Rhino Ramblings

I missed my first self-imposed blog deadline by a week and one day.  Besides the general crush of activities both personal and work related, the writing spirit was not stirring heavily inside me last week.  Then the horrific Uvalde massacre happened and I struggled internally with if and how I might want to address such a tragedy.  Many have done so with more knowledge, passion, and skill from all of the basic angles (mental health, gun control, etc).  I did feel a different thought process might be in order that started with a basic question in my mind as to how differently the gun-toting fanatics would have been reacting if the shooter was a person of color or non-Christian (pick any – Black, Latinx, Asian-Pacific, Muslim).  With that thought in mind,  I randomly watched the movie Moxie directed by Amy Poehler that depicted in a way I have never seen so perfectly done before an inclusive and diverse message.  I do not pretend to be an expert in the field of human nature and causation of violence and certainly cannot begin to mine the depths of the mind of a mass killer of 10 year olds.   I merged my initial thoughts of how a white male committing such atrocities is seen as so common we do not need to discuss his racial or religious make-up as possible causes; but would literally pass laws, build walls, throw racist based language around as if it is a given, ban people of a different belief, etc at the hint of much less actions, with the message that diversity can be a positive force in molding and holding up the goodness of everyone, despite our differences.  In doing so, I may see an inkling of a connective idea evolve.  Sure, I am probably trying to fit a rhino though the eye of the needle. But here is a slightly modified version of what I wrote last night as I finished watching Moxie (available on Netflix): Moxie, based in a high school setting, is one of the best movies about diversity and sexism.  While from last year is a big FU to those who want to force through laws a white male “Christian” centric (read the quotes as pointing out a right-wing, nationalistic and very non-Christian based belief system)  only view of life (they do not touch on religion in the movie – but somehow a middle eastern religion based on loving others has been hijacked as a justification of “we are right; you are wrong so you need to let us decide rightness (whiteness)” guiding principle that results in laws to “protect” the poor downtrodden white, heterosexual.  The movie contains some truths of what we all miss in our current attempts at diversity and how a real supportive society should act – not making everyone the same; but giving everyone the right to be who they are.  And just maybe doing so will reduce the utter evil of a gun obsessed, self-absorbed culture that would nurture and actually support – by easy access to guns and laws and an ethos that props up the I am right, you are wrong sentiment – violent acts against others, whether by words or policies or guns.  Is it absurd to consider that the mind-bending “I am offended / uncomfortable” by your differences thought process can in part justify in a disturbed mind that it is ok to kill 10 year olds?   I have no way of knowing if the gunman’s deadly path could have been diverted, but I raise the question if a society that focused on tolerance, non-violent resolutions to real or imagined personal slights and wrongs, and a positive recognition of our differences might (along with strong and real gun control and a strong and effective mental health infrastructure) provide alternative paths that do not lead to today’s headline: “Bouquets and tiny caskets: Uvalde begins to bury its dead”?