the next best thing since bread

Happy New Years Everyone. First off, hope you awoke to those pretty birds singing. But can you tell me this, can you tell me if you do feel the resolution ticking into your vacant brains? When napping, I awoke and for one too many hours in a row and I had these snap attacks, trying to justify to my partner, in a backwards reminiscent sort of way. The past being what it was and the future as the present. Try not to forget it I’d try to swing. But faced with the begging question, “What does that mean?” I’d just shut up with the holes that are pointless to explain. I came to wonder, does this mean that everything random that happens to us, is like that of experiencing the feeling of a rush, or exhiliration? Isn't randomness that makes us human?

The Oxford Dictionary definition of the word random is "made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision". Random actions/situations/thoughts can influence serious change in our lives. Could decisions I make today really influence the outcomes of tomorrow, or is it the random events that occur in my day that truly influence the outcomes of my life, and in general. I decided to do a bit more investigation into this idea. I thought of some examples about how something random, can affect people's lives.

Scenario 1: You're walking down the street and you trip over an object that wasn't meant to be there, like a piece of lead pipe that just happened to fall from the scaffolding above just as you were checking out the person walking past you. Who knows. So you trip over this piece of pipe and a stranger helps you up. That stranger introduces themselves and there's an instant connection, you then remain friends/lovers/etc for the rest of your life. Question: are any of these actions truly random? The lead pipe fell because of a careless worker, you tripped because you are a day dreamer, the person walking towards you had a horoscope that day that said "you will meet the person of your dreams".

Okay. