed. The weight of evidence doesn’t support this favorable image, but that reality doesn’t matter if we fail to recognize their devious misrepresentations, hollow promises, and corrupt enterprises.
Superiority
“They’re Losers.” From reviling the homeless to
disparaging the unemployed, today’s plutocrats will portray those who are
down-and-out as inferior to the rest of us. With this mind game, they’ll
encourage us to stand aloof from decent people who deserve our compassion and
solidarity. And by boosting our own sense of self-worth, they’ll aim to
discourage us from recognizing that the massive concentrations of wealth and
power in this country reflect ruthless exploitation and unconscionable
disregard of the needy.
“We’ve Earned It.” Whether CEOs are defending their
astronomical pay or claiming the mantle of indispensable job creators,
one-percenters will fraudulently argue that they’ve earned everything they have
through determination and fair play—and that they deserve our praise rather than
criticism for their actions and choices. These assertions of superiority go
hand in hand with the pursuit of ever greater dominance. As long as their
self-glorifying narratives go uncontested, extreme inequality will remain a
disturbing fixture of our society.
“Pursuing a Higher Purpose.” From promoting
inequality-boosting right-to-work legislation to defending human rights abuses,
the 1% will insist that their actions embrace and protect the values we
cherish. But prioritizing big-money interests subverts the vision of a nation
of equal opportunity, where people from all walks of life join together for the
common good. Despite this glaring contradiction, greed-driven appeals often
succeed because they tap into our sense of pride over our country’s accomplishments
and influence in the world.
“They’re Un-American.” Whether they’re railing against desperate immigrants or kneeling football players, one-percenters will stoke intolerance by presenting their critics as inauthentic and unpatriotic Americans. They recognize that their rule will be jeopardized if unwelcome change-seekers gain broad support. So they’ll condemn those individuals and groups that refuse to silently accept hardship and mistreatment, characterizing them as ungrateful outsiders who fail to appreciate all that’s good about the United States.
Helplessness
“Change Is Impossible.” From catastrophic climate
change to inequality-boosting globalization, the 1% will insist that the world
is shaped by forces much too powerful to be tamed by human intervention. Closer
analysis, however, reveals that they lack the motivation—not the capacity—to
exert influence over these disturbing phenomena. Indeed, even when they’re not
the direct cause of others’ misery, too often they’re bystanders unwilling to
use their enormous resources to benefit the common good.
“We’ll All Be Helpless.” Whether they’re opposing gun
reform measures or minimum wage hikes, one-percenters will warn us that changes
will produce harmful repercussions that we’ll all be powerless to combat. The
goal is to frighten us into accepting a status quo that serves their own
interests but causes widespread damage to the public good. They hope that
concerns about future helplessness will lead us to turn our backs on those
suffering under the current system.
“Don’t Blame Us.” From environmental disasters at
home to reckless militarism overseas, the 1% will be quick to claim there’s
nothing they could do when circumstances take a turn for the worse. Given their
inordinate wealth and power, these cries of helplessness and blamelessness
merit careful scrutiny. Although they strut the stage boasting about their
purported talents and accomplishments, today’s plutocrats head for the shadows
when it’s time to accept responsibility for their policy failures.
“Resistance Is Futile.” Whether it’s protecting tax cuts for billionaires or flooding political campaigns with cash for future favors, the 1% will try to convince us that we’re helpless to wrest our lives and our country from their control. If we believe we’ll never succeed, our change efforts grind to a halt. But we should remember that one-percenters are susceptible to the disempowering effects of perceived helplessness too—if we can demonstrate our own collective power.
Resisting the 1%’s Mind Games
To reiterate: Any effective strategy for turning the tide on the
1% in 2019 depends upon countering and neutralizing these mind games. Concerns
about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness deserve
to be important guides in policy debates and in efforts to advance the general
welfare. But today’s plutocrats cunningly exploit these concerns solely for
their own benefit, disregarding the harmful consequences that befall everyone
else.
What, then, can we do? First, we should understand that the 1%’s
mind games are much like a rampant virus that can infect unsuspecting people
with false and democracy-endangering beliefs. Second, we should take the steps
necessary to psychologically inoculate ourselves. That’s best accomplished by
learning to recognize these flawed, manipulative appeals wherever they
appear—in the media or in our neighborhoods—and by preparing forceful
counter-arguments to them. And third, having become skilled “first responders,”
we should organize others in our communities to do the same. The mission starts
now.
