Psalmboxkey's Blog

Humble Contributions to the Peoples' History

Chinese Workers Resist Exploitation in Production of our Electronics

04 22 13

For many years now, a social justice movement has been underway to create awareness the working conditions and wages of farm and migrant workers who pick the fruits and vegetables that we eat. According to the report, “Toward Social Justice and Economic Equity in the Food System,” the public is increasingly attracted to goods produced under socially just conditions.” Fair trade and sweatshop-free products have become popular with consumers.

But what are the conditions that workers face in the manufacture of our electronic devices, and what is our responsibility as conscientious consumers to support fair workplace practices for these workers? Do we think the skill levels required to work in this field would offer fair pay and good working conditions? I believed that the stunning success of the iPad, which Apple sold over three million in three days back in November 2012, would benefit their employees, as well as their stockholders. What I learned was that Apple uses an intermediary company, Foxconn, to manufacture their products. While Apple has a positive image as an employer, Foxconn employment practices have come into question.

Ironically, Apple reported that, “we’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand,” but the question raised here is exactly who is working hard and are these workers pushed to the extreme to meet the marketing demand?

Foxconn Factories in China

Unfortunately, conditions in many of these plants operated by Foxconn in China, as well as in other countries, reveal that many workers are subject to exploitive practices. In April 2011 the story broke that seven Chinese workers had committed suicide. The Guardian reported that Chinese sociologists condemned workplace practices that served as a “model where fundamental human dignity is sacrificed for development.” The article continued . . .

In Shenzhen and Chengdu a joint Foxconn workforce of 500,000 is providing the labour that, in the first quarter of 2011, contributed to Apple Inc net profit of $6 billion (£3.6bn). Interviews with mainly migrant employees and managers have laid bare the dark side of those profits: a Dickensian world of work that would be considered shocking in the west.

To bring attention to the problem of worker exploitation in these factories, on April 21, 2013, The Wooden Shoe, IWW and Solidarity sponsored an activist from Germany, Ralf, to speak in Philadelphia.

Ralf’s talk was based on gongchao.org’s collective research and activity around the struggles of migrant workers, and he presented photos and films to explain the situation at Foxconn. Ralf focused the discussion on ways to support the iSlaves, relating their struggles to our own labor issues. Formed in September 2008, gongchao researches and documents labor unrest and social movements in China from the perspective of class struggle, migration, and gender. The website offers both analytical texts and workers’ stories.

While the web has a number of resources and webpages on working conditions in China, hearing the stories first hand from Ralf brought the reality closer to home. In the coming weeks, Ralf will be in Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Madison, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Seattle, Bay Area and Los Angeles. You can click on this link for the details of his schedule.

Foxconn Workers on Strike

The Wooden Shoe: A Philadelphia collectively-run, anarchist book store and educational space supported by volunteers.

Anarchism: Political philosophy advocating that people are better served if they make decisions for themselves and communities rather than from any form of centralized power structure.

IWW: Industrial Workers of the World, member-run union for all workers.

Links:

iSlave: Work Struggle at Foxconn in China.

Gongchao

Gethin Chamberlain, “Apple Factories Accused of Exploiting Chinese Workers,” The Guardian, April 30, 2011.

Jemima Kiss, “The Real Prices of an iPhone 5: Life in the Foxconn Factory,” September 13, 2012. Apple and Foxcoon: Work Conditions, Problems and Changes.

Category:

Anarcho-syndicalism, Industrial Workers of the World, Social Justice

Philadelphia Performance Protest against Gun Violence

03 30 13

On March 29, Heeding God’s Call, held their Fifth Annual Good Friday Procession and Vigil to protest the continued gun violence in the city. Nearly 200 worshippers gathered late in the afternoon at St. Paul’s Baptist Church, where worship services began, and then “en masse” marched to Benjamin Franklin High School on North Broad Street for the vigil.

