Why simply comparing U.S. gun laws with Australia's is bullshit...
Moderator: Dux
Why simply comparing U.S. gun laws with Australia's is bullshit...
If what i'm hearing is true about some states in the U.S. it would seem that tighter controls on what occurs before someone can legally obtain access to firearms and also the types of firearms they can access would be a good idea.
Having said that. Comparing the gun laws from two VERY different cultures and saying that the difference in the incidents of mass shootings/murders in these two cultures is simply down to the gun laws is a FAR from honest assessment.
Sure, things need to change with the guns, but there are other differences to investigate that may reapmore rewards.
Looking to the fact that Australia has increased social nets by way of public healthcare and social welfare. These provide a safety buffer or create a greater threshold that someone must cross before they feel disenfranchised enough with the society around them for their frustration to become malevolent action.
Australia has its own problems, we are not without our glitches. Australian society is generally more laconic, ambivalent. This can give us the "She'll be right Mate" attitude, it can also become an almost un-healthy level of apathy.
Another difference in our societies was polarised whilst listening to a Jordan Peterson lecture.
Peterson spoke about why we tell our children that "it's not whether you win or lose it's how you play the game". Australia is known for and prides itself for it's sense of fair play, giving the other bloke a fair go. Teaching our children that "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" is actually healthy from an evolutionary point of view.
One year at the Olympics the Australian swim team protested AGAINST the exclusion of the Americans. Even though they new the Americans were their closest rival and would probably beat them. The Aussies helped the U.S. to be allowed to swim. Sure enough the The Duke (U.S. swimmer) took gold and the Aussies silver. Understanding why the Aussies actually won the bigger prize here will go a along way to helping move forward as a culture.
From an evolutionary point of view 'winning the game' in an immediate sense is actually less important than winning the 'meta' game, the overall picture for the tribe. This goes into psycho-physiology and how some of the oldest parts of our brain are hard wired to unsure the healthy selection of species and then tribe. Anyhow, winning the meta-game, really winning it is all about being INVITED to play...
We can see that the U.S. (as a country) has reached a point where it is NOT welcome in the global game. Sorry, but it's true. Most people in Oz have friends in the U.S and we love them, but there is an audible groan whenever we hear our politicians have made another (usually self serving and corrupt) decision to further shackle us to what we see as our tough but retarded big brother. Who wants to turn up to the party with him. Sure he's cool to have around IF on the RARE occasion the shit hits the fan. But almost every single time the shit hits the fan lately, it's because he started it on a gluttonous rampage to steal everyone elses' beer. This also speaks back to the point about social frustrations becoming malevolent thoughts/actions but with regard to the terrorism problem...
But I digress and this isn't to hammer on those who are already feeling the hurt. I personally love my friends in the U.S. and through those friends, I understand that not every one under the stars and stripes has an unhealthy distorted 'win the immediate game at all costs' attitude. But it IS an overriding thing in the U.S. from individual citizen level, corporate level and up through government/foreign policy level. It has become so endemic as to be both a top down AND bottom up vicious cycle.
Winning at all costs means having to carry a bigger gun than the other guy.. It's that simple. Winning at all costs is an escalation mindset.
The U.S. no longer has welcome access to the global meta-game and has to muscle itself in, hence it has to spend most of its resource on, 'muscle' (firearms and weaponry, otherwise deceptively labelled as 'defense'). Whilst this ensures they have access to the game and can even create the illusion that you are controlling it. Because even the most the uncouth (but well armed) friend is suddenly welcome in a world of engineered conflict. As a loong term strategy it is totally against the nature of things and is certainly doomed to failure. Again, increasing the buffer one has to cross before things turn malevolent by decreasing desperation, is THE most effective way to reduce 'terrorism', and the most efficient in terms of resources.
Nature understands that life is a constant struggle for the efficient use of resources. It also understands and enforces a balanced distribution of resources based on effective binding and unbinding of energy throughout the system. When portions of a system bind an unhealthy level of energy the system breaks down.
Please don't hear that as a socialist call for the free distribution of wealth. Not at all, in fact nature follows the pareto distribution where a few have a lot, and that few have ascended the dominance hierarchy to attain it (kind of like a HEALTHY capitalism). But, even apex predators know how to manage the binding and unbinding of energy (and control their own numbers) in the maintenance of the healthy meta system upon which they rely.
What you have now is beyond unnatural.
