<p> There are many around the world who might have recollections of having a toy gun pointed at them, quite often with the accompanying sound effects. There are some among us, who might even have childhood memories of that gun shooting out a pellet and causing injuries, probably laying in one’s mind a healthy aversion to the pointing of even a toy gun in one’s direction. </p>.<p>Seeing what is happening in the world around us today, it’s hard not to speculate about violence, the use of weapons and whether the militarization of the mind starts in one’s childhood, with the use of a toy gun. Today’s children are even more exposed than those from previous generations, as those toy guns have become much more sophisticated, not to mention the kind of violence that is now being shown on television, with little or no censorship as far as children go.</p>.<p>Parents too seem to have internalised violence so deeply through all the exposure to killings, death and destruction that violence almost seems heroic and something to be celebrated. This kind of a notion naturally passes on to their children too, as they become privy to such discussions at home.</p>.<p>Those of us who responded with pacifism and anxiety over civilian deaths across the border were looked upon as strange creatures, who had no loyalty towards the country which had recently gone to war to protect its borders and its people from external intruders, capable of extreme cruelty towards innocent civilians. </p>.<p>Militarisation of the mind is probably what we are seeing in the world around today when so-called leaders are defying <br>international law, strictures from the International Criminal Court and raining down bombs, moving from one country to another, with impunity.</p>.<p>It’s almost certain that these leaders must have played with toy guns, but they need to be reminded that the sophisticated weaponry that they are using are not toys and can maim and kill and leave one psychologically damaged forever, most of all children. The poor children of Gaza and also Iran may not have played with toy guns but are now subject to becoming victims of real weapons.</p>.<p>It’s ironic how America, even after its failed warmongering in Vietnam and its toppling down of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, in search of non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, has no hesitation in using similar weapons against other countries, the latest being Iran.</p>.<p>Trump calling Iran the bully of the Middle East sounds hollow coming from the bully of the world. Fancy making innumerable claims to ending the India-Pakistan conflict and then joining Israel in an unjust war over the elimination of Iran’s nuclear programme. For peace-lovers across the world, this can only bring a sense of déjà vu, as Trump speaks of regime change. How did the regime change help Iraq, which is still in shambles? </p>.<p>Watching the debates in the UK House of Commons and the condemnation of Iran’s nuclear programme again makes you question the hypocrisy of the West. Why are the US and Israel allowed to possess nuclear weapons whilst Iran must be stopped, even if it’s bombed to smithereens in the process.</p>.<p>During the invasion of Iraq, many British citizens marched in their towns, holding placards saying, “Not in my name.” Tony Blair was then named George Bush’s Poodle, for involving the country in an unjust invasion, when Bush made the infamous statement, “You are either with us, or against us.” Keir Starmer might soon be landing with a similar nickname, as he has already stooped to conquer, by bending down to pick up the trade deal papers that Trump dropped, when the two met at the recent G7 Summit.</p>.<p>Trump is certainly not the first among America’s Presidents to poke his nose in the affairs of other countries including toppling legally elected leaders, when they thought that these would not be friendly to the US. Trump could well ask the past crop of American Presidents and President-elects who may now be ready to condemn him, “But haven’t you been there and done that too?” In their silence over America’s tacit and active support of the bombardment in Gaza, the arrests of university students who speak up for Palestine and the sacking of teachers who supported them, America’s leaders have clearly revealed their hypocritical stand on democracy and human rights. </p>.<p>Yet in the cacophony of the noise created by the Big Boys who have not grown up enough to realize that they are no longer dealing with toys, one can only hope that there are individuals who will stand up for peace across the world and say, “Not in my name.”</p>.<p><em>(The author is an independent writer)</em></p>
<p> There are many around the world who might have recollections of having a toy gun pointed at them, quite often with the accompanying sound effects. There are some among us, who might even have childhood memories of that gun shooting out a pellet and causing injuries, probably laying in one’s mind a healthy aversion to the pointing of even a toy gun in one’s direction. </p>.<p>Seeing what is happening in the world around us today, it’s hard not to speculate about violence, the use of weapons and whether the militarization of the mind starts in one’s childhood, with the use of a toy gun. Today’s children are even more exposed than those from previous generations, as those toy guns have become much more sophisticated, not to mention the kind of violence that is now being shown on television, with little or no censorship as far as children go.</p>.<p>Parents too seem to have internalised violence so deeply through all the exposure to killings, death and destruction that violence almost seems heroic and something to be celebrated. This kind of a notion naturally passes on to their children too, as they become privy to such discussions at home.</p>.<p>Those of us who responded with pacifism and anxiety over civilian deaths across the border were looked upon as strange creatures, who had no loyalty towards the country which had recently gone to war to protect its borders and its people from external intruders, capable of extreme cruelty towards innocent civilians. </p>.<p>Militarisation of the mind is probably what we are seeing in the world around today when so-called leaders are defying <br>international law, strictures from the International Criminal Court and raining down bombs, moving from one country to another, with impunity.</p>.<p>It’s almost certain that these leaders must have played with toy guns, but they need to be reminded that the sophisticated weaponry that they are using are not toys and can maim and kill and leave one psychologically damaged forever, most of all children. The poor children of Gaza and also Iran may not have played with toy guns but are now subject to becoming victims of real weapons.</p>.<p>It’s ironic how America, even after its failed warmongering in Vietnam and its toppling down of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, in search of non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, has no hesitation in using similar weapons against other countries, the latest being Iran.</p>.<p>Trump calling Iran the bully of the Middle East sounds hollow coming from the bully of the world. Fancy making innumerable claims to ending the India-Pakistan conflict and then joining Israel in an unjust war over the elimination of Iran’s nuclear programme. For peace-lovers across the world, this can only bring a sense of déjà vu, as Trump speaks of regime change. How did the regime change help Iraq, which is still in shambles? </p>.<p>Watching the debates in the UK House of Commons and the condemnation of Iran’s nuclear programme again makes you question the hypocrisy of the West. Why are the US and Israel allowed to possess nuclear weapons whilst Iran must be stopped, even if it’s bombed to smithereens in the process.</p>.<p>During the invasion of Iraq, many British citizens marched in their towns, holding placards saying, “Not in my name.” Tony Blair was then named George Bush’s Poodle, for involving the country in an unjust invasion, when Bush made the infamous statement, “You are either with us, or against us.” Keir Starmer might soon be landing with a similar nickname, as he has already stooped to conquer, by bending down to pick up the trade deal papers that Trump dropped, when the two met at the recent G7 Summit.</p>.<p>Trump is certainly not the first among America’s Presidents to poke his nose in the affairs of other countries including toppling legally elected leaders, when they thought that these would not be friendly to the US. Trump could well ask the past crop of American Presidents and President-elects who may now be ready to condemn him, “But haven’t you been there and done that too?” In their silence over America’s tacit and active support of the bombardment in Gaza, the arrests of university students who speak up for Palestine and the sacking of teachers who supported them, America’s leaders have clearly revealed their hypocritical stand on democracy and human rights. </p>.<p>Yet in the cacophony of the noise created by the Big Boys who have not grown up enough to realize that they are no longer dealing with toys, one can only hope that there are individuals who will stand up for peace across the world and say, “Not in my name.”</p>.<p><em>(The author is an independent writer)</em></p>