The Tabernacle United Choir and Arch Street Methodist Choir joined the Healing Presence Singers under the backdrop of the Common Threads Mural, which is representative of hope for the future. Holly Phares directed the choirs during the ecumenical service that included guest speakers from several faith-based organizations and families who have lost children to gun violence. By joining together, the worshipers affirmed that it is possible for citizens to fight for legislation and social policies that would help bring peace to our streets and homes.

According to CNN, Philadelphia has one of the worst homicide rates in the country, with more than 80% of these crimes committed with a gun.

A young, black man, has a greater chance of being shot and killed in Philadelphia than he would have if he were a soldier serving in the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq,

An average day in US has 30 gun-related murders with another 162 wounded based on the most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, 53 people kill themselves with a gun each day. Our homicide rate of 4.7 murders per 100,000 people is one of the highest of all developed countries. Unfortunately, statistics of these daily tragedies mean little in the public consciousness and only when mass shootings occur, do citizens begin to take notice. This outrage that follows these shootings is followed by frustration as law-makers, indebted to the gun lobby, block even the most sensible gun restrictions, such as high-capacity magazines. If the Tucson shooter had only ten bullets, Christina Taylor Green would be with her family today.

At the rally in Philadelphia, parents of children who were killed by guns spoke of their loss.

While this was a peaceful demonstration, just a day before mothers in Indiana had to stand in defiance in front of a line of armed men carrying AR-15 semi-automatic weapons. The moms, advocating for restrictions on purchases of high-capacity magazines and legislation requiring background checks on gun sales, were protesting in front of the Indiana statehouse. An armed opponent admitted that his rifle was loaded. Some might argue that the Indiana protest was also peaceful, but the potential for violence, either because of accident, mental instability or provocation, undermines the tenants of democracy to live free from the threat of gun violence.

Numbers to reach US Senators at this link.

Category:

Politics

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“Rock-‘n-Roll is Here to Stay”

03 22 13

Waxing Nostalgia: Teen Dance Scene 1964

For some time I have thought about dancing again as I’ve missed my ice skating dance routines ever since my hip replacement. Reflections about dancing brought me back to the time when my girlfriends and I went to the teen mixers at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Springfield, a suburb just outside of Philadelphia. I couldn’t find any references to the dances on the web, but in the mid-1960s, Holy Cross was the place to be on a Saturday night.

Most of the teens who attended the dances came from the working class communities in the adjacent neighborhoods, and most were Catholic, of course. We attended the public school so it was a bit of a leap to attend a dance outside of our school where we wouldn’t know anyone. Some of our friend’s parents didn’t like the idea of their daughters going to a Catholic dance, but somehow we convinced them it would be ok. Secretly, we always thought that Catholic boys were “fast” but not necessarily that was bad, just we had to be aware. I can’t remember that myth ever playing out. We were somewhat protected in our suburban bubble. My sister remembers her shocked reaction when she saw smoking going on around the corner of the church.

The Church kept a strict dress code. Boys had to wear coats and ties and for girls, skirts or dresses. We would spend all day getting ready: washing our hair in the morning and using those humongous plastic rollers so that our hair would have puff rather than curl. We would sit under a hair dryer bonnet for hours. More daring girls would wear heavy eye makeup and challenge the limits on how short their skirts could be. It was a fine line, and the authorities would send you home, if you crossed it. Looking back, I believe the dress code established a certain decorum, even if we complained at the time.

We would join long lines outside the gym to pay our 75 cents to get in, passing by the three or four priests that lined up near the entrance. Everybody danced on the crowded floor; we didn’t have to worry about being a wall flower. When dancing, the boys would cut in front of us, nudging each other out-of-the-way. We had bragging rights depending on the number of boys that would cut in. The temperature in the room would rise through the night, but the boys still had to keep their jackets on.

Versions of the Bristol Stomp provided the basic dance steps, and dancers would hit the wooden floor with a collective stomp on the beat. That unison had to be a genre of tribal dancing, and while we danced with a partner, it was really a group dance–and that made it exciting!

The kids in Bristol are sharp as a pistol,
When they do the Bristol Stomp. Whoa-oh.
Really somethin’ when the joint is jumpin’,
Ah-ah-ah, ah. When they do the Bristol Stomp.

