Thank you. Like violence, non-violence can fail disastrously, such as the Palestinian Great March of Return in 2018-2019. The fundamental difference is that violence degrades the perpetrator and the victim as simply objects, while non-violence is rooted in the faith in the basic, transcendent decency of all which elevates everyone. As Vaclav Havel wrote, "“The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility.”
The violence leaves traces of trauma across generations, for perpetrators as well as victims. Non-violence is the only way to break the cycle and allow the healing to take place.
This is the truth. The inherited trauma of state violence is particularly hard to both socially recognize and politically address. As it is such a heinous abuse of power. It literally turns the victims world upside down. In such cases only after an initial full judicial exposure of past state sanctioned crimes against civilians is enacted can any hope of breaking the cycle of violence and true healing begin. With perpetually delayed hope, from Northern Ireland🐈⬛☘️
Thanks so much for your kindness. Here is another little known fact that is still largely unknown outside of here. Northern Ireland suffers one of the highest rate of Femicide in Europe. This is partly a legacy of the British counterinsurgency Operation Banner (1969-2007) and its tactical widespread use of sexualised violence against civilians. Rape and sexual denigration became normalised. Rewarding the leaders of paramilitary gangs with political high office just poured gas on the problem. Just as convicted felon and judicial rapist ex President Trump has normalised MAGA criminality in the US. For obvious reasons it remains a running sore in Irish society that if mentioned, is met with victim blaming sectarian justifications ☘️
Oh gosh, Monnina, I didn't know anything about this. I wonder when women, collectively, will name rape as the crime it is, and it's weaponization, a war crime. When will men be imprisoned by the ICC or the ICJ for the commission of this crime?
Have members of the United Nations spoken out against this, shone a light on countries guilty of war-rape?
It is an ongoing uphill battle against institutional entropy regarding the global recognition of the catastrophic intergenerational personal, familial and social trauma of sexualised violence. Especially that condoned and carried out by state sponsorship. Although the group efforts if survivors, far too many now passed over without ever experiencing justice, is continually strengthening the spotlight being shone upon these heinous crimes.
Thank you, Kevin, for the lovely quote from Vaclav Havel. In my opinion, issues of the heart draw our attention back to the first 3 years of life when, as babies and toddlers, we depend on caregivers to respond to us in every way. The patterns of those first relationships profoundly shape our sense of ourselves and our world. Am I safe? Can I get what I need? Am I loved and wanted? Are others kind and trustworthy...or not? We need more children to grow up feeling cared about and wanted, to reduce the number of adults who have deep-seated grievances, (like Hitler and Donald Trump) that get expressed indirectly, later on in life.
Abuse with a permission structure established by MAGA and Trump. JD Vance has implied that this is okay. While controversial and not discussed, I think the shooter at the rally was a creation of a young man in school who came of age with Trump's messaging and permission structure of cruelty, meanness and abuse. I would bet that school officials who often push back on reporting by outside professionals and teachers were even more reluctant to report what children were disclosing. I worked for a school based health center that contracted with schools in the early 2000's and it was an everyday challenge where road blocks for children who disclosed abuse were in schools were administrators tried to intimidate teachers, mental health professionals and our team into NOT reporting. I have thought about that a lot with Trump, his MAGA followers who are parents and their children who are unleashed to bully in school.
That is really sad. Unfortunately the abuse has been going on far longer than that. It seems to be part of the human condition. Based on what you've said, it sounds like MAGAts have permission to be abusive, just like their permission to be openly bigoted.
Fascism provides a permission structure for the masses to embrace vices like hate, belligerence, retribution and bigotry. These vices become virtues in the upside down world of fascism and sociopathy. Of course, fascism was created by a sociopath.
Yes. It is not all one way. But--democracy takes work. We must never panic but always stay clear eyed and fair minded. In the end, leaning against mean spirited hate and bullying nastiness is fun. But standing for democracy always feels good. For everyone. History clearly points out how any effort to sanitize, apologize or normalize "fascism" is a disaster. No alliance with hate. We must remain happy and positive. There is hope, but hope requires heart and work.
A good essay Ruth, but Hamas started this war and they could end it just as quickly, - by returning the hostages immediately: the war would end tomorrow. Hamas deserves the blame for putting civilians in harm’s way. They literally and deliberately set up their headquarters and ‘posts’ in tunnels beneath hospitals, schools, and churches. All war is despicable when human lives, particularly civilians, are killed. However, the responsible party in this case is Hamas, - a terrorist organization that could stop the war tomorrow by returning the hostages (which includes eight Americans, I believe). Bill Maher, Ben Shapiro and Douglas Murray are my ‘references’ btw. No one is celebrating the death of innocents, - but do place blame where it squarely belongs: on Hamas. I hope and pray that the war ends soon.
Do you really think that Netanyahu would go along with ending the war? He's helping to keep it going for the same reason trump is running for president: to avoid accountability and jail time.
Yes, I do believe that if (and/or when) Hamas returns the hostages, this war will end. It is Hamas that wants “from the river to the sea”…to rid the Jews completely from Israel; not the other way around. There was peace on October 6th,and well before then. Hamas started this horror on October 7th, - Israel’s own “9/11”. I’m not praising Netanyahu either, there were protests against him BEFORE the war started.
Ruth, this is VERY GOOD NEWS! Thank you for all the information regarding non-violent demonstrations for democracy and human rights all over the world. It feels great to feel part of a larger movement, connected to people in every country who are unifying in their struggle to overcome the rule of malevolent autocrats.
With the summer Olympics beginning, reading this, " while others are about regime change, like the 2020 demonstrations for democracy in Belarus against Aleksandr Lukashenko’s dictatorship."
Reminded me of the Olympian, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.
May this Olympic summer be uplifting in defeating Fascism.
Sometimes, the oppressor has to be taken down in an armed struggle. (Irish Rebellion) The Iranian mullas don't care about the human cost of staying in power, only that they do. As sad as it is, that is human nature.
Charles, I might also add as a reference: SamHarris.org. A podcast transcript called: 5 Myths about Israel and the War in Gaza. It provides wonderful context and perspective on MANY levels. Check it out.
It seems to me that Brazil also averted an authoritarian takeover recently. I am glad to learn that so many places are protesting authoritarianism. That gives me hope. Now I wish that Hungary (the country of my father's birth) would get their act together and get rid of Orban.
Thank you, Ruth.
Such a profound moment we are living in. A global groundswell against abuse and violence is so reaffirming of the ever-present goodness in the world.
Plenty of violence around BLM protests..
Thank you. Like violence, non-violence can fail disastrously, such as the Palestinian Great March of Return in 2018-2019. The fundamental difference is that violence degrades the perpetrator and the victim as simply objects, while non-violence is rooted in the faith in the basic, transcendent decency of all which elevates everyone. As Vaclav Havel wrote, "“The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility.”
The violence leaves traces of trauma across generations, for perpetrators as well as victims. Non-violence is the only way to break the cycle and allow the healing to take place.
Yes, Rick... violence traumatizes everyone.
This is the truth. The inherited trauma of state violence is particularly hard to both socially recognize and politically address. As it is such a heinous abuse of power. It literally turns the victims world upside down. In such cases only after an initial full judicial exposure of past state sanctioned crimes against civilians is enacted can any hope of breaking the cycle of violence and true healing begin. With perpetually delayed hope, from Northern Ireland🐈⬛☘️
My heart aches for you, Monnina... Ireland is one of my very favorite countries. 💚💚💚
Thanks so much for your kindness. Here is another little known fact that is still largely unknown outside of here. Northern Ireland suffers one of the highest rate of Femicide in Europe. This is partly a legacy of the British counterinsurgency Operation Banner (1969-2007) and its tactical widespread use of sexualised violence against civilians. Rape and sexual denigration became normalised. Rewarding the leaders of paramilitary gangs with political high office just poured gas on the problem. Just as convicted felon and judicial rapist ex President Trump has normalised MAGA criminality in the US. For obvious reasons it remains a running sore in Irish society that if mentioned, is met with victim blaming sectarian justifications ☘️
https://www.derryjournal.com/news/politics/council/joint-highest-rate-of-femicide-in-europe-derry-strabane-reps-call-for-progression-of-ni-domestic-violence-strategy-4501635
Oh gosh, Monnina, I didn't know anything about this. I wonder when women, collectively, will name rape as the crime it is, and it's weaponization, a war crime. When will men be imprisoned by the ICC or the ICJ for the commission of this crime?
Have members of the United Nations spoken out against this, shone a light on countries guilty of war-rape?
It is an ongoing uphill battle against institutional entropy regarding the global recognition of the catastrophic intergenerational personal, familial and social trauma of sexualised violence. Especially that condoned and carried out by state sponsorship. Although the group efforts if survivors, far too many now passed over without ever experiencing justice, is continually strengthening the spotlight being shone upon these heinous crimes.
Thank you, Kevin, for the lovely quote from Vaclav Havel. In my opinion, issues of the heart draw our attention back to the first 3 years of life when, as babies and toddlers, we depend on caregivers to respond to us in every way. The patterns of those first relationships profoundly shape our sense of ourselves and our world. Am I safe? Can I get what I need? Am I loved and wanted? Are others kind and trustworthy...or not? We need more children to grow up feeling cared about and wanted, to reduce the number of adults who have deep-seated grievances, (like Hitler and Donald Trump) that get expressed indirectly, later on in life.
There is also way too much child abuse going on. We need to make ourselves safe for children to talk to, and then take action to get them protected.
Absolutely, Susan...
Abuse with a permission structure established by MAGA and Trump. JD Vance has implied that this is okay. While controversial and not discussed, I think the shooter at the rally was a creation of a young man in school who came of age with Trump's messaging and permission structure of cruelty, meanness and abuse. I would bet that school officials who often push back on reporting by outside professionals and teachers were even more reluctant to report what children were disclosing. I worked for a school based health center that contracted with schools in the early 2000's and it was an everyday challenge where road blocks for children who disclosed abuse were in schools were administrators tried to intimidate teachers, mental health professionals and our team into NOT reporting. I have thought about that a lot with Trump, his MAGA followers who are parents and their children who are unleashed to bully in school.
That is really sad. Unfortunately the abuse has been going on far longer than that. It seems to be part of the human condition. Based on what you've said, it sounds like MAGAts have permission to be abusive, just like their permission to be openly bigoted.
Fascism provides a permission structure for the masses to embrace vices like hate, belligerence, retribution and bigotry. These vices become virtues in the upside down world of fascism and sociopathy. Of course, fascism was created by a sociopath.
Harris specialized in prosecuting child sex abuse. I hope she can shed a light on the child sex abuse epidemic and do something about it.
I would absolutely love to see that. We desperately need that.
I appreciate the work you do. I am reading Strongmen right now. Thanks for all you do.
You will never be sorry for reading STRONGMEN.
A bit of hope in the midst of all the ugliness. Thank you.
Yes. It is not all one way. But--democracy takes work. We must never panic but always stay clear eyed and fair minded. In the end, leaning against mean spirited hate and bullying nastiness is fun. But standing for democracy always feels good. For everyone. History clearly points out how any effort to sanitize, apologize or normalize "fascism" is a disaster. No alliance with hate. We must remain happy and positive. There is hope, but hope requires heart and work.
Ruth, the depth of feeling this essay evokes is heavy.
Your survey of the countries in this essay is breathtaking!
For me, it demonstrates how your research into authoritarianism has expanded in detail.
Agree!
Great news! May they raise hell & put a rock under it!
A good essay Ruth, but Hamas started this war and they could end it just as quickly, - by returning the hostages immediately: the war would end tomorrow. Hamas deserves the blame for putting civilians in harm’s way. They literally and deliberately set up their headquarters and ‘posts’ in tunnels beneath hospitals, schools, and churches. All war is despicable when human lives, particularly civilians, are killed. However, the responsible party in this case is Hamas, - a terrorist organization that could stop the war tomorrow by returning the hostages (which includes eight Americans, I believe). Bill Maher, Ben Shapiro and Douglas Murray are my ‘references’ btw. No one is celebrating the death of innocents, - but do place blame where it squarely belongs: on Hamas. I hope and pray that the war ends soon.
Ben Shapiro??!
Do you really think that Netanyahu would go along with ending the war? He's helping to keep it going for the same reason trump is running for president: to avoid accountability and jail time.
Yes, I do believe that if (and/or when) Hamas returns the hostages, this war will end. It is Hamas that wants “from the river to the sea”…to rid the Jews completely from Israel; not the other way around. There was peace on October 6th,and well before then. Hamas started this horror on October 7th, - Israel’s own “9/11”. I’m not praising Netanyahu either, there were protests against him BEFORE the war started.
It will be interesting to see what happens there.
Ruth, this is VERY GOOD NEWS! Thank you for all the information regarding non-violent demonstrations for democracy and human rights all over the world. It feels great to feel part of a larger movement, connected to people in every country who are unifying in their struggle to overcome the rule of malevolent autocrats.
With the summer Olympics beginning, reading this, " while others are about regime change, like the 2020 demonstrations for democracy in Belarus against Aleksandr Lukashenko’s dictatorship."
Reminded me of the Olympian, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.
May this Olympic summer be uplifting in defeating Fascism.
What a great idea--and Olympics against Fascism. An Olympics FOR democracy!
Yes, when it comes to this particular subject, Ben is an expert on the history of Israel and all that pertains. Google it!
Sometimes, the oppressor has to be taken down in an armed struggle. (Irish Rebellion) The Iranian mullas don't care about the human cost of staying in power, only that they do. As sad as it is, that is human nature.
Charles, I might also add as a reference: SamHarris.org. A podcast transcript called: 5 Myths about Israel and the War in Gaza. It provides wonderful context and perspective on MANY levels. Check it out.
It seems to me that Brazil also averted an authoritarian takeover recently. I am glad to learn that so many places are protesting authoritarianism. That gives me hope. Now I wish that Hungary (the country of my father's birth) would get their act together and get rid of Orban.
The #OldOrangeToad, #ShadyVance & other Putin puppies denigrate democracy & violate the Logan Act: while Biden leads NATO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q5vaRmsBE8&list=RDNS0Q5vaRmsBE8&start_radio=1
Convicted fraudster/rapist, #ShadyVance & the MAGA cabal are selling: Project 2025 & more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSuCSkg1iSA GOP's sham resolution to impeach Kamala for not solving the immigration problem they've intentionally made worse & for...being VP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je2VM1nHnqc Elect Team Kamala…#VoteBlue!
Ask any fraudster she's convicted, any Supreme Court nominee (esp. Kavanaugh) about her investigative & prosecutorial skills...serious as a heart attack: https://youtube.com/shorts/D2y6dKIkF7k?si=SqzMv0hfpTtdzo1G