{"id":934,"date":"2017-12-14T16:34:10","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T21:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sallybsedgwick.com\/conversation\/?p=934"},"modified":"2022-05-28T19:22:31","modified_gmt":"2022-05-28T23:22:31","slug":"dontkill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/dontkill\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Kill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NoDon\u2019t kill. This is an obvious piece of what makes communities work. It is a not-so-little thing that makes a difference. When the massive shooting happened in Las Vegas, I said I couldn\u2019t figure out how to write about \u201cdon\u2019t kill,\u201d and that\u2019s still true. It\u2019s also still true that \u201cdon\u2019t kill\u201d is on the original list of 100 things<\/a> that can change the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can start using \u201ckill\u201d in a universal sense to include actions like eating meat (does that count as killing?). We\u2019ve also learned that plants react to being cut (as well as to sounds) so eating vegetables isn\u2019t completely violence-free. Just sayin\u2019. There are euthanasia, the death penalty, and other major discussion points related to \u201cdon\u2019t kill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But in this post today, I\u2019m defining \u201cdon\u2019t kill\u201das simply one person killing another. We\u2019ve recently witnessed at least two unexpected, and, so far, unexplained, mass shootings. There was the aforementioned violence in Las Vegas that was the initial impetus for this conversation.\u00a0<\/span>Five hundred or so people were injured and 58 killed in what was apparently a shooting spree\u00a0<\/span>that happened just because the gunman could. How do we respond to that? Then soon after, there was the Baptist church shooting in Texas.<\/span><\/p>\n

An immediate response was a call to change gun laws, but that\u2019s not the primary focus of our discussion here. The crucial point I want to discuss here is how do we personally react to anger and respond to violence in others \u2014 or in ourselves. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why does this make a difference? I understand that you probably don\u2019t have a direct connection to extreme violence. But think about violence just for a moment. Who I am and how I behave, who you are, and who we are together are the only places to begin mitigating violence. When we are less violent, even in our thoughts, the world is that much more peaceful. It is the positive chaos theory at work that began Spirit Moxie. And this goes back, I think, to our discussions of righteousness manifest in racial, class, and gender inequalities.<\/span><\/p>\n

More relevantly, this take on \u201cdon\u2019t kill\u201d leads to discussions we haven\u2019t had yet about how we respond to, or even think about, situations that don\u2019t go our way. Anger? Greed? Frustration? And what of the things of which you are afraid? Are your thoughts violent? How do you react out of fear mentally as well as physically? What is safe? What violent response is fueled by alcohol or drugs? What violence begins through simply a need to feel important, to be in charge, or megalomania? <\/span><\/p>\n

The true call to us all is to learn the whys and wherefores of our own<\/i> reactions. This is where peace, non-violence, and an easier time all the way around begins. There are well known starting points for pursuing this: <\/span><\/p>\n