Kal Mann & Dave Appell

After every dance number, we would escape back to our girl pods and share our analysis. “Wow, that was a cute guy you were dancing with.” “He asked for my number!” “Look, he’s wearing a Beatle jacket.” “Did you see that split?” Boys were considered hot if they did a split; and if a guy had a Beatle haircut, he racked up more status points.

The DJ usually played Doo-Wop music for the slow dances: See the Pyramids Across the Nile, In the Still of the Night, Till Then, You Belong to Me. I remember melting every time the songs played.

Back to the Future: Learning to Dance all Over Again

I looked around the web to find a local dance studio that might offer a few lessons in rock just so I could get dancing again. Ironically, not far from Holy Cross Church, I came across Don’s Dance World, and he was setting up a small adult class in jitterbug. When the class started, what was strange was learning steps to what I just kinda did without thinking when I was a teen. Now, I had to think about it! Don had us repeat the steps many times, switching partners often. He also recited little mantras to help remember the steps:

Sweet ta heart ta back-step
Guy a-turn-a back-step
Girl a-turn-a back-step

Many thanks to Joan, Mike, Robyn, John and Don for their part in the video. At some level, I channeled back to those steamy nights at Holy Cross.

Rock and roll will always be.
I dig it to the end.
It’ll go down in history,
Just you watch, my friend.
Rock and roll will always be.
It’ll go down in history.

David White

Category:

Family History, Pop Culture

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Mystique of the Ole Fashioned General Store

03 20 13

My attempt at a replica.

The old-fashioned general store has always been intriguing to me. As a child, one of my favorite shopping places was a building called “the Casino,” a large round wooden structure in Cape May, New Jersey. Every summer I looked forward to traveling to Cape May to just walk through the isles of the Casino to glance at the imports lining the shelves from around the world. I especially liked the little colorful cloth dolls holding baskets and brooms. The store offered a wide selection of souvenirs, including metal buckets and shovels for playing in the sand.

W.H. Snowden General Merchandise – Currituck, North Carolina
1895

Today a few general stores remain in operation. The aesthetic appeal begins right at the front door with a lightweight screen door, allowing fresh air into the space. Frequently merchandise spills out from the building, decorated with moldings even if the paint is peeling. Creaky wood floors and long wooden counters represent typical interiors. Wooden shelves and bins built into the walls extend from the floor to ceiling.

While general stores hold an abundance of merchandise, I don’t believe this is about conspicuous consumption, as an overwhelming number of goods are essential to the home and farm with elements of industry and efficiency . . . potato peelers, bolts of cloth, coffee grinders, iron skillets and lanterns.

Mitchell Hardware, New Burn, North Carolina

In the 19th and early 20th centuries general stores were central to small town communities. Selling everything from groceries, hardware items, shoes, pots and pans and other necessities, the store often anchored other small businesses that would line the town’s main street. That town center provided a community-oriented amenities such as sidewalks, parks and theaters. Within a short walk, shoppers could stop in at the library, bank and post office. Upon entering the store, the proprietor, sporting a long white apron, would stand behind a wooden counter and would greet you. Storekeepers had to keep informed on the pulse of the community so that they could order the right materials. Neighbors would meet up at the store and share news as they shopped. Many stores keep a pot belly stove going, and customers played bottle cap checkers near the warmth of the stove.

The Peck Basket General Store
Moyock, North Carolina

The store owner maximized the floor utilizing boxes and barrels to support merchandise. Generally, the proprietor purchased in bulk quantities. Then he would weigh the purchases on a large scale. Few items were pre-packaged, but canned goods occupied much of the grocery shelf space. Speciality items could be ordered, such as furniture, farm equipment and sewing machines. Deliveries arrived by horse-drawn wagon and later by train.

Bins for nails; no pre-packaging
Mitchell Hardware, New Burn, North Carolina

Something from my childhood must have endeared me to the general store that still resonates with me today. Viewing little pieces of this former way of life, is tantalizing enough to make me wonder about what has been lost.

