more love and lesser weapons

We need more love, not more weapons.

Now it's a second time that I mix the real world with SecondLife and write my opinion here. But we are in both worlds with the same beliefs, and yes, with the same soul. And when I feel so moved, sad and angry, I write it too. Even though I generally think it is good to keep political and religious issues out of Secondlife as much as possible. I've also made decisions in SecondLife based on my beliefs, so I'm going to write about it now. 

I bought a mural a few days ago. On this is the rainbow flag with the saying "Love is never wrong". I wanted to point out the right of free love, and I admonish tolerance and have put it on a roof in our Sunshine Cove's French Quarter. This week I was shocked by two messages that couldn't be more different. What connects them is the USA state of Florida and intolerance and hatred. And for me personally not to understand.

The first message is about the school massacre in Parkland, Florida. A 19-year-old boy goes to his former school at Valentine's Day and takes his AR-15 assault rifle and murders 17 young people. How can it be that people show understanding that a young person has such a weapon but is not allowed to drink alcohol? He was adopted, it was certainly not easy, his adoptive parents died, he needed a new home. But that makes it even more incomprehensible that he was allowed to possess such weapons. On the other hand, however, is it punishable to love? President Trump, I've been following your campaign, even though I'm not American. And weapons played a part in that. I read about 30 Mio from the NRA, the gun lobby supported you. And you support them. So you have very quickly suspended an Obama law that was supposed to make it difficult for mentally ill people to access weapons. Now you're saying that it's not the gun that killed the children, it's a mentally ill person. These dead people are also on your account. Stop this, Las Vegas and Parkland are enough, no one needs semi-automatic weapons to defend themselves. It's not a weapon that defend a country against its own arbitrary government. It is the willpower and courage of the citizens, not fear. It is an uninfluenced democracy and the separation of powers. Not whoever promises more weapons, but hinders the independent courts and the work of the independent investigating authorities, stands for a free country.

All my sympathy is with the bereaved, I have prayed for them and I wish them much strength. I hope that many people will support them with love and help. And even among the survivors, I can't even begin to imagine what they have experienced and how they want to deal with it all. The Valentine's Day is the day of the loving, who is now soiled forever.

I have also seen videos of proud parents in the USA training their youngest children to use weapons, showing them proudly on youtube and saying it is necessary for them to be able to defend themselves. In which civilized country should it be necessary for underage children to learn how to defend themselves with weapons? Isn't it rather the task of the state and the government to protect these children? Aren't the children better protected when there are no weapons at all? I don't want to interfere, but I can't look the other way. Please, wake up. Raise your voices to end this. End this, the weapons lobby is supposed to disappear somewhere else, but not weapons in children's homes.
 and teenagers' rooms.  

The second message also comes from Florida. A female teacher is fired for marrying her partner. How is that possible? The partner is also a woman, both are lesbian, and this is not allowed in a Catholic American primary school. Because she's honest with her love that no one can choose. Should she be dishonest? What kind of teacher would she be for children? What is the double moral behind it if children are not to learn about different kinds of love, but learn how to handle weapons? 

Both messages are bad enough. Taken together, however, it is even more incomprehensible. Reason enough for me to write this one here today.

But I want to make one thing absolutely clear. This criticism is directed at all other countries in the western world. Especially here in Germany, many people look over and point their fingers at the USA. I read that here in Germany every tenth resident has a firearm, but in the USA every ninth citizen. The difference is not so big, and whereas in the United States the Constitution and the defence of citizens are supposed to make it, here in Germany it's more about preserving the acquis and the exaggerated importance of association law. And also here in Germany I have no sympathy for it, whether hunting or shooting club. Here too, weapons should be banned from homes. That's the only way we can keep weapons from showing up in schools. And finally, we also had rampage runs in Germany. The victims of Erfurt and Winnenden are not forgotten, and show that the limits for possession of weapons have to be set.

Many here seem so arrogant and convinced that our conditions are always better. Take the trouble and the time to take a closer look, not only to see your own opinion as absolutely correct, but also to try to understand the others. You will be surprised how much more colourful and diverse the world becomes. How much more beautiful and interesting. How much we can all learn from each other.

So it is a unique opportunity for the United States to really follow the slogan "America First" and to send a clear signal to all of us, and our governments. No firearms in our schools, no police or teachers with weapons and combat training in the schools.