It’s encouraging to see the young people take to the streets demanding that the adults in the room do something about the gun violence in this country. But our young people are just that . . . young and in most respects naive.
To the children, gun control is an isolated issue and they do not understand or recognize the broader political context. For the politicians who are jumping on the bandwagon, taking advantage of this wonderful photo opportunity, and marching in the streets with the children, one can expect and hope that they are aware of the context for gun violence in this country even if they have spent decades conveniently ignoring it.
“America,” only the US has the chutzpah to call itself America, ignoring the existence of Canada and the many countries that are part of the Americas below the southern border of the US, is a violent, racist, imperialistic country that has been at war for 225 years over the past 242 years (93% of the time). The foundation of this country is based on the stealing of land from the Native Americans, the genocidal program to eliminate Native Americans, the use of Africans as slaves (free labor), the exploitation of working people (cheap labor), the building of the largest, most powerful killing machine in human history known as the US military, and the development of a nuclear arsenal that can destroy all life on this planet. I may not have included everything.
Since 9/11, the US has had its eyes and its weapons focused on the Middle East where it has sponsored and/or initiated several wars. Without provocation, yes without provocation, the US attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq. But, weren’t these countries responsible for 9/11 in which 3,000 people were killed?
The only proof that Afghanistan and Iraq were involved is that the US government officials said so. The official story goes as follows . . . Osama bin Laden organized and directed the 19 Arabs who implemented the plan to hijack planes and fly them into the WTC and the Pentagon. He supposedly did this from a cave in Afghanistan while receiving dialysis treatments. He armed them all with box cutters and sent them off on their mission.
By the way, it was noticed several years after the attack, the bin Laden’s name did not appear on the FBI’s most wanted list. When asked why, the response was that there was no evidence that bin Laden had anything to do with the attack. Isn’t that strange?
Shortly after invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration claimed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were involved in 9/11. The accusation was that Hussein and bin Laden, with the al Qaeda organization, worked together on planning and implementing 9/11. The problem with this fairy tale is that Hussein and bin Laden did not like one another and had no cooperative relationship that could be substantiated.
So, the US resorted to accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction and being a threat to the security of the US. This accusation was made after Hussein had destroyed the Iraq nuclear program and chemical weapons stockpiles in the 1990s and investigators from the UN substantiated that there were no nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
This did not stop the US from attacking both countries, killing tens of thousands, many of them non-combatant women and children. And, in the US, the people were and are silent.
The US has expanded its military involvement into Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia and remains engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
During the summer of 2014, Israel attacked Gaza, killing over 2,000 people, most of them non-combatant women and children. They destroyed homes, hospitals, and schools. To accomplish this, they used weapons supplied by their close ally, the US. At the end of the summer, the Israelis were running short of some of their military hardware. The US came to the rescue and sent them an emergency shipment so that they could continue their slaughter of Gaza’s population.
The daily killings and harassments of Palestinians by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) continue today. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
In Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, the Saudis have been continuously bombing them. Thousands have died, mostly non-combatant women and children. There is a lack of food, shelter, and medicines for the Yemenis people. It may be the Saudis who are carrying out the bombings but it is the US supplying them with the weapons and the guidance to perform these acts of murder. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
I could continue with the same description of US involvement in Syria where thousands have died and millions have been made homeless. And, in the US there was and is silence.
The US does not limit its imperialistic program to the Middle East. In February 2014, the US supported the overthrow of democratically elected Ukrainian Predident Viktor Yanukovych and helped install a government dominated by neo-Nazis. As a result of the coup, hundreds died and many more were rendered homeless.
What was Yanukovych’s crime . . . he wanted to continue his friendly relationship with Russia and rejected the invitation to join NATO. (Please Note: A large segment of Ukraine’s population is made up of people with Russian heritage). And, in the US there was and is silence.
This is the context that we seem to ignore. How can we seriously expect anything different here in the US when it is the US that is imposing and generating violence around the world?
We cannot successfully demand gun control domestically without demanding gun control, missile control, bomb control around the world. When you live by violence, you die by violence. And, you can quote me on that.
The lives of the children in the US are no more important or sacred than are the lives of the children the US is responsible for slaughtering. We cannot abandon those children and then assume that our children can be made safe. Violence has no boundaries and the greatest perpetrator of violence in the world is our own country.
