Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts

Empathy and Fear Based Control


Those with natural empathy intact, who are fully responsive, whose ability to respond is intact, need no rules, nor do they require any regulation.

Empathy is the ability to discern the CONTENT of the other. It is built on self empathy.

Self empathy is to a large degree developed through the child-mother bonding process, in that it is the environment that the new born grows in that is most crucial to her or his development. Environment means the psychological, emotional, material realities into which the child is born.

In utero, the child is in a fully empathic reality, connected to her or his mother in profound ways. They are as one. The child in utero is sensing not only her own world, but that of the mother as well. The evidence is clear : the child is learning all the time, and that learning corresponds to how their physiology and neurology developes.

Thus the child, after birth has to learn and experience empathy as a separate being, and there are key experiences that are biologically mandated to help the new born to develope self empathy, and empathy for others. Prescott's 1975 Paper Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence set out some of the parameters for this development, and his work has been corroborated by researchers ever since.

http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html

What science is now finally 'proving' has been a working knowledge for the human species for 6 million years, and is a working biological reality for many mammals. Our bodies know this. Mothers bodies sense this.

http://birthpsychology.com/free-article/introduction-life-birth

If a child is not given those key experiences, if the relationship between mother and child is in any way disrupted at these crucial stages of early life, then the fundamentals of self empathy, and with that empathy for others are missed out on, and what flows from that loss is what we see all around us, on our daily news : the urge to Power, to control others to meet one's perceived needs.

What baby would not be angry at not being met with the experientials our biology has mandated? Think of the child left to cry himself to sleep in another room, to scream and cry until exhaustion brings sleep. Is this not a common practice in our culture? What of the resignation, the suppression of that rage, the loss of self empathy which ensues from that suppression which is the outcome of such a practice?


Empathy is a multi-sensory ability. Thus the mind, the intellect, the 12 senses, insight, intuition, mirror neurons, the heart field and direct experience all work together in the empathic natural human being.

Being responsive means that one observes, takes in the information, absorbs that field of information, processes that information and generates action to deal with the situation.

The natural inclination of all living organisms is to act in ways that nurture the habitat so as to maintain the optimum conditions for life to flourish, for ALL life to flourish.

Thus the action taken is taken within that ‘ethic’. Ethic here is used as an analogy, for it is deeper than ethics, which are a human concept.

It’s important to comprehend that there exists Societal Institutionally induced conditions that create that lack of empathy, repeatedly. It’s also important to note that trauma that is unresolved can also lead to a loss of self empathy on the personal level, and on the societal level.

Lack of empathy leads to a sense of disconnection, which leads to fear (that one's natural needs will not be met) which leads to a desire to control others (to meet one's perceived needs) and it is the imposition of control that leads to violence...... because self organising nature rejects control in favour of co-operation, and this natural 'resistance' is met with violence to maintain control.

An example is the labelling of certain children as 'disruptive', the creation of spurious diagnoses and the utility of drugging those children to maintain control of the classroom. The system undermines the parents/teachers sense of empathy by enforcing certain requirements upon them, which in order to be met, require that they control the children because of fear of the repercussions. It is the fear that drives the controlling behaviour, not love. Even if it is rationalised as love, it is not love. It is not trust. It is fear.

Hunting is not the same dynamic, so don't go there.... as an attempt to suggest that adverse control is all over nature.... natural hunting exists in the context of the metabolising of materials in ways that improve the habitat for ALL Life..... everything eats.

Those who seek to make change in our Society such that we build in or reclaim a nurturant underlying ethic  must have an accurate understanding of HOW SOCIETY CREATES THAT LACK OF EMPATHY, THAT FEAR, THAT DESIRE FOR CONTROL in both the person and the structure of Society.

Metabolising one's own trauma patterns will release one from the trauma cycles. However action is required to extend that further such that the Societal and Institutional trauma patterns are brought to an end.

Without that understanding, those who are engaged in activism, in protest, or in any other activity to bring change WILL be manipulated, their work will be co-opted and neutralised, and the adverse control will persist...

We see the evidence for this in Institutional 'care' systems all over the world. We see this in the 'greenwashing' PR campaigns of various polluting Corporations. The co-opting and neutralising of good ideas, of the urge to co-operate, to devolve power, is ubiquitous in any Hierarchical system of Power, and it's obvious too that being conditioned into such a system internalises that process, and it is addressing the loss of self empathy that is key to undoing those internalisations.




Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe













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Launch of Survivors Voices, Europe @ Conway Hall 26th March.

I attended the launch event for Survivors Voices Europe @ Conway Hall, London on Saturday March 26th.


“Survivors Voice Europe is the European liaison of Survivors Voice USA, the non-profit organisation founded by clergy abuse survivors Bernie McDaid & GaryBergeron. 

Survivors Voice is an international community of men and women who were abused by Catholic clergy in their childhood, and despite suffering the worst betrayal of body and trust, have found that in connecting with each other and sharing their experience, strength and hope, they can soar above their abusers and find empowerment.”

I was there, got the T-Shirt, had my photo taken by Silvia Amodio  for her “Out of the shadows” project and I met the founders, Sue Cox, Ton Leerschool, Bernie McDaid & Gary Bergeron. I also met Dr Tommaso Dell’Era from Italy, a former member of Opus Dei and a survivor..... and who is a whistle blower, who has written a book on the Opus Dei. He was travelling with Ton and Sue, and is part of Survivors Voice Europe.

Also present was the one of the organisers of the Protest The Pope Rally of last September, Marco Tranchino.

There was about 35 people in attendance, whilst hundreds of thousands were distracted by a useless protest organised by the TUC who refuse to call a general strike.

I met other Survivors, and the integrity and empathy was clear.

Those who spoke, who are Survivors, made a lot of sense to me. Their experience and commitment, courage and warmth was clear from the moment I locked eyes with each.

Sue Cox opened the event, and introduced each of the speakers. She spoke of her experience since last September’s “Protest The Pope” rally. She has been working as a counsellor for many years, and it was only last year that she came out and spoke publicly of her own abuse experience. She was surprised with the attention she has received, gladdened of the support and appalled at the BBC and UK Governments support for the Pope. Sue spoke movingly of the effects of the abuse,  that for years delivered self hatred, fear, insecurity.

Sue then introduced Ton Leerschool, who is Dutch, and who has been working with Gary and Bernie and Sue over Skype for the past two years or so. Ton is a Survivor. He is the lead European co-ordinator for Survivors Voices. Unfortunately I cannot recall of his presentation, other than to  say that I was moved by his clarity and commitment.

Sue then introduced Bernie and Gary, and presented them with some commemorative glass 'awards'. Bernie spoke, and he was clear as a bell. He described his initial experiences of coming out and how he felt betrayed by the process he went through as he took the Church to court, and especially the aftermath, as he made efforts to speak to various Church and Vatican Officials.


He even journeyed to Rome, where with Sue and others, they tried to gain an audience with Vatican Officials. For days they attempted to get an audience, and each day as they would leave the Vatican buildings, the Swiss Guards would question them to see if they had met with anyone, because 'they had a bet going on it!'.


They held vigils in Rome with Survivors who are deaf and mute, who were abused by Priests in 'special schools'. They also participated in a day of witness in which these 'voiceless' people, with out sound, told their stories. Sue had also spoken of these events, and had noted that the sign language they used was graphic and clear, and profoundly shocking, and that she was deeply moved by their bravery. Many tears were shed during those days...


Bernie said it was really clear that these people - Church Officials - did not care one whit for the Survivors, for the children and that they were, and remain utterly arrogant and committed to retaining their Power and Status. Bernie noted that he did not understand WHY so few people are capable of understanding what the systemic abuse by clergy really means, and why so few are willing to confront the Church, over the abuse and the cover-ups.


Gary followed on from Bernie, and he spoke of his own experience in telling his story, to his family and to the world. He spoke of how he had, on the face of it, the 'perfect life' - good job, plenty cash, two marriages ... and than spoke of how he took a good look one day and realised that he had lived in 23 places in 22 years, that he had in fact been running away all his life. He spoke of the struggle to bring his abusers to justice, of how after he spoke out, many more Survivors came forwards.


He also found out that his 78 year old father had also been sexually abused by a priest as a child. He spoke of his desire to see that his children are saved from a similar fate. He spoke of how it came as a shock to him, to find that the man he had seen as a rock in his life had kept that terrible secret all those years, and noted that the keeping of such secrets is very much a part of what enables the abuse culture to continue.


He spoke about his commitment to the work of confronting the Church, and all Institutions and people that sexually abuse children, not for himself, but for all the children alive today and those who are yet to come to this life.