Often times General Stores housed the Post Office.

Do the consequences of losing the small-town general store move beyond aesthetics?

How do our shopping experiences around malls, big-box and strip stores compare with the country store of yore? Today massive shiny lettering in bold colors shouts the store’s name. These industrial style buildings sit at the back of expansive concrete parking lots without hardly a tree or blade of grass in sight. Bland building facades are identical to every other strip mall. Steel doors, cavernous spaces, utilitarian shelving and harsh lighting all contribute to the lack of aesthetic appeal and warmth. With their stark interiors, they are but warehouses for merchandise.

Big-box retailers have reaped economic benefits from their bland design that demands little in aesthetic investment, and consumers may have found these businesses offer the best prices. But what have we lost in the conversion to bear-bones consumerism? Some claim that these retailers boost city revenues, but have we sacrified small businesses at the altar of increased tax revenue and cheaper prices? Small business owners, often members of the community, support local enterprises and charities. Huge corporations have no loyalty to any one town or city. Some research shows that it doesn’t always play out that this increased tax revenue brings in development.

How does the big-box store influence our social relationships? Do you run into your neighbors at the box store? Is there a place to stop and converse with friends? Does anyone smile at you? Wal-Mart has even phased out the paid greeter, not that a paid employee saying “hi” necessarily made any difference. According to an article in Jezebel,

Because big box store are so anonymous and huge, there’s a sense that no one is watching. Social bonds are strongest when people feel like they’re being closely watched, so if the opposite is true, it might make people feel like they could do whatever they like without consequence.

As weird as this might sound, these big-box stores coincide with hate groups, according to a study conduced by faculty at Penn State and other universities. The number of Wal-Mart stores in an area correlated with the number of hate groups in that same area and more statistically significant than other factors, such as unemployment and crime.

What runs side by side of hate group? Gun sales. Approximately a third of all Wal-Mart store sell fire arms, including the “modern sporting rifles” or the type of semiautomatic rifle used in the killing of 26 adults and children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Wal-Mart is the largest seller of firearms in the US. The Christian Science Monitor features an excellent article on the subject.

My original intention of writing this blog post was to describe the pleasing aesthetics of the old-fashioned country store. Analyzing the larger picture of what the demise of country store has meant for America reveals how their absence uncovers much more than just a change in aesthetics.

Checkers anyone?

Category:

Philosophy, Pop Culture, Social Justice

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Greek Antifascists bring their Message to Philadelphians

03 13 13

Was only 70 Years Ago . . .

Wiki Commons

My son, John, and his housemate, Jim, hosted two Antifascist activists from Greece, who were giving a presentation at the Lava Space in Philadelphia on Monday, March 11. John and Jim attend many activist events, and they always invite me to come. I decided to attend this event mostly because of an email I received just a few days ago from a member of my photography class who traveled to the Czech Republic on a family heritage trip. In that email he wrote that he had visited the town of Vrbove and walked the along the streets that were so familiar to his grandmother. He also made a pilgrimage to the town on Lidice, on the outskirts of Prague, to view the memorial there. I hadn’t heard of this town or the Lidice Memorial site so I checked out the details on the web. In 1942 the Nazis marched into Lidice and killed every male over the age of twelve and deported the women and children to the camps. They burned and leveled the village. The Nazis brought on further horrors which I cannot even bear to write about. The Nazis carried out this atrocity as revenge for the assassination of General Heydrich by unknown assailants. This chance intersection with the Lidice Memorial underscored the heroic efforts of the Greek Antifascists.

The Dysfunction of Scapegoating

When elements of fascism raise the specter of blatant racism, blaming targets of their hate for the economic failures while undermining democracy through brute force and suppression, citizens must take note. The Antifascists remind us that we must be aware of fascist propaganda, which scapegoats on immigrants and multiculturalism, taking advantage of economic crises to fuel the fires of discontent in times of austerity. Without vigilance to these seeds of discontent, the horrors of Lidice could revisit the human race again.