WHILE AMERICA REMAINS SILENT
by Dave Alpert
3/19/2018
It’s encouraging to see the young people take to the streets demanding that the adults in the room do something about the gun violence in this country. But our young people are just that . . . young and in most respects naive.
To the children, gun control is an isolated issue and they do not understand or recognize the broader political context. For the politicians who are jumping on the bandwagon, taking advantage of this wonderful photo opportunity, and marching in the streets with the children, one can expect and hope that they are aware of the context for gun violence in this country even if they have spent decades conveniently ignoring it.
“America,” only the US has the chutzpah to call itself America, ignoring the existence of Canada and the many countries that are part of the Americas below the southern border of the US, is a violent, racist, imperialistic country that has been at war for 225 years over the past 242 years (93% of the time). The foundation of this country is based on the stealing of land from the Native Americans, the genocidal program to eliminate Native Americans, the use of Africans as slaves (free labor), the exploitation of working people (cheap labor), the building of the largest, most powerful killing machine in human history known as the US military, and the development of a nuclear arsenal that can destroy all life on this planet. I may not have included everything.
Since 9/11, the US has had its eyes and its weapons focused on the Middle East where it has sponsored and/or initiated several wars. Without provocation, yes without provocation, the US attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq. But, weren’t these countries responsible for 9/11 in which 3,000 people were killed?
The only proof that Afghanistan and Iraq were involved is that the US government officials said so. The official story goes as follows . . . Osama bin Laden organized and directed the 19 Arabs who implemented the plan to hijack planes and fly them into the WTC and the Pentagon. He supposedly did this from a cave in Afghanistan while receiving dialysis treatments. He armed them all with box cutters and sent them off on their mission.
By the way, it was noticed several years after the attack, the bin Laden’s name did not appear on the FBI’s most wanted list. When asked why, the response was that there was no evidence that bin Laden had anything to do with the attack. Isn’t that strange?
Shortly after invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration claimed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were involved in 9/11. The accusation was that Hussein and bin Laden, with the al Qaeda organization, worked together on planning and implementing 9/11. The problem with this fairy tale is that Hussein and bin Laden did not like one another and had no cooperative relationship that could be substantiated.
So, the US resorted to accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction and being a threat to the security of the US. This accusation was made after Hussein had destroyed the Iraq nuclear program and chemical weapons stockpiles in the 1990s and investigators from the UN substantiated that there were no nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
This did not stop the US from attacking both countries, killing tens of thousands, many of them non combatant women and children. And, in the US, the people were and are silent.
The US has expanded its military involvement into Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia and remains engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
During the summer of 2014, Israel attacked Gaza, killing over 2,000 people, most of them non combatant women and children. They destroyed homes, hospitals, and schools. To accomplish this, they used weapons supplied by their close ally, the US. At the end of the summer, the Israelis were running short of some of their military hardware. The US came to the rescue and sent them an emergency shipment so that they could continue their slaughter of Gaza’s population.
The daily killings and harassments of Palestinians by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) continue today. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
In Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, the Saudis have been continuously bombing them. Thousands have died, mostly non combatant women and children. There is a lack of food, shelter, and medicines for the Yemenis people. It may be the Saudis who are carrying out the bombings but it is the US supplying them with the weapons and the guidance to perform these acts of murder. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
I could continue with the same description of US involvement in Syria where thousands have died and millions have been made homeless. And, in the US there was and is silence.
The US does not limit its imperialistic program to the Middle East. In February, 2014, the US supported the overthrow of democratically elected Ukrainian Predident Viktor Yanukovych and helped install a government dominated by Nazis. As a result of the coup, hundreds died and many more were rendered homeless.
What was Yanukovych’s crime . . . he wanted to continue his friendly relationship with Russia and rejected the invitation to join NATO. (Please Note: A large segment of Ukraine’s population is made up of people with Russian heritage). And, in the US there was and is silence.
This is the context that we seem to ignore. How can we seriously expect anything different here in the US when it is the US that is imposing and generating violence around the world?
We cannot successfully demand gun control domestically without demanding gun control, missile control, bomb control around the world. When you live by violence, you die by violence. And, you can quote me on that.
The lives of the children in the US are no more important or sacred than are the lives of the children the US is responsible for slaughtering. We cannot abandon those children and then assume that our children can be made safe. Violence has no boundaries and the greatest perpetrator of violence in the world is our own country.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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While America remains silent
Posted on March 21, 2018 by Dave Alpert
It’s encouraging to see the young people take to the streets demanding that the adults in the room do something about the gun violence in this country. But our young people are just that . . . young and in most respects naive.