My professional focus is on the most elegant solution for returning a patient's personal 'ecosystem' to balance by enabling it to revert from what is usually a chronic state of defense to one that allows for the natural creation of health, growth and the successful ascension through Malsow's hierarchy of needs. Doing so through a careful binding and unbinding of resources as we re-establish coherence in the system.
Anyhow. Here's how I see it.
Basic needs...
The U.S. must liberate resources bound up by years of unchecked crony capitalism and redistribute them BACK to a lower level of the food chain in the form of (real) healthcare, housing, food on the table, opportunities for actualisation. This doesn't men socialism or communism, or equal outcomes, it simply means a fair go, getting people out of 'survival'. If the rats who are lower in the dominance hierarchy don't get somewhere around a 30% win rate they stop playing by the rules necessary for a healthy rat population and the system breaks down - that's how it works. The disparity between the haves and have nots is a huge problem in the U.S.
This is why countries with far less 'wealth' scoff every time they hear U.S. citizens talking about the "greatest country".
Becoming, once again, WELCOME on the world stage...
The U.S. has more, ahem 'defense' than it will ever need, even in a fairly unhealthy meta system. The irony is that if this system continues in a certain unhealthy direction, then no amount of defense resources will enable even a satisfactory way of life. The U.S. 'could' do a lot of good on the world stage (if you stop your ruling class stealing everyone elses beer). The emotional drive behind why most of your human 'resources' enlist is born of this want. One of the reasons for the high level of PTSD in returned vets now days might just be the mis-match between that noble intent and the reality that is found. The other reason is a lack of connection throughout the civilian population upon returning.
Question authority...
The cult of personality. Stop it. Seriously, just stop. This correlates directly with the lack of civilian connection and allows the glittery guru thing go unchecked. A mature and healthy 'tall poppy syndrome' can counter the cult of personality. We have gone too far the other way with an unhealthy level of it down here. To the point where we actively hack down anyone who tries to rise above, good or bad. Although, in Australia it IS coming from a want of healthy connection, this shows that a balance needs to be struck.
Addressing these three points is in no way helpful to the tiny group of people who hold the reigns in the U.S. or those who hang on to their coat tails. But, from over here, it seems that if you want to keep your guns, and other freedoms of similar ilk that constitute what you seem to value in life, Seeking to address those three points from bottom up and top down might help. It's probably going to be a long slog...
Having said that. Comparing the gun laws from two VERY different cultures and saying that the difference in the incidents of mass shootings/murders in these two cultures is simply down to the gun laws is a FAR from honest assessment.
Sure, things need to change with the guns, but there are other differences to investigate that may reapmore rewards.
Looking to the fact that Australia has increased social nets by way of public healthcare and social welfare. These provide a safety buffer or create a greater threshold that someone must cross before they feel disenfranchised enough with the society around them for their frustration to become malevolent action.
Australia has its own problems, we are not without our glitches. Australian society is generally more laconic, ambivalent. This can give us the "She'll be right Mate" attitude, it can also become an almost un-healthy level of apathy.
Another difference in our societies was polarised whilst listening to a Jordan Peterson lecture.
Peterson spoke about why we tell our children that "it's not whether you win or lose it's how you play the game". Australia is known for and prides itself for it's sense of fair play, giving the other bloke a fair go. Teaching our children that "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" is actually healthy from an evolutionary point of view.
One year at the Olympics the Australian swim team protested AGAINST the exclusion of the Americans. Even though they new the Americans were their closest rival and would probably beat them. The Aussies helped the U.S. to be allowed to swim. Sure enough the The Duke (U.S. swimmer) took gold and the Aussies silver. Understanding why the Aussies actually won the bigger prize here will go a along way to helping move forward as a culture.
From an evolutionary point of view 'winning the game' in an immediate sense is actually less important than winning the 'meta' game, the overall picture for the tribe. This goes into psycho-physiology and how some of the oldest parts of our brain are hard wired to unsure the healthy selection of species and then tribe. Anyhow, winning the meta-game, really winning it is all about being INVITED to play...
We can see that the U.S. (as a country) has reached a point where it is NOT welcome in the global game. Sorry, but it's true. Most people in Oz have friends in the U.S and we love them, but there is an audible groan whenever we hear our politicians have made another (usually self serving and corrupt) decision to further shackle us to what we see as our tough but retarded big brother. Who wants to turn up to the party with him. Sure he's cool to have around IF on the RARE occasion the shit hits the fan. But almost every single time the shit hits the fan lately, it's because he started it on a gluttonous rampage to steal everyone elses' beer. This also speaks back to the point about social frustrations becoming malevolent thoughts/actions but with regard to the terrorism problem...
