How do you deal with helplessness

Yep- and I stand corrected on that aspect.

Kinda underscores the deception in our reasoning for being there in the first place. What was the source of the information?

Edit... deleted much of the entire previous post as it was pretty irrelevant to the OP. I might formulate another response though... we'll see

 

Cultural identity is built upon taboo and hero worship. Anger does nothing to change these effects. Teach your children well.

 

The blogsite Towelroad currently has coverage. Emo and or LGBT kids are interchangeable as targets. When you see pictures of the kids who have been victims of this savagery it eats at the soul.

THe purpose of my post was not to demonize Islamic countries since they do that for themselves often enough. My question was and remains how to deal with the impotence you feel knowing this barbarism is still happening with fundementalists pushing their poison on everyone.

It also feels a bit like that warning where a man watches as "they" come for one group after another while he does nothing and in the end they come for him with no one left to stand up for him.

I have no doubt that if our home grown Xtian Fundamentalists had a chance they would do the same. My anger is toward fundamentalism in any guise.

 

Sometimes when i feel helpless i go out into the woods and blow shit up. It feels good.

I own this same gun except a few minor differences. Its fuuuuuun.

:daisy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zX_bm4jDIM"]Remington 870 Express Magnum 12 Gauge Shotgun - YouTube

 

What exactly can you, me or anyone else do about anything. We can let it eat at our souls or just realize that thats the way it is and we can't do anything about it. I'm not saying that this is right, It's just my own way of dealing with the worlds BS.

 

This worries me... and it wouldn't just be EMO/LGBT that they would be after...

 

You got that right...
It was always made clear to me during even what I consider a moderate religious upbringing (southern baptist lol)...

"If you are not with the lord Jesus Christ,
you are with the devil" :hide:

 

helplessness is all relative

if youre alive and able to think and do things you want to do then there should be no problems

it sure beats being crippled or sick laying in a hospital bed praying for death to come visit

 

The helplessness comes from knowing that more kids (people) will die at the hands of these loonies and not being able to do a damn thing to prevent it. I understand the serenity thing about letting go of what you can't change. I haven't got to the point where I'm willing to concede that nothing can be done.

Perhaps I'm immature, naive or worse but it's a given that if nobody thinks about these things no solution will be found. Perhaps I need to contact my senator/congressman and explore options. Maybe everybody should do that if they are concerned. Maybe thats as good as can be done.
fuck it I just don't know

 

My sense is that there will always be issues deserving the attention and concern of people who care... and many are far closer than Iraq. I have to wonder the purpose of furnishing these very troubling stories to an audience that is powerless to do anything about them.

Life is the ultimate uneven playing field and some people really get raw deals while others we might deem to be undeserving seem to reap continuous privilege and favor... compassion is a noble quality to have but don't let matters you can do little if anything to mitigate hurt your ability and willingness to make efforts to help those close enough for you to effect some meaningful change for. All you can do is keep the people on the other side of the globe in your thoughts... and depending on your chosen spiritual path, in your prayers.

I could say that but not for the source you received this information you wouldn't be so troubled. Do I mean that you should ignore it? No... but bear in mind that for the one instance that you do learn there are likely hundreds similar- possibly even worse that you never hear about them. Do you want to hear about them? How much would you be willing to take? You are but one very well meaning soul and can do what you can do. Do what you can locally... or travel and render what you are able within reason. You may not be directly helping the instances that have you so upset but you will be making a positive difference and not allowing your soul to be wounded by images of incidences that you can do nothing about.

Small ripples of positive energy will have a way of reaching them in one way or another.

 

I'm not sure exactly how I "deal" with it to be honest... In a way I feel grateful that I haven't become desensitized and indifferent to all the suffering and misery in the world. It doesn't matter whether it's stories like the one highlighted by Yarapario here, or factory farmed animals, or starving people in Africa, or animals skinned alive for their fur, or whatever other inexplicably cruel things that go on in the world, it always gets to me.

In a way, I think that to feel revulsion and horror at these things simply makes me human. A friend of mine has told me I shouldn't dwell on such things because they make me upset, and so it doesn't do me any good. But as much as viewing some of the world's unimaginable horrors has left a scar on my mind and my soul, I feel that not knowing about these things, or reacting to them would be worse. The only minute hope that exists for things changing in this world for the better, is that decent people are made aware of the horrific things that are happening every minute of every day on this planet, even as I'm typing this out right now.