To the children, gun control is an isolated issue and they do not understand or recognize the broader political context. For the politicians who are jumping on the bandwagon, taking advantage of this wonderful photo opportunity, and marching in the streets with the children, one can expect and hope that they are aware of the context for gun violence in this country even if they have spent decades conveniently ignoring it.
“America,” only the US has the chutzpah to call itself America, ignoring the existence of Canada and the many countries that are part of the Americas below the southern border of the US, is a violent, racist, imperialistic country that has been at war for 225 years over the past 242 years (93% of the time). The foundation of this country is based on the stealing of land from the Native Americans, the genocidal program to eliminate Native Americans, the use of Africans as slaves (free labor), the exploitation of working people (cheap labor), the building of the largest, most powerful killing machine in human history known as the US military, and the development of a nuclear arsenal that can destroy all life on this planet. I may not have included everything.
Since 9/11, the US has had its eyes and its weapons focused on the Middle East where it has sponsored and/or initiated several wars. Without provocation, yes without provocation, the US attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq. But, weren’t these countries responsible for 9/11 in which 3,000 people were killed?
The only proof that Afghanistan and Iraq were involved is that the US government officials said so. The official story goes as follows . . . Osama bin Laden organized and directed the 19 Arabs who implemented the plan to hijack planes and fly them into the WTC and the Pentagon. He supposedly did this from a cave in Afghanistan while receiving dialysis treatments. He armed them all with box cutters and sent them off on their mission.
By the way, it was noticed several years after the attack, the bin Laden’s name did not appear on the FBI’s most wanted list. When asked why, the response was that there was no evidence that bin Laden had anything to do with the attack. Isn’t that strange?
Shortly after invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration claimed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were involved in 9/11. The accusation was that Hussein and bin Laden, with the al Qaeda organization, worked together on planning and implementing 9/11. The problem with this fairy tale is that Hussein and bin Laden did not like one another and had no cooperative relationship that could be substantiated.
So, the US resorted to accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction and being a threat to the security of the US. This accusation was made after Hussein had destroyed the Iraq nuclear program and chemical weapons stockpiles in the 1990s and investigators from the UN substantiated that there were no nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
This did not stop the US from attacking both countries, killing tens of thousands, many of them non-combatant women and children. And, in the US, the people were and are silent.
The US has expanded its military involvement into Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia and remains engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
During the summer of 2014, Israel attacked Gaza, killing over 2,000 people, most of them non-combatant women and children. They destroyed homes, hospitals, and schools. To accomplish this, they used weapons supplied by their close ally, the US. At the end of the summer, the Israelis were running short of some of their military hardware. The US came to the rescue and sent them an emergency shipment so that they could continue their slaughter of Gaza’s population.
The daily killings and harassments of Palestinians by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) continue today. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
In Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, the Saudis have been continuously bombing them. Thousands have died, mostly non-combatant women and children. There is a lack of food, shelter, and medicines for the Yemenis people. It may be the Saudis who are carrying out the bombings but it is the US supplying them with the weapons and the guidance to perform these acts of murder. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
I could continue with the same description of US involvement in Syria where thousands have died and millions have been made homeless. And, in the US there was and is silence.
The US does not limit its imperialistic program to the Middle East. In February 2014, the US supported the overthrow of democratically elected Ukrainian Predident Viktor Yanukovych and helped install a government dominated by neo-Nazis. As a result of the coup, hundreds died and many more were rendered homeless.
What was Yanukovych’s crime . . . he wanted to continue his friendly relationship with Russia and rejected the invitation to join NATO. (Please Note: A large segment of Ukraine’s population is made up of people with Russian heritage). And, in the US there was and is silence.
This is the context that we seem to ignore. How can we seriously expect anything different here in the US when it is the US that is imposing and generating violence around the world?
We cannot successfully demand gun control domestically without demanding gun control, missile control, bomb control around the world. When you live by violence, you die by violence. And, you can quote me on that.
The lives of the children in the US are no more important or sacred than are the lives of the children the US is responsible for slaughtering. We cannot abandon those children and then assume that our children can be made safe. Violence has no boundaries and the greatest perpetrator of violence in the world is our own country.
