Guns Are Made for Killing - Nonviolence Essay #2

A few days ago a neighbor new to our block (we’ll call him Joe) threatened to shoot my other neighbor (we’ll call him Sam) because Sam's dog pooped in the parking strip - the part owned by the city between the sidewalk and curb. What's darkly ironic, considering the recent events in Newtown, Connecticut, Sam is an elementary school teacher.

As dog owners Sam, his wife, my wife and myself regularly pick up the dog poop left in our neighborhood by other dogs, but Joe doesn't know this because he's new. Sam and I have lived on this block for over 2 years and are friends with all the other neighbors. Joe doesn't know this either because he's new.

Joe is bigger than Sam and makes five times the money. I am not sure what's so intimidating about a schoolteacher that Joe needs to bring guns into the conversation.

I grew up hunting and my father in-law took me to the gun range the day before I got married. I have no problem with gun ownership (as I stated in an earlier post, I own two). My problem is when guns are used to bully and intimidate innocent people through the threat of violence and death. Guns are created for killing. It seems that some gun owners do not respect this absolute power - the power to take life.

A schoolteacher, or any law-abiding citizen, is quite a bit different from a burglar, rapist, or despotic regime trying to enslave a population. It’s disturbing that these renegade gun owners feel the need to threaten passive, liberal-minded American citizens who are only dangerous to the chicken they dice up for Thursday night stir-fry.

In a Slate interview, Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, said that, "the president of one of the largest handgun manufacturers in the country once told me, face to face, how much money he had committed to an intimidation effort and advised me to keep my life insurance paid up. There was a time when federal law enforcement agents recommended that I wear a ballistic vest.” (The bold is my edit.)

Intimidation effort? Against preventing deaths by studying the causes and effects of gun deaths in this country? Federal law enforcement agents knew about this? Really? This is mind blowing. Somehow the passive, peace lovers of this country, the ones who only want to make the world a better, safer place, have been lumped into the same group as the dangerous criminals - a threat to be countered by violence. This makes me question who American citizens really need to be protected against.

In an Washington Post op-ed, former Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark.) said, "one of us served as the NRA’s point person in Congress and submitted an amendment to an appropriations bill that removed $2.6million from the CDC’s budget, the amount the agency’s injury center had spent on firearms-related research the previous year. This amendment, together with a stipulation that “None of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control,” sent a chilling message.

Since the legislation passed in 1996, the United States has spent about $240million a year on traffic safety research, but there has been almost no publicly funded research on firearm injuries."

What’s sad is when I posted the origin of this essay on Facebook one of my friends told me to “be safe” in the comments. Fear of Joe’s threatened violence has rippled beyond our little neighborhood and into my broader community of friends. Threatening violence towards someone is intimidation and bullying, and this is the reason stricter regulation of guns is finally gaining steam in America. Of course, these irresponsible gun owners will be unable to take responsibility for their action and will instead continue to blame the hippies and liberals for the erosion of their second amendment rights.

Never forget - guns are created for killing. Unless someone (including the CEO’s of gun manufacturing companies and the NRA) fully respects this fact, they don't deserve to own a gun, even for recreational purposes.

Violence is a valid response when someone is trying to kill you. Violence, or even threatening violence, is not appropriate when you are having a dispute about dog poop.

Essay on Nonviolence #1, We All Have a Choice

"It's about how we treat each other and care for one another." ~ John DeStefano, Mayor of New Haven. I was listening to an interview of the mayor today and this quote stuck out.

What he’s talking about is kindness and compassion. We all have a choice to solve problems without violence. Nonviolence might seem like it's for those hippies and liberals who lack the courage to defend themselves properly, but it takes more courage to choose nonviolenence over violence because hate and violence are easy. Hate and violence are quick. Hate and violence breed more hate and violence. I do not want to live in that kind of world.

I grew up in a home punctuated with violence and was bullied in high school. Recently, three days in a row, three separate angry, white men threatened to ram me with their vehicles while I was commuting home from work on my bicycle. I had the right of way but, of course, they would have won. They are encased in 6,000lbs of steel and I am essentially naked, a skid mark waiting to happen. As a bearded, liberal, Portlander on a bicycle I am a focus of right-wing hate-radio and stand guilty as charged of trying to make the world a better place. But, they are cowards and bullies. They are spineless. They don’t have the guts to face me man to man.

I understand why these men are angry, why they want to run over bicycle-riding hippies. There's nothing "...more dangerous in the U.S.A. than an unemployed white man," says Leslie Marmon Silko in her essay In the Combat Zone. As a carpenter I have not had well paying, long-term employment in four years. We are a month late on the rent and three months behind on everything else. I feel powerless and gutted and I am pissed about it.

I also do not like bullies and these encounters made me very angry, made me want to carry a handgun to protect myself. I can handle myself in a fight and I grew up on a farm with guns. Fist or gun, I am very accurate. These men threatened me with a deadly weapon and I have right to defend myself. Imagine that, a bicyclist packing heat. The power of this vision was intoxicating.

After the last encounter, I chased that coward through Portland. I could have confronted him when he stopped at a light, but I stopped short. I wondered what it would actually accomplish. It would have felt very good to drag that person out of his car and beat him, mash his face until it looked like expired hamburger. He had threatened to kill me. In my rage he would either be hurt very badly, or I would get hurt as he defended himself. I was faced with a choice. I decided, right then and there, to strengthen my resolve AGAINST violence as a solution.

The day after I made my decision, children were brutally massacred in New Haven. This atrocity makes me sick to my stomach. It also made me harden my resolve against violence as a solution. It also made me want to speak out, voicing my private stance on nonviolence.

Nonviolence may feel like it costs more and takes longer, but the payoffs, economically and socially, are complete, permanent and stable. When people choose nonviolence they use compassion instead of violence, taking the time to see each other as fellow humans. Most importantly, nonviolence as a choice allows everybody to reach their full potential because they aren’t crippled by fear or hatred and they stay alive and make good decisions. As citizens, we have a duty that goes beyond our clan, immediate family or party affiliation - we have a duty to all Americans and the world.

I am not interested in the gun debate (I own two). It is a time suck, a black hole created by people who use fear to generate profit and power. I’m interested in a cultural shift in thought. That shift means solving problems through compassion, dialogue and nonviolence. It means seeing our similarities, not our differences.

It means that each person needs to decide against hate and violence, decide against feeding on fear. It means we need to educate our children (I’m including political leaders in this category) to use compassion and kindness. Whether we feel like it or not, we all have more power than we know. We have the power to choose nonviolence.

Look Heroic

10:32:54 am, day two. We have been traversing through the headwaters of Mount Hood’s southeastern drainages for about 2 hours. Snow field, boulder field, snow field, boulder field and so on.

Except for some scrappy white pine and a random purple flower, nothing grows here. I can feel the late summer sun beginning to drape over my neck and carve out my shadow. It is desolate and beautiful.

“Look heroic,” I said to Damon before this shot. With a waning gibbous sitting over the right shoulder of a volcano, all the picture needed was a hero.

A panorama of Mount Jefferson.

Last September, I hiked the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood. With 75 degree days and minimal wild fires, the conditions couldn't have been better.
 

Composed of two photos, this photo is the first of a couple fantastic panoramas I was able to create from the trip.

I believe we are less than a mile from the lodge at this point.

Please follow our journey at Facebook, Flickr or Picassa.

Timberline Trail Photo Essay

Mount Jefferson panorama from the Timberline Trail on Mount Hood.

I few weeks ago hiked the Timberline trail. I'll blog about the ones I think are the best but I'll also be the uploading the photos (and captions describing my trip) to my Google+ album over the next few weeks. Please check them out!

My wife enjoys the view of Mt. Hood from the Larch Mountain Hike. While you can drive to the lookout were about 5 miles into a 6.5 mile loop hike. It was a beautiful morning and we didn't see a single person on the trail - which is rare for a hike so close to Portland. I have a few more photos from the hike but this is definitely my favorite.

The hemlock forest we hike through for about 1/2 of the hike - beautiful and eerie at the same time. The trees were sloughing their bark and there was hardly any underbrush. The contrast with the vibrant summer morning light made for some great photographic inspiration.

Hunting Ninjas

Got'cha. Photogs never want to be in the photo. They only want to take them. Here's the best of both worlds. Oh, and the beautiful light created by a spring sunset in Portland isn't too bad either.

Thunder Cloud Plumb Tree

This tree is my new favorite because it's called Thunder Cloud. For me to bump something from four stars to five it has to have a cool name. I use this measurement for everything from beer to plants. So this tree gets the five stars because of it's beauty and name. Just say the name aloud with a little emphasis. See what I mean?

According to Portland Nursery Thunder Cloud is a purple plumb very common in Portland.

Thunder Cloud. My new favorite because it has a kick ass name.

Check out more photos from this blog and purchase prints or stock.

First Night of Summer

The boots were probably taken off and left here after the last sidewalk was poured. Why else would flowers be growing in them?

Last night felt like the first night of summer here in Portland. The sun shined bright all day, creating a beautiful evening affect. The dog and I needed to unwind after a log day, so I grabbed my camera and went wandering around my neighborhood.

Sunset paints this American Elm, feeding the leaflets growing into their summer form.

I live in the Hollywood neighborhood. With sidewalks dated 1909 and 1910 it seems to be one of the older neighborhoods in Portland. Combined with the Alameda Ridge and Grant Park neighborhood an evening walk often includes winding cobblestone streets, gigantic maple and elm trees and a steep stair climb from the lower neighborhood up to Alameda Ridge.

My mighty companion enjoys the setting sun.

Of course, I have to have one black and white. 

The natives seem to have left some sort of homage to the gods.

There are wonderful nooks and features all over my neighborhood. I think I'll do a little project on my neighborhood this summer.

Vintage Fishing Village Photos

I've been experimenting with some different processing effects in Adobe Lightroom lately. My wife and I took a trip to the coast a few weeks back and stopped in Newport, Oregon for breakfast. Here's a couple shots from the boardwalk along the bay that I feel are very beautiful in a vintage style.

See more photos from my blog and purchase a print

HCSC Rail Jam at Bachelor

Last March, I had the honor of photographing the Oregon Interscholastic Snowboard Association's (OISA) State Finals Competition for the third year. 2012 was a big year because it was the event's first time at Mt. Bachelor near Bend, OR.

One of the events was an after-hours the Rail Jam sponsored by High Cascade Snowboard Camp and Mt. Bachelor. The kids jammed through a snowstorm and into the night. The following panorama was my parting shot for the night as I walked inside.

To see more photos from the event check out the OISA Facebook page.

New Camera App

Found a fun retro camera app for my phone. I really like the composition of a square frame. Square vs. rectangle - what do you think?

Portland Street

My beautiful wife

Vine

Princess path

My mom and the Dog

Our coffee table

Velo Bike Shop

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Last Saturday was the first glorious day of summer in Portland. A light breeze drifts deep, verdant smells through the sunshine and 80 degrees. After using Grant Park as our office for a few hours, we decide to take my wife’s bike to our new neighborhood bikeshop, Velo Cult.

We live in the Hollywood neighborhood and had heard rumors about this place known only to us as the "new bikebar" (different from "bikerbar") - a bikeshop and bar combined. Awesome!

This perfect Portland business combines two things dear to Portlanders – beer and bicycles – so it will probably do well. According to bikeportland.org, “Velo Cult's mission (is to be) a meeting place and bike-cultural worship center.”

Worship these saddles made from the hide of the golden calf.

We feel right at home as we drink our first beer. The staff chats us up and the Dog does her meet and greet. But, it doesn’t feel quite right, so we pull out the Facebook machines, um, I mean, MacBook and iPad. Now it feels like Portland.

Big windows and skylights fill the space with warm natural light. High ceilings, exposed trusses and rough-sawn lumber construction compliment polished chrome and stained trim. The gentle light and suggestive colors are perfect and I happened to have my camera.

George, Tom and Scott the mechanic-bartenders.

Thanks to Velo Bike Cult for letting me photograph their shop! 

A super-futuristic platform makes the bike hover. Alien-tech is cool.

Guardian of the back door.

The Dog is pooped from all the belly rubs. Too bad the state will exile her when Velo Cult's kitchen starts running.

You can tell by the moody shadows and symbolic light switch this handlebar sculpture is a critique on contemporary society.

For those looking for the OISA 2012 State Competition photos - they should be available Wednesday 4/4/12.

I'll post a link here and on the OISA facebook page when they are done. I'll also be uploading some highlights to the OISA Facebook page throughout the week.

Thanks for your patience. It was great seeing everybody this year!