But I digress and this isn't to hammer on those who are already feeling the hurt. I personally love my friends in the U.S. and through those friends, I understand that not every one under the stars and stripes has an unhealthy distorted 'win the immediate game at all costs' attitude. But it IS an overriding thing in the U.S. from individual citizen level, corporate level and up through government/foreign policy level. It has become so endemic as to be both a top down AND bottom up vicious cycle.
Winning at all costs means having to carry a bigger gun than the other guy.. It's that simple. Winning at all costs is an escalation mindset.
The U.S. no longer has welcome access to the global meta-game and has to muscle itself in, hence it has to spend most of its resource on, 'muscle' (firearms and weaponry, otherwise deceptively labelled as 'defense'). Whilst this ensures they have access to the game and can even create the illusion that you are controlling it. Because even the most the uncouth (but well armed) friend is suddenly welcome in a world of engineered conflict. As a loong term strategy it is totally against the nature of things and is certainly doomed to failure. Again, increasing the buffer one has to cross before things turn malevolent by decreasing desperation, is THE most effective way to reduce 'terrorism', and the most efficient in terms of resources.
Nature understands that life is a constant struggle for the efficient use of resources. It also understands and enforces a balanced distribution of resources based on effective binding and unbinding of energy throughout the system. When portions of a system bind an unhealthy level of energy the system breaks down.
Please don't hear that as a socialist call for the free distribution of wealth. Not at all, in fact nature follows the pareto distribution where a few have a lot, and that few have ascended the dominance hierarchy to attain it (kind of like a HEALTHY capitalism). But, even apex predators know how to manage the binding and unbinding of energy (and control their own numbers) in the maintenance of the healthy meta system upon which they rely.
What you have now is beyond unnatural.
My professional focus is on the most elegant solution for returning a patient's personal 'ecosystem' to balance by enabling it to revert from what is usually a chronic state of defense to one that allows for the natural creation of health, growth and the successful ascension through Malsow's hierarchy of needs. Doing so through a careful binding and unbinding of resources as we re-establish coherence in the system.
Anyhow. Here's how I see it.
Basic needs...
The U.S. must liberate resources bound up by years of unchecked crony capitalism and redistribute them BACK to a lower level of the food chain in the form of (real) healthcare, housing, food on the table, opportunities for actualisation. This doesn't men socialism or communism, or equal outcomes, it simply means a fair go, getting people out of 'survival'. If the rats who are lower in the dominance hierarchy don't get somewhere around a 30% win rate they stop playing by the rules necessary for a healthy rat population and the system breaks down - that's how it works. The disparity between the haves and have nots is a huge problem in the U.S.
This is why countries with far less 'wealth' scoff every time they hear U.S. citizens talking about the "greatest country".
Becoming, once again, WELCOME on the world stage...
The U.S. has more, ahem 'defense' than it will ever need, even in a fairly unhealthy meta system. The irony is that if this system continues in a certain unhealthy direction, then no amount of defense resources will enable even a satisfactory way of life. The U.S. 'could' do a lot of good on the world stage (if you stop your ruling class stealing everyone elses beer). The emotional drive behind why most of your human 'resources' enlist is born of this want. One of the reasons for the high level of PTSD in returned vets now days might just be the mis-match between that noble intent and the reality that is found. The other reason is a lack of connection throughout the civilian population upon returning.
Question authority...
The cult of personality. Stop it. Seriously, just stop. This correlates directly with the lack of civilian connection and allows the glittery guru thing go unchecked. A mature and healthy 'tall poppy syndrome' can counter the cult of personality. We have gone too far the other way with an unhealthy level of it down here. To the point where we actively hack down anyone who tries to rise above, good or bad. Although, in Australia it IS coming from a want of healthy connection, this shows that a balance needs to be struck.
Addressing these three points is in no way helpful to the tiny group of people who hold the reigns in the U.S. or those who hang on to their coat tails. But, from over here, it seems that if you want to keep your guns, and other freedoms of similar ilk that constitute what you seem to value in life, Seeking to address those three points from bottom up and top down might help. It's probably going to be a long slog...
Last edited by terra on Wed Oct 04, 2017 6:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson