Something isn't right here.

The people of ATS are more 'awake' than most people, who are essentially in slumber, and barely realize that this planet has been held hostage from its true potential, the paradise it is supposed to be. That all this suffering and idiocy and inequality is totally unnecessary.

What disturbs me though, is that the very energy that allows suffering to propagate, the emotion of revenge, is rampant even among there people here. I see it in any thread about a crime or terrorist attack, people raving about how they would love to torture the person, how the person should burn in Hell and be raped by demons, how the death penalty is totally necessary for this reason. I thought people here would be beyond that.

Revenge is a deadly cycle and never in reality resolves in justice. The only way to defeat evil, is to forgive it. And what I mean by this, is not to 'give in' to it, but rather, not to meet evil with more evil.

Take the events in Norway, which prompted me to make this thread. The killer committed his actions because he believed that the liberals were traitors for allowing Muslims into Europe and felt it was his duty to put them to death. His hatred was fueled by the hatred many people in Europe have for immigrants, and also by the polarization between the political left and right that is not just an American thing. Instead of denying our responsibility in creating the tenuous atmosphere that caused him to shoot those poor kids, we take a high and mighty position that he was merely an island, disconnected from the rest of us, and then we want to hate him and put him to death and never confront the original hatred that causes unstable people to now and again create these tragedies.

Most of the posters on here I believe are Americans, and as a culture we are very individual-oriented, and that is why we are more apt to demonize a harmful person rather than see them as a symptom of a larger problem in society. To our mindset, all people are islands and totally independent of one another in a sense, so killing the really bad apples must solve the problem and the rest of us can walk home and feel happy justice was done.

I don't think this is enough. We are never going to run out of people to hang, we are never going to clean the gene pool. We need to change our whole society, we need to become more compassionate as a civilization. Breivik's actions are more than just the work of one evil man, they are a symptom of the new darkness and intolerance that is spreading throughout Europe over the fear of Muslims. I've always said that Muslims in Europe should be worried because the hate for them is there that they could become victims of a new Holocaust. The same things that were said about Jews 100 years ago are said about Muslims today.

If we want to honor the victims of Norway's recent tragedy, hating Breivik is the wrong way to do it. We are only holding on to the self-righteous kind of hate that caused the tragedy in the first place. We should kill Breivik - with kindness. Norway should show him that no matter how cruel he was to them, they will not stoop down to his level. And we should look into our hearts, and ask "Have I ever hated someone because they were different from me? And why? Was I afraid of them? Afraid of change?" And if we say yes, we should make an effort to love instead of fear and hate.

See that blue thing over the horizon? 6,000,000,000+ people don't know that we're stuck there.

Excellent point, we do need to be civil if we are to maintain civilisation. I do do find a lot of responses are hypocritical in promoting the vicious circle of violence. Some of it is due to culture, age and experience. This is an issue and part of the problem with the current state of affairs. The sociopathic nature and lack of empathy does inhibit a deeper understanding of the issues.

reply to post by m1991
Very well said, m1991. It is true, we are all, in one way or another, a product of our environment. No one grows up in a social vacuum.

The question is, how do we change the status quo? How do we convince the whole of humanity to choose love over hate/fear?

If everyone is an island then wouldn't it make sense to believe any change comes from each island? In other words the only thing you control is yourself and you have to make the change within. It's up to you. Do you want to be full of negativity or positive energy?

Another thought. My grandmother was a hippie and she was telling me how the hippies were fooled into using violence even though they were NEVER about violence. I think the same thing is going on in the current London riots, and in the Toronto riots last year. They start out as peaceful protests and then some plant of the elite comes in and starts egging people on and makes the entire thing look like they were raising hell for the fun of it. Then people here even, go and support the elite authority (I saw an especially horrible statement here saying they hope the 'coppers' start bashing the looters' heads in) and then ACCEPT their doom and the police state to 'save' them from people who merely steal TVs and throw garbage around.

Are we so materialistic and shallow, that we would walk into the furnace just to put a few petty rioter thugs to justice?

Absolutely one of the best posts I have ever read on here. I think that you are a very enlightened individual. I agree with you and I thank you for your thoughts.

I find that those who remain as survivors, who still are compassionate, and still maintain thier unassuming nature, will absorb the collective negativity of the herd.

For example, if I am in a naturally happy state of mind, I attract the "vultures" who will make comments designed to ridicule or embarass me, if I am in a sad mood, then it is even worse.

If I am in an upset or frustrated mood, they look at me with fear, and thus perceive me as being some kind of demon.

They are all hudlled together in thier little world, isolating thier feelings, unconnected to life and death, in thier minds, in thier brains, in their perfect plastic little world.

Even my thoughts are a threat to thier matrix - it is madness, and they are all being deceived by thier own self-righteous attitudes.

You sound like a truly compassionate person. Best regards.

reply to post by m1991


Absolutely right! I have been lurking on this site for a while now, and just recently started posting, but I've been reading threads and posts for a while, and your post tells me that there are people out there who see these issues for what they really are. I have to give you kudos for posting your thoughts. This is inspiring to me, to see that others out there don't get caught up in the emotion of things but instead see these atrocities as a platform for learning and evolving.

reply to post by m1991


Thankyou very much, your peaceful thoughts are a true light in this dark days! So much hate and fear all around, it seems as if the darkest days of mediaeval times are coming back.

May your words find more listeners, and may they carry that light on!!!

Thank you guys for being so supportive!

I expected people to bash me for what I said.