Greece: A Case Study of an Economic Meltdown

Austerity measures in Greece, with the goal of paying off astronomical debt, have created nationwide protests. Greece is suffering with unemployment at 27%. The Golden Dawn, described by both the media and scholars as fascist and neo-Nazi, won 7% of the seats in parliament and colluded with police to initiate violence against progressive activists and immigrants.

According to a 2012 article in The Guardian,

Golden Dawn is opening branches in towns all over Greece and regularly coming third in national opinion polls. Its black-shirted vigilantes have been beating up immigrants for more than three years, unmolested by the police; lately they’ve taken to attacking Greeks they suspect of being gay or on the left. MPs participate proudly in the violence.

Introductions by Chris

The Greek Antifascist City Tour 2013

Philadelphia was one stop on their scheduled visits to over 25 cities in the US to increase awareness and to raise funds for legal help. Greek activists, Thanasis Xirotsopanos and Vangelis Nanos, spoke to folks at the Lava Space about fascism and resistance in their country. Sofia Papagiannak gave her presentation via the computer as she had to return to Greece. Video footage provided documentation of the Antifascist resistance to the Golden Dawn.

Models of protest activism ~ Thanasis and Vangelis ~ against the most heinous of political movements

Category:

Politics, Social Justice, West Philadelphia

Freewheeling: One Good Photograph

02 21 13

Over the past couple months I’ve taken a photography course at the Community Arts Center with the hope that I could improve on my blog photos. Steven Miller, who has photographs in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum, presented us with a series of assignments that emphasized various photographic techniques. Inspired to step out of my comfort zone, I experimented with photographing different subjects.

My travels during this time took me to a narrow backstreet in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. Near the corner of Carpenter and Greene, little stores nestled on either side of street. A cooperative grocery, an independent coffee shop, a second-hand store offered a bustling section to an otherwise quiet street. The Big Blue Marble Bookstore with its colorful façade and window dressing of books and toys offered a particularly bright spot. Just across from the bookstore, I discovered a honey hole of photographic opportunity, the Philadelphia Salvage Company. The shop, a wonderland of restoration projects, overflowed with antique doors and stained glass windows. Vintage boxes and light fixtures lined the aisles. Boxes of buttons, rows of tiles, planks of wood scattered about the warehouse. On one of the shelves someone had arranged a collection of gears, and that’s where I found my prize photo, the best of the 500 pictures I took during this time.

Click on the photo for a better view.

Freewheeling

Update: Photograph won first prize at the Community Arts Member Show, June 2013.

Category:

Philosophy, Photography

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Birds of Pray?

02 18 13

vigil [ˈvɪdʒɪl] n. 1. a purposeful watch maintained, esp at night, to guard, observe, pray, etc. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vigil

One afternoon many years ago I observed a robin in the garden behaving strangely, having what seemed to be seizures. Since he seemed so close to his last moment, I thought he would be better off in his own element than my taking him in. I looked on from a window to make sure that he would stay safe from predators. As I stood watching, a small flock of sparrows flew into the garden and formed a ring around the robin. A few other bird species joined the circle. The birds pecked at the ground and flitted about, tweeting. When the robin finally laid still, the birds of the circle flew away.

My sense of this phenomenon was that I was sure I had witnessed s a vigil of some kind. Yet, because I tend to think scientifically, I questioned whether this occurrence was either coincidence or was I anthropomorphizing.

In September 2012, an article in BBC Nature that reported that scientists had observed that birds hold “funerals.” If the western scrub jay encounters a dead bird, the jay will call out to the other birds. The jays will fly down and gather around the departed one. Another scientist noted that magpies placed pieces of grass by one of their fallen comrades. Now, I could rule out that my observation years ago was not a coincidental occurrence, but was it a vigil?

It seems that some have concluded, as published the findings in the journal Animal Behaviour, that “all organisms must contend with the risk of injury or death; many animals reduce this danger by assessing environmental cues to avoid areas of elevated risk.” If a bird was sick or subject to predation, why would other birds fly down to one that is dying? This made me wonder whether we can we in any way attribute this particular “funeral” behavior to any evaluation?

