No guns = No violence?
Living in Japan, one thing you don't have to worry about is guns. It is so hard to get a license many don't even bother to try and being a fire arms holder is just not part of the culture.
But that doesn't mean Japan is crime free, especially when it comes to crazy shit! Like what happened on Halloween night. A man dressed as the joker brandished a knife, set a train cart on fire then sat and smoked a cig in true joker style in the heart of Tokyo. 17 were injured.
https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1454869527620063236?s=20
I can only imagine the crazy shit that would have happened that night if guns were easily accessible here.
Jamaica may have a high crime rate but we can pinpoint the root cause of this to the lack of jobs and inflation griping the Caribbean nation, also the easy access to guns. Not a good formula. Some may say it is ingrained in the culture but the way I see it, poverty is the root.
In Japan, the pressure of long work days, the mentor culture, fitting in instead of standing out and the overwhelming taxes slapped on individuals is enough to make some one freak the fvck out. It is like you are just alive but not living. So when I see such headlines it really doesn't surprise me as there is a lot of pressure here especially for the Japanese people.
I always wondered what Jamaica would be like without guns but that reality is a Disneyland dream. As a mater of fact more people are getting licensed fire arms, according to street sources. Why? To even the playing field. If the criminals have guns, the law abiding citizens want weapons to protect themselves.
Humans have been violent form the beginning of time and if every gun were to suddenly disappear, no doubt they would revert to more primitive weapons. But why has man been violent over the centuries? Power, religion, politics, and war. The system is the root.
Well, seeing this photo reminded me of this song form Natty King called No Guns To Town. It was a song that made him popular on the Reggae arena in 2003. Do you know this one?
Click the banner to learn more about #APART. It is quite a simple challenge. Post an original picture and link to a reggae song. The picture should have some connection to the Reggae song in someway, anyway. The only limit is your imagination.😉
ReggaeJAHM.com
I totally understand the logic behind people wanting fun rights in the US. But I personally feel much safer when there are no guns around. I don’t see myself taking up arms to fight tyranny, that just feels like it’d make things worse. So I’m with you.
I think it boils down to feeling like you are part of something (community being the most practical and rewarding) and that your possibilities aren’t being limited. (Poverty and and overwhelming work schedule or lack of options can have the same effect on people). That’s why I love this concept of decentralization, but like most things, a good concept takes a lot of work to actually realize.
For sure, In Jamaica too. Most of my friends have guns but never used them but just incase. I feel much safer here for sure. It is like when I leave Narita airport I get into G mode and transform into a different person.
Good point, and for some people, that community might be a gang/organization with ideals that that may not be inline with your true self but in order to be a part of it, you confirm. And that is a pressure that takes toll in many ways.
Oh yeah, it is interesting that we are here building communities and earning assets in the process and to the outside it may look like a completely different thing. We are at the forefront of something revolutionary and it is insane when you realize we are so early.
I've never actually seen a gun except in a holster. Part of me wishes I had experienced that just so I wouldn't be so soft, but the fact that I'm soft allows me to have an open heart to people easily too which has been good.
Community without the pressure and that respects the individual is where the real awesome possibilities come out. Community that rules by force don't lead to self realization even if you make it to the top. Dangerous tools can definitely make it a whole lot more complicated.
I love watching this place grow cause we all wanna be here.
I'm totally against guns, so I'm happy with Japan's laws.
That said, I've heard numerous times over the years that Japan's gun laws are so strict that their hunters are dwendling and wildlife that once was controlled by hunters is becoming a problems, for example wild boars in some places.
So I guess that's a concern. But still, I'm happier without guns around (and I agree with you: given some of the crazies around here, I don't want to think of what it would look like with easily accessable guns)
Yes! I too have heard the same as they do phycological checks as well as ongoing training and it takes YEARS. I used to see a shot gun shop for hunting here a few years ago in Gunma but I no longer see it, I guess business wasn't good.
Indeed, just the fact that no guns are around puts your mind at ease in public when you really think about it. Even going to clubs here ( when I used to do that) is an entirely different experience.
What really amazes me is the suicide rate, so even with out the guns, there is a silent, invisible killer. Every place has its problems.
Interesting views my bro. I’m glad guns are not readily available here. The thing that bothers me most about crimes here are that they are so random.
I believe that if the powers that be in Jamaica wanted to do something about crime , they would. The people on the hill are often not affected by the violent crimes in Ja - if they are , the police quickly find the perpetrators. As Bob seh , “So much trouble in the world…”
For real, all of a sudden. In Jamaica you know there are certain street rules and places you can avoid and be safe relatively but here, I a man that probably never even talk much just suddenly go psycho and star stabbing people.
I agree, it reach the hill yet but slowly creeping , developing nations really get an unfair deal and the pandemic and gas to the flame. That is why so many people looking for a savior whether Don or Pastor. JAH ALONE!
Good food for thought in this post. Humans do certainly have a tendency for violence in their base, unconscious nature. Raising lots of tiny humans has shown me that many of us work through it as children, even as toddlers, if the environment is set up to teach reasoning and alternatives to violence. Of course, if the childhood is full of violence or harm or a lack of conscious understanding, then the tendency for violence just grows and becomes the norm for an individual to express themselves, whether as a tactic to exert control over a situation or as a lack of control over negative emotions. Then, of course, there's desparation, which can break anyone...and let's not forget the entertainment industry that bombards us with images of violence as a solution to life's problems and at this point often glorifies the villains, or erases the line between being a good guy and a bad guy.
My understanding of Japanese culture has such an emphasis on politeness, composure, and a lack of emotion being displayed, that I can understand there are individuals who completely crack under that kind of pressure. I absolutely love many things about Japan, but allowing oneself to express feelings honestly and openly (in a healthy way, of course) keeps a person from getting to the point of explosion.
As for Jamaica, literally generations of desperation and oppression combine to create a society that sees no other option than to forcibly take what one needs, because it's never going to be given freely. Which is really sad for me to think about, because ultimately there is such a beauty and abundance in Jamaica, it could certainly be sculpted to be Eden if only human ugliness didn't get in the way.
Thanks for stimulating my brain this morning with something other than the teenagers in my house! Much love!!
Good reasoning, childhood is the time when most of our traits are molded and in an environment that is filled with violence it will be hard to brake that mold. Raising kids is a real eye opener as you get to see first hand how personalities are made or naturally occur. Oh lord the entertainment industry, I can admit that it highly influenced me as a teen so when people say it doesn't, they really don't know what they are talking about. And the more desperate of situation one is in, makes the mind more impressionable.
It is definitely the biggest problem
I see here in Japan, people don’t express how they feel and then you see headlines like the one in my post or hear that the
trains have stopped because someone has committed suicide. Jumping in front of a train takes a different level of bravery mixed with depression and can also be seen as spiteful as the family has to pay for the expenses.
As they say in Jamaica “Jamaica is not a real place”. So many social issues with roots stemming back to slavery, mixed with the poverty, politics, ignorance, classism and then the media influence has created something that will take generations to fix. So much beauty indeed and many are waking up to that fact as the Chinese and Indians take advantage. But better days will come.