LOVE, POLITICS, WAR CONTINUUM: THE HIERARCHY OF VIOLENCE/ANOTHER JOHN LENNON TRIBUTE 2

I propose the following as an hierarchy of violence (I propose further that only 1 + 2 constitute politics, 3 and beyond constitute aggression and levels of aggression):



1) Constructive and loving dialogue.

2) Civil dialogue and compromise.

3) Entrenchment, deciding no compromise is possible, and engaging in gritted teeth dialogue to buy time and to posture.

4) Raising of voices

Once it hits this point at international negotiating tables all bets are off when the United States is involved since 1945.

5) Yelling.

6) Straying from the issues disagreed upon and personalizing the discussion--characterizing the other in personally derogatory terms.

7) Incorporating vulgarity and swearing into the 'dialogue' which is no longer a dialogue but two or more monologues aimed at intimidation.

I strongly disagree with my liberal friends who cuss at the opposition and criticize on social media in anti-social ways and then criticize the right for doing the same. Gabby was shot, a Congressman's brother's gas line was cut last year because of this kind of juvenile nonsense. What's good for the goose IS good for the gander.

8) Verbal threats.

9) Physical intimidation.

Think Drone Strikes.

10) Physical threats.

11) The first assault.

I was in no way awed by "Shock and Awe" just Shocked, but not as much as the residents of Baghdad must've been, OMG the poor people!

12) The counter strike.

The United States never really suffers a punch back, because we're separated from those we intimidate by the thousands of miles of oceans between us and those on the other continents where we engage in our aggressions. So we've gotten away with mass quantities of murder since our first-strike nuclear victory on two specifically selected CIVILIAN targets, the lovely cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

13) Conventional warfare--which includes bombing, murder by uniformed and non-uniformed legalized gangs by nations, rape, torture and death, maiming, trauma, starvation and worse.

Victims of Violence and

Mr. Peace, John Lennon and the last thing he saw, a handgun staring him down outside his Manhattan brownstone.

14) Nuclear/Chemical/Biological War, such as the dropping of spoiled-brat uniformed boys' boy-toys obscenely nick-named 'little boy' and 'fat boy' - the nuclear bombs dropped on specifically chosen civilian targets, the lovely cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the world's only first-strike nuclear attack, by the government of the United States in 1945 when it won the world's only nuclear war until now. At the time nobody else possessed any other such weapons so that nuclear war ended swiftly. Not likely with the next one, God forbid. The first American nuclear war has been badly mislabeled World War II.

Hiroshima 1945

yoko-ono.com

Originally Published 7/5/11

Modified 9/6/12

The day before Election Day

 A Particularly Verbally Violent Campaign

Thanks to the "Citizens United" Decision

And Anonymous Dumping of Millions of Dollars

By Billionaires Such as the Koch Bros.

In an attempt to buy the election.

Attempts are being made today in

FL, OH, and PA among others

to suppress voting.

Tomorrow's results will determine

whether little 'd'

democracy stands a chance.

If Barack Obama wins,

and a new Supreme Court majority 

can be named,

then it stands a chance.

If not...

Goodbye democracy.

Hello permanent

Plutocracy.