WHILE AMERICA REMAINS SILENT
by Dave Alpert
3/19/2018
It’s encouraging to see the young people take to the streets demanding that the adults in the room do something about the gun violence in this country. But our young people are just that . . . young and in most respects naive.
To the children, gun control is an isolated issue and they do not understand or recognize the broader political context. For the politicians who are jumping on the bandwagon, taking advantage of this wonderful photo opportunity, and marching in the streets with the children, one can expect and hope that they are aware of the context for gun violence in this country even if they have spent decades conveniently ignoring it.
“America,” only the US has the chutzpah to call itself America, ignoring the existence of Canada and the many countries that are part of the Americas below the southern border of the US, is a violent, racist, imperialistic country that has been at war for 225 years over the past 242 years (93% of the time). The foundation of this country is based on the stealing of land from the Native Americans, the genocidal program to eliminate Native Americans, the use of Africans as slaves (free labor), the exploitation of working people (cheap labor), the building of the largest, most powerful killing machine in human history known as the US military, and the development of a nuclear arsenal that can destroy all life on this planet. I may not have included everything.
Since 9/11, the US has had its eyes and its weapons focused on the Middle East where it has sponsored and/or initiated several wars. Without provocation, yes without provocation, the US attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq. But, weren’t these countries responsible for 9/11 in which 3,000 people were killed?
The only proof that Afghanistan and Iraq were involved is that the US government officials said so. The official story goes as follows . . . Osama bin Laden organized and directed the 19 Arabs who implemented the plan to hijack planes and fly them into the WTC and the Pentagon. He supposedly did this from a cave in Afghanistan while receiving dialysis treatments. He armed them all with box cutters and sent them off on their mission.
By the way, it was noticed several years after the attack, the bin Laden’s name did not appear on the FBI’s most wanted list. When asked why, the response was that there was no evidence that bin Laden had anything to do with the attack. Isn’t that strange?
Shortly after invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration claimed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were involved in 9/11. The accusation was that Hussein and bin Laden, with the al Qaeda organization, worked together on planning and implementing 9/11. The problem with this fairy tale is that Hussein and bin Laden did not like one another and had no cooperative relationship that could be substantiated.
So, the US resorted to accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction and being a threat to the security of the US. This accusation was made after Hussein had destroyed the Iraq nuclear program and chemical weapons stockpiles in the 1990s and investigators from the UN substantiated that there were no nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
This did not stop the US from attacking both countries, killing tens of thousands, many of them non combatant women and children. And, in the US, the people were and are silent.
The US has expanded its military involvement into Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia and remains engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
During the summer of 2014, Israel attacked Gaza, killing over 2,000 people, most of them non combatant women and children. They destroyed homes, hospitals, and schools. To accomplish this, they used weapons supplied by their close ally, the US. At the end of the summer, the Israelis were running short of some of their military hardware. The US came to the rescue and sent them an emergency shipment so that they could continue their slaughter of Gaza’s population.
The daily killings and harassments of Palestinians by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) continue today. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
In Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, the Saudis have been continuously bombing them. Thousands have died, mostly non combatant women and children. There is a lack of food, shelter, and medicines for the Yemenis people. It may be the Saudis who are carrying out the bombings but it is the US supplying them with the weapons and the guidance to perform these acts of murder. And, in the US the people were and are silent.
I could continue with the same description of US involvement in Syria where thousands have died and millions have been made homeless. And, in the US there was and is silence.
The US does not limit its imperialistic program to the Middle East. In February, 2014, the US supported the overthrow of democratically elected Ukrainian Predident Viktor Yanukovych and helped install a government dominated by Nazis. As a result of the coup, hundreds died and many more were rendered homeless.
What was Yanukovych’s crime . . . he wanted to continue his friendly relationship with Russia and rejected the invitation to join NATO. (Please Note: A large segment of Ukraine’s population is made up of people with Russian heritage). And, in the US there was and is silence.
This is the context that we seem to ignore. How can we seriously expect anything different here in the US when it is the US that is imposing and generating violence around the world?
We cannot successfully demand gun control domestically without demanding gun control, missile control, bomb control around the world. When you live by violence, you die by violence. And, you can quote me on that.
The lives of the children in the US are no more important or sacred than are the lives of the children the US is responsible for slaughtering. We cannot abandon those children and then assume that our children can be made safe. Violence has no boundaries and the greatest perpetrator of violence in the world is our own country.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.