What frightens you? For some of us the impenetrable dark of night can be unsettling. Others fear the face of a clown or committing to an idea without total assurances of security. There are many ideas and notions in this world that are potentially alarming and lead down the road of fear. Unfortunately people don’t realize how the emotion of fear can control their future actions and perceptions. Additionally, the sentiment of fear can be used. Fear is a tool the government uses to assert control over people and to direct them down the highway of their own destruction.
Do you remember the school bully? When you saw them, you would deviate from your path in hopes of avoiding a confrontation that could potentially leave you bleeding and penniless. Reasoning with this bully was equally destructive and useless, just when you thought you were making progress and might escape unscathed, he/she would hit you from behind. This bully never cared about your well-being, only about trying to dominate and control you. The by-product of this relationship is that someone is always left in a vulnerable position until a reasonable solution can be found. The school bully cannot be the countenance of fear forever. A solution should always be sought.
Coercion is often used to intimidate and aggressively impose domination. The behaviour of coercion in most circumstances is repeated and habitual. Breaking the cycle of fear and control is not easy. Just ask a bruised and battered woman who tries repeatedly to leave her abusive relationship. The ties are profound and affect more than a single person. In most instances, the abused woman will have to seek shelter from an outside source in order to be safe. The Canadian Government has employed this strategy for hundreds of years and has made great headway leaving the Indigenous populations of Turtle Island in a perpetual state of trepidation.
Anyone who has ever lived on or near a Native reservation can tell you about the difference in attitude and perception shared throughout the community. The difference in attitude and perception is the result of years of marginalization and racial bias that then manifests into an insular social grouping. Residential schools are a prime example of how fear can focus the mind to sacrifice a part to save the life. Through the medium of the Indian Act, Indian Agents would take children from their parents to ‘civilize’ the child. In the Government’s eyes, they were ‘helping’ the native become culturally assimilated to the now dominant non-Native society. Parents were threatened with incarceration if they did not surrender their children for ‘education’. The culmination of these actions by the Indian Agents exemplify the strengths of Fear and Control.
Every body that incorporates the use of bullish behaviour to achieve results which are solely beneficial to them is short-sighted and ignorant. Meaningful dialogue can dramatically change the outcome of inevitability. Fear and control should never be an alternative to reasonability. Appreciation of our intrinsic value and can be the catalyst to new relationships and understanding. Are you listening Canada?
