The WEED pt. 2
In the last piece, my aim was to discuss what ways a weed may take shape. They could be invasive or toxic, beautiful or neatly hidden underneath the soil. “Life in the weeds” describes the feeling of being outcompeted in your space by a gnawing and overwhelming secondary presence. To consider that the elimination of all “weeds” is only important to humans and detrimental to all other life, we must strike a balance between these competing interests.
Between our own species, human to human, we pour our hard-earned nutrients and energy into growing ourselves. Better yet, the healthy growth of ourselves may lend itself to being helpful for others around us, in a symbiotic relationship. Our differences experienced together lets us realize that the tallest Oak tree, the most grand passionflower, and the resilient Calendula have important roles to play. Are we so different? Could the needs of ourselves be met simultaneously with the needs of others?
Oklahoma experienced two mass shootings within a week of each other. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 233 “mass shootings” have taken place in 2022 alone. Once more, in the eight years of their records being kept 382,902 incidents involving gun violence have occurred in America not including suicide. Math will lead you to 11 incidents of gun violence every day in America for eight years straight. Have we not declared war upon ourselves, neighbors, and children with this fact?
When people are treated like weeds, removed from their roots and environment, we shouldn’t have to look far for thorns. People who commit violence with the power of a gun are no different than a tyrant with the ability to spray Agent Orange over an entire generation of people and plants and country. When we see every problem as a weed, the only tool needed is biocide. When this country encounters an issue, the problem looks like a shooting range target. This is evident in how violence committed inside and outside America is at one point or another, solved by the power of a gun.
If the same government that exports military equipment and support at ⅕ the annual GDP of Ukraine in a matter of moments for a war “we’re not involved in”, what will it actually take to stop violence from the elected officials, reaching the children in our schools and doctors in our hospitals?.
We treat our issues like weeds. A nuisance which only restricts space, thus eradication is the only measure. Our children need to be nurtured towards well minds and mature consciousness. Our adults need to establish that weeds do not exist except in the eyes of that person calling it that. We cannot keep treating our communities like weeds. We cannot accept the casual picking off of our family members due to inconsolable amounts of gun violence.
I love the things we call weeds because there is a certain resilience about the seed germinating in its natural state. Most things we call weeds have a series of lives they support. To remove these plants has to be done with a balance of this life in the weeds by taking in the incredible importance that each member plays when allowed to bloom.
mad love for always
Sources & Further Reading