At this point we took a break.


After the break, Tomasso spoke of his experiences at the hands of Opus Die, who recruited him at age 14. He spoke of how this had been banned by the Vatican, yet Opus Die managed to 'get around' this ban, by duplicity. Tomasso described in some detail the psychological machinations employed by Opus Dei on the young people they recruit,  the pecking order of hierarchy, the 'love bombing at the beginning, the slow and steady grooming of their recruits in ever more intense levels of abuse and control and he showed examples of the tools they use for 'mortification of the flesh'. His book is in Italian, and has yet to be translated into English and other languages. He's a brave and compassionate man, and no fool. I really took to him. We recognised in each other the 'elite' training backgrounds we shared.


Next up was Peter Thatchell, and strangely his speech was to me dry, almost perfunctory. Perhaps it was the lack of people in the room .... I know as a performer that it is sometimes the case that we become used to the energy of a crowd, so much so that when that energy is not present, we are diminished. That was not he case for any of the previous speakers. Peter Thatchell is well respected for his Human Rights work, and has been on that road for over 30 years.... His words lacked the vitality of those who speak of their own experience, and were to be disappointing. He apologised for not staying for he had to leave directly after his presentation to attend the TUC protest and speak there.... 


I almost approached him to ask that he mention this gathering at the larger, but held myself in check, as the next speaker was starting his presentation.


Keith Porteus Wood is the National Secular Society's Executive Director, and he spoke of his organisations commitment to supporting Survivors, and Survivors Voices in particular. He spoke of his own long standing actions in Europe, to request that the EU Parliament deal with the fact that the Vatican is in breach of the Convention on the Rights of The Child, on six different points, an international treaty, ratified by all member states of the United Nations General Assembly, bar USA and Somalia....

He mentioned that this is important, because these breaches are criminal offences, and for which the Pope as fiduciary head of The Vatican, The Holy See and The Catholic Church is personally liable. The same principles that applied at Nuremburg apply to the Vatican and all it’s officials with regard to Crimes against Humanity.

The last person to speak was a Solicitor who specialises in Child Abuse cases, David Greenwood. I found his presentation a little dry, and he appeared to be ill-informed about the efficacy and intent of the Redress process in Ireland, for he called for similar efforts, as part of a wider judicial effort, which elicited comments from myself and from others in attendance who had actual experience of that process, which interrupted his presentation and threw him somewhat.

We who had commented spoke to him afterwards, to help him get clear about this illusion of the ‘response; by Church and State. If he works with us, he will learn. We will see.

There was no time for any Q&A session, as the event had started late – traffic in London was dreadful that day and people were still attempting to get to the event. And as the hall had to be cleared really quickly to prepare for the next use of the hall, there was precious little time to socialise.

I spoke briefly with Sue, Gary and Bernie outside as they were loading up their car to leave, in the cold bitter wind. The connection has been made, and the work will progress. In spite of the low attendance, I am glad the seed has been planted, that I attended and that I have met these fine people.



Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe






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Surrealism in London..... September 19 2010..

On Saturday I went to Whitehall/ Downing Street to wait for Protest The Pope Rally to arrive, having become bored at being held up as we left Hyde Park. I was wondering what the reason fro the delay was.

I was outside Downing Street for about an hour or so, and I heard the sound of drums and see a few flags waving.... "they're here at last!" and notice something odd: I had seen those banners before, but not at Hyde Park (i had left because the rally had been held back by Police for nearly an hour...)

... and the music began to sound rather Miltary Marching music..... and then I got it....

A Loyalist Rally to the Cenotaph..... rather odd, I thought... are the Police and Government trying to cut costs and do 2 rallies for the policing price of 1?

Sitting on the wall I was flabbergasted as I watched these hard looking men (understandably, given what they and their opposites have been through... as it is in all violent conflicts..) with grim set faces, the musicians in Uniform, the men behind them in Black, with those banners cross their shoulders, and a few Military Uniforms here and there.... the Orange Marching Music and attitude on this fine sunny day?

Are they Protesting the Pope too? Yikes! Strange Bedfellows indeed!

But no, they were not and in fact were at pains to make that clear..

Really? Would that not have been the obvious thing, for them of all people, to do? They dislike Papists, no??

Apparently not....

Seems they like whoever oppresses Irish from the Republic, be it themselves or the Pope, be it adults or children who are the victimised.

