Letter: Dunblane

Dear Organise!

The tragedy of Dunblane raises two basic yet connected questions. Handling guns and the role of adults in attending to the needs of children. Both these functions fell into the hands of an unstable man. Bearing arms and herding children are basic functions of the state under capitalism, totalitarian socialism and fascism. Thomas Hamilton sought to emulate those whose kow-towing to the system gives them the right to carry arms and train children.

Both these functions are abusive in themselves and the typical consequence of the need of power structures to produce factory, office and cannon fodder. The fact that institutions that care for the young and old are frequently found to be inadequate should not surprise us. Indifference to humanity is a vital factor in instilling the imperialist mentality.

Capitalism/imperialism thrives on division as in Ulster and in the massacre of Highlanders by Sassanachs in the aftermath of Culloden. Hatred breeds atrocity and imperialism is hatred per se., the thing that Rwanda has in common with Dunblane, where a lone maniac typified the ability of the so-called humane being to kill,

A.A. Edinburgh.

Eds. Reply

This letter raises a number of important points. The worship of profit, particularly in this period when the Golden Calf of the Market, untrammelled and unbridled, is one of the main idols, leads to a cheapening and brutalisation of relations between human beings. The tough businessperson with no emotion is seen as a model. The atomisation of society, the collapse of community and the ever-increasing isolation of individuals, coupled with poverty and unemployment lead to increasingly barbaric behaviour. Alongside this are the examples of mass murder carried out by capitalism (Falklands, Gulf War, the war in ex-Yugoslavia, the massacres in Rwanda) and individual murder and brutalisation carried out by the forces of the State, whether they be cops or soldiers.

Another point is that the increasing privatisation and deregularisation led to a situation where Hamilton, known for his possession of arms and his unstable behaviour, was able to set himself up as an organiser of boys’ clubs. Look at other examples of this social decay in the number of mentally ill thrown out on the streets, in the beating of old people in homes, in the cases of sexual abuse in children’s homes. Dunblane, Hungerford and the Wests, all are paraded as proof that Evil is the explanation for irrational and homicidal acts. Evil , the Original Sin of the Christians, these are trotted out as excuses for the Strong State and Law and Order. Such arguments can be used to counter any idea that we can reach a just and free society.

We say that an irrational world system that permits famines and homelessness produces irrational acts.