Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:54 — 4.5MB) | Embed
Prior to this recording, I had never been to a school board meeting. I walked in and sat down for a few minutes and listed some bullet points on a notecard in the few minutes prior to speaking. I had thought very little in terms of what I would say. The feeling in my body was shakiness and fear, which was driven by a moralistic and antiquated sense that I was “doing something wrong.” Speaking truth in the face of fear is an aspect of courage. Moving toward pain and suffering builds courage.
The gentleman who spoke prior to me at the school board meeting seemed angry and agitated (I was sitting directly behind him, so I didn’t have a good vista). So, I told the board I wanted to talk about what he was expressing: despair and agitation. Combing these two things leads to violence, which is the relinquishment of responsibility for dealing with a problem (e.g., what mass shooters do). The U.S. school system is not dealing with the problem of school shootings. Society is utilizing a passivity strategy called Overadapting. For example, bullet proof glass, armed security, mass shooter drills, mental health treatment, and threat assessments appear “active-looking.” However, the goal of the mass shooter is terror, so the behavior is an adaptation to the mass shooter’s goal. Thinking rationally with others (community) and confronting this issue with courage is dealing with the problem.
You can view and listen to the video of me speaking in the link below.
Link to School Board Meeting video (I begin at about 11 minutes into the meeting): http://mankatoaps.swagit.com/play/03212023-613/#0
Visit MankatoTherapist.com for more information and to contact Andrew Archer.