Their Loyalty, indeed, goes deep. As deep as their animosity! The Pope is NOT that important to them after all! As a target of their ire or source of their distress. Papists, a term oft used, rendered meaningless.

This world is indeed weird.

The Loyalist Rally was quickly followed by born again Christian attacking The Vatican and Homosexuality and Science (Evolution Theory) with a rather loud portable sound system. Met with incredulity and derision by those who had assembled to wait for the main rally to arrive, which was imminent.

The nutjob cracked on for about 12 minutes or so. 

No Police moved to search him as far as I could see. Did he have a licence to 'demonstrate'? Probably....

His utterances were quite vile.

a weirdly dressed Christian, a Herald of some kind... kinky boots!
are those boots kinky or what? He's a Catholic, a Herald of some sort....

The rally arrived and a feeling of 'normality' returned. As to what kind of normality can be thus described boggles the mind. The speakers barely touched on the issues, and most seemed unaware of the detail behind the story of survivors. 

This world of the dominant culture is REALLY WEIRD!!

Like totally!

Get me outta here, I am a natural!

Except I can't. I am here and have to deal with this mess... I'm a parent.


The Tribunal Summons Kevin Annett and Lydia White Calf intend serving on the Pope...

This is where we are headed......  we can make it so REAL!



Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's your gift to universe



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Open Letter to Stop The War Offcers

An open letter to all officers of the STOP THE WAR COALITION

Chair: Andrew Murray (Unite – T&G section)
Convenor: Lindsey German
Treasurer (acting): Robin Beste
Steve Bell (Communication Workers Union)
Andrew Burgin
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Noreen Fatima (StWC Muslim Network)
Kate Hudson (CND)
Sabah Jawad (Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation)
Chris Nineham
Trevor Phillips (University and Colleges Union)
John Rees (SWP)
Jane Shallice
Carol Turner



As a officer of the Stop The War Coalition you have borne and continue to bear a heavy responsibility. You are charged with the leadership and co-ordination of the efforts of all those who seek peace, who abhor war as an instrument of Government Policy. You have taken this role upon yourself.

That places an even heavier burden upon yourself.

I am writing to you to enquire as to why neither you, nor the Stop The War Coalition leadership, did not call for a general strike in the UK to block the UK Governments role in the Iraq War? To bring this Government to it’s knees, as they so utterly deserved, for such a heinous crime?

History tells of the power of a general strike, and of the feebleness of ‘permitted’ protest.

Is it not the case that an all out general strike, by well informed and committed people might well have dislodged all those who conspired against humanity to pursue this Illegal War of Aggression, that was obviously, from the start, going to harm many, many innocent civilians? WMD were used by coalition forces. These are the facts. Those in power KNEW that this would be the case.

Yes such a strike may well have been tumultuous, and would have been opposed by Government and Media alike, with all the forces they could have brought to bear, forces that are not inconsiderable, yet pale into significance when confronted by a united people..

Yes it would have divided the country, though not in equal measure. Those who sought war were and remain in the minority in terms of the whole population of the UK. It would have served peace for that divide to be forced to reveal itself. It still would serve peace for that divide to be forced.

Yes such a strike might have meant hardship and sacrifice for many people in the UK. Yet at the same time, it would have been so much less a sacrifice than that imposed upon innocent people in Iraq.

Would that you and your colleagues had had the courage of your convictions to suggest such a small sacrifice on our part, on behalf of those we sought to protect!

I write because I want to understand what happened, back in 2003, when so many people took to the streets, not just in London, but world-wide, in order to prepare for what is to come. These are dangerous times, with the media and politicians hyping the prospect of a summer of rage.

Someone must give voice to the powerful urge and intent of the various movements for peace, for the environment, for justice, to lead towards effective and peaceful action - one with out the other is futile and at best abdication of responsibility. At worst cowardice and deluded folly.

I write because I assume that you share my same love and compassion for all human life, for all life, and that you share my commitment and determination to radically alter the way Power is exercised in our democracy.

I have less access to and far fewer of the facts or resources that you have. I admit that my perception is limited. I write to enquire, to learn. I write because my children will reap the benefits of bear the consequences of my actions. I write because I care.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's your gift to universe



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Protest, Dissent and What Works.