The sparrows’ vigil still holds an element of mystery. Maybe we have to admit we just don’t understand, and that recognition leaves space for openness and discovery.

Category:

Philosophy

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Lone Ranger and Tonto: A Nostalgic View and Modern Critique

01 30 13

Growing Up Viewing the “Wild West” while Living in the Philly Suburbs

Everything we knew about the West we learned from Hollywood’s recreation of the American frontier on television, and we thoroughly absorbed the historical misinformation of the people and culture of that time. By the late 1950s, over thirty westerns, such as Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Sugarfoot, and Maverick, blazed across the screen. The melodies of the theme songs still replay in my memories. Years later, we learned that what we thought was real about the West was, in fact, a myth. As children, we certainly didn’t recognize stereotyping, and we were pretty much oblivious to standardized characters and plot predictability. Looking back, I still reflect with a certain amount of nostalgia just because the television western was a part of my childhood experience.

The Lone Ranger became one of our favorite programs. The TV series began in 1949, and new episodes continued through 1957. I remember watching the introductory episode in reruns many times, which unfolded the story of Tonto finding the injured Texas lawman and his transformation into the Lone Ranger. I was not alone in this infatuation, as almost every child in America knew who Kemosobe was. The Lone Ranger and Tonto stood as heroic figures in the lawless frontier. Later I would learn that Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto, resented that he had to speak in a scripted pigeon. As a child, I thought of Tonto as an equal partner with the Lone Ranger, which is surprising given that the Lone Ranger possessed all the hero accouterments: mask, silver bullets, white hat, and horse. To me, Tonto acted as a trustworthy and resourceful partner with the Lone Ranger.

Westerns influenced our childhood games and apparel. The boys in our neighborhood played with toy cap guns. Several regularly wore their cap pistols in holsters and donned cowboy hats. I didn’t like cap guns because my fingers usually got pinched when the hammer mechanism sprung closed to make the “pop” sound. While the boys aimed their guns at each other in mock battles, for us girls, the guns were merely a fashion accessory, part of our cowgirl outfits. I’ve seen many pictures of our friends and relatives from that era, and not many escaped without being photographed in cowboy-girl attire. Our Sally Star dolls even came with holsters and guns, but we never played “shootouts” with them.

How did I interpret gun violence on television as a child? Well, I don’t remember either relatives or teachers offering any analysis of the programs or discussions of Western history or violence. Adults purchased the cowboy attire and the toy guns, so I think we assumed these had some legitimacy. At least on the Lone Ranger show, most of the villains never seemed worse for wear for being shot; Hollywood sanitized the effects of gun wounds with an arm in a sling as the typical portrayal of an injury. I think even as a child I realized that TV westerns were pretend–just like our plastic guns.

Retrospective: Forty Years Later

The Good

Revisiting some of the episodes offered insight into a comparison of what I remembered from my childhood and the real program content. Now the benefit of scholarly historical analysis uncovers the stereotypical Hollywood interpretation of the Old West and portrayal of Native Americans. In his essay, “I hated Tonto then and I hate him now,” Sherman Alexie writes his views from a Native American perspective about his complicated relationship with Indians in the media.

Upon viewing some of the episodes, what immediately struck me was the Lone Ranger’s diction and demeanor. Clayton Moore, the actor who played the Lone Ranger, practiced duplicating the radio voice of the Lone Ranger; his enunciation was impeccable but sometimes comical. “Howdy” came off as a pronouncement rather than a greeting. However, it seemed easy to forgive that overly formal manner as contrasted with so much of the gruff and coarse discourse we get today on television; the Lone Ranger was refreshingly polite and well-mannered. The program had several other redeeming qualities. This conversation in the first episode revealed an essential tenant of Long Ranger stories: he never shoots to kill but rather only to disarm his opponent, as painlessly as possible.

Tonto: Here gun to kill bad men.
LR: I’m not going to do any killing.
Tonto: You not defend yourself?
LR: I’ll shoot if I have to, but I’ll shoot to wound, not to kill. If a man must die, it is up to the law to decide that not the person behind the six-shooter.
Tonto: That right, Kemosabe.

The Lone Ranger decides to use only silver bullets as a reminder that life is precious. Along those lines, the Lone Ranger usually comes up with a thoughtful plan for dealing with the outlaws. He cautions against rash actions and his plans include deliberately reducing violence.

During the series, few story characters trusted the Lone Ranger, because he wore a mask, or Tonto, just because he was an Indian. The Lone Ranger said, “You’ll have to trust me.” That trust contrasted with some of those characters who held respectable positions but who were not always trustworthy, whether doctors, judges, or sheriffs. I’m not sure this is the result of watching the program, but I usually don’t ascribe trust to those in power just because of their position or status.

The Bad

The Lone Ranger stories could be characterized as light entertainment that often relied on clichés, such as manifest destiny, the 19th-century belief widely held by Americans that the United States, destined to expand across the continent, would bring democracy and rule of law to the world. Manifest destiny rationalized violence, as justifiable because of always being on the “right” side; the gun then became a primary symbol of moral violence. Unfortunately, the Lone Ranger was just another vigilante. Shooting to maim was legitimated because neither the legal process nor morality could prevent the violence. The superhero guaranteed and assured the audience that the outlaw would meet his deserved demise. Rather than the legal process, however, violence became the solution to the criminal problem.

And the Ugly

While representations of violence in the media offer many complexities not easily understood, my theory is that children take on the beliefs of their parents, who are the mediating factors, and why it is difficult to arrive at an overreaching theory on how the media influences each child. I wrote about this issue in this post. It seems that generations of young people have accepted the mandate to solve conflicts through defensive gun violence and ignore the concept of the rule of law and reason in their justification of violence. If parents promote vengeance philosophy or celebrate power through weapons, the impact of the media reinforces these views. Although I don’t recall my parents offering any commentary about the Westerns, they held firm beliefs against fighting and aggression, which I believe was the greatest influence on my thinking about gun violence. Most of what I watched on television years ago held little sway over my views today. One of my main arguments against the possession of guns is: how is justice served if the shooter is the jury, judge, and executioner? I guess that’s where the Lone Ranger and I would agree.

Followup:

Lone Ranger on Television: Reflections on My Childhood

Category:

Family History, Philosophy, Pop Culture

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Gun Control, A Citizen Speaks Up, Part 8

12 25 12

Christmas Day 2012

The National Rifle Association’s 4 million mothers, fathers, sons and daughters join the nation in horror, outrage, grief and earnest prayer for the families of Newtown, Connecticut . . .

Wayne Lapierre, NRA Press Conference, December 21, 2012

Outrage?, grief? Really?

Last summer my great niece, Valeta, aged 4, and I had a conversation about sincerity and what that means. Seems like a complicated subject for a four-year old, but she listened intently to my explanation of what it meant to be sincere. I told her about the frog I have in my garden. He is called the “Heartfelt Frog” for he holds his hands to his heart and looks up toward the sky. I explained to Valeta that sincerity means honestly saying how you actually feel and how the frog earned “heartfelt” because his sentiments came from his heart. I demonstrated by placing my hands on my heart. Valeta immediately shadowed my actions and held her hands to her heart.

Five months went by, and one day Valeta asked my sister, her grandmother, if she could visit the heartfelt frog in my garden. We live a long distance from each other so this Christmas I painted her a picture for her room.

Does the spokespearson for the NRA feel a sense of true loss for these families? These losses are tragically painful. And if the NRA’s response was truly heartfelt, they would assume responsibility to correct the injustice of these deaths. Does the NRA understand that their actions in support of all weapons is responsible for the deaths of 30,000 people in the United State every year? Being heartfelt means that an utterance of expression of grief and outrange translates to acts that promises reconciliation and correction.

A four-year old can understand this; for the the NRA, they are forever locked in their selfish pursuit of pleasure at the expense of the on-going tragedies of gun deaths for the rest of us.