Sure, it might not do me much good to dwell on such things, but by the same token, I think to take an attitude that "well, it's not happening to me, or anyone I know/love, so I should just forget it" isn't very healthy either. I don't deal with helplessness very well it has to be said, though I guess that's were music and video games help me somewhat. lol

 

just because this post is about one issue, doesn't mean that nobody cares about any other issues...

 

Yep. It's just like the ridiculous assertion from some people that if you care about animal rights and abuse being done to them, then you can't care about human's suffering...

 

More kids, (people), will die if not at the hands of these loonies, then in some other fashion. Sense of helplessness comes from the false belief that we can save lives. We can certainly effect the quality of the living to the extent that we can communicate with them.

All civility is fundamentally equal to your relationship with the person standing next to you at any moment. Our physical presence including demeanor has a field effect. There are no idle thoughts as all contribute to a shared perspective.

As you are conflicted you contribute to conflict and condemnation is an active attack against the choice to find good. The feeling is of self defeat, helplessness. Only your own thoughts can truly hurt you in this situation. There are things you can effect and things you cannot. It is a level of vain to pine to change things in far away places. It is far more effective to concentrate our passions on consistent effort towards a desired aim.

Perhaps if we must lament and commiserate it could be more tangibly affected if it were over something closer to home.

 

yeah dude i heard Obama talking once and he hit me heard when he said "and this is what we are thinking about" iam guessing he was talking about how some americans dont really know whats happening in the world...Me being one of them....I can see why though,The american lifestyle can be so rich


Anyways back onto the real thing....Its really scary....And whats even scarier is the fact that nothing is really gonna stop them besides genocide or taking out their world leaders...Its a fucked up reality...I dont know how these good guy world leaders can handle it...Gotta give it up to them

 

Your arguement is valid and I have spent a lot of time trying to sort through just what you have said. Those same words changed my life when I was 23 years old, freshly discharged from the Army and disgusted with everything I saw. At a Peace demonstration the most reasonable person there said just what you have...start by making a difference in your own back yard. I volunteered with Child Services the next day and with in a year I adopted my 1st 3 sons. Through out life I have continued to work locally, thats how I adopted sons 4 & 5.

When they were raised and on their own with wives and babies I did an inventory of my life, my skills and my needs. I needed to go to the Amazon Jungle because for some reason my soul yearned to be there. I realized that the Amazon was in my backyard. It is local. Indeed as I see it the world is all local for me. Also sons 6 & 7 came home with me.

You can call this however you might see it but when I read of kids murdered in Iraq it is local for me. I can't just pass it off as Oh Well. Those dead kids could have been my sons. How can I turn my back.

Am I vain to think I can make a difference? Perhaps so. I do know my limits though and while I'm not able to be there I still feel a need to respond in some way. Maybe it will be vetting some agency or NGO that works there to make a difference. Maybe the best the most I can do will be to donated money. If so I will.

This site is about Hippies. As an old Hippie (substitute old fool, old bastard) I believed in a set of ideals that included making the world a better place. I accept that as a personal charge and responsibility. Therefore I am concerned about kids anywhere who are in harms way and defenseless. If I shrugg it off, turn my back and say too far away I have lost my integrity.

Perhaps this feeling makes no sense to others. So be it, for me it matters.

 

I was addressing the feeling of helplessness. Our physical reach slows down as we grow older but our presence can still be distinct and meaningful to the extent that we are consistent in our example. Hearing about these events is an effect of leisure adventure. The impulse to kill emo kids comes from a focus on what is considered abhorrent. Your feeling of frustration or helplessness stems from the very same focus. It is a sad and alarming story.

I do not think you are a fool, quite the opposite you appear wise and seem to display genuine integrity and caring for your fellows. I would simply help you to greater comfort and therefore efficacy of being, if I could.

 

i do understand your low feeling. but we can do nothing for it except feeling angry, sad and unfair. and such news makes our sprit low. selom of us can do something for the innocent kids. so i choose to escape from the news. no nothing, than feel nothing. it is a folish way to solve problem, but what can we do?

 

Thank you. I would be happy to accept comfort because I do need it. I have found some comfort here simply by "listening" to other folks. I am not finished with this yet though. I will research to see if there are groups who operate on the ground there and who might be able to offer some care for the targeted kids. If I can give nothing else I will give money to legitimate organizations. I'll also rattle the cage of my senator and congressmans.

 

I do understand what you are saying but I can't hide from some of these things so I will not accept that I am powerless just yet.