Naomi Klein talks about protest and what actually works. As I have written many times, if the UK population had gone on strike in March 2003, stayed on the streets for just a week or two, the UK involvement in the Iraq War of Aggression would have been impossible without a direct confrontation between the UK Government and the people, the tax payers who fund that Government.

We have to look at what stops people from taking to the streets to express dissent, to demostrate our power as a collective of diverse and humane people.

There are the various Laws and regulations that Government puts in place to inhibit protest or dissent on the streets. Those Laws must be broken, by large numbers of people, so as to render them useless. This is alegally viable option, in that it is permissable to commit a lessor, non-violent crime to prevent the comission of a far greater violent crime.

There are the perceptions of protest that the media present. Those who work for the Media and promote such precpetions must be confornted with their actions, by letter, email, by phone and by written criticism.

There are the various psychological inhibitions, imbued primarily through schooling, that are the basis for obedience. This must be addressed by parents, to protect their children and protect their childrens autonomy and intelligence.

And there are the divide and rule tactics that pit us against each other, that comparmentalise people by religion, status, class, sex and stereotypes. This must be addressed by all those subject to such labelling and by the leadership of any such groups of people.

Each has to be addressed and understood by all those who dissent and where they rear their ugly heads, let them be identified, named and revealed for what they are, for that will disempower these inhibitions.



I found this first here : http://pulsemedia.org/2009/03/03/naomi-wolf-slams-fake-activism/





Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's your gift to universe



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Olympics SchmOlympircks!

The Olympic protests are great! They show the hypocrisy of all current model of Governance for what it is! Well done those who disrupt the flames progress around the globe!

Many in the Wests Media are currently pointing the finger at the Chinese Government, and many 'pundits' are commenting on China's suppression of Tibet, asking questions about China's readiness to 'enter the fold' of Democracies. They also ask questions about the apparent inability of various police forces to suppress the protesters and make comments on the 'disruption' and 'bad publicity' that the organisers, the IOC, are having to 'deal' with.

Yet few of them are realising that there are three other fingers pointing right back at themselves, and that to those who have the eyes to see, it is blindingly obvious (a neat oxymoron, if ever there was one) that those who on one hand engage in Wars of Aggression, those who export pollution to other countries to maintain the illusion of clean technologies in their own countries, those who exercise power over people rather than power for the people as standard behaviour are in no place to criticise others whose practices they supposedly abhor.

Finger One : There is the cogent fact that the West has exported almost all of it's toxic polluting manufacturing processes to China, where child labour and near as damnit indentured labour exist as standard fare for the majority, in particular those who come from the countryside...

On this our pundits remain silent. In fact most of the products they are wearing, using and consuming are made in China.

Finger Two : Furthermore, our own Governments are engaged in illegal wars of aggression in Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly in other places under covert operations..... and this is something they have always done, it is nothing new. It is our history.

Another aspect of the Olympics, though hardly worth a finger (other than in the proverbial) is the drug taking that is rife! Both amongst the athletes (performance enhancing) and those who design and build the facades, the edifices of greed, the modern day coliseums. I am sure it takes a lot of cocaine to set up the great big deals and make the 'cool' designs (most of which are truly dreadful - the London Logo being but one example!) - hubris and greed, as ever bedmates!

The survival of the fittest is a meme that Empire spreads in order to provide manure for it's agenda, and it is proven to be so far wide of the mark that it is purely by virtue of the conditioning process we have all been subjected to that it is ever discussed in an serious terms.

Bio-diversity Science tells us what the ancients knew well, because they lived on the land, with the land and saw themselves as being of the land - they knew that all nature is a life-giving co-operative, a vast altruistic interaction that provides everything within it what it needs to grow to full potential.

Finger Three : Compare that with Western Civilisation, which chews up everything it meets, spits out what is of no use either to itself or any other life form, and continues to grow, to expand, to dominate all other ways of living. Western Civilisation, being the civilisation of city states, eats up the natural resources and converts them into toxins. For what?

For profit, for greed and for power over others. All the symptoms of a profound, abysmal loss of identity, a deep sense of inadequacy and thus a fatal misunderstanding of the nature and great gift of life.

Here's my video fro my song "The Olympics are Here"



Enjoy is hardly the word, but if you have a car with a good sound system, put the song on yer player and open the windows, drive slowly and play it LOUD!

You can download it from here:

http://www.corneilius.net/acousticmusic/mp3/olympicschmolimpiks.mp3




Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's your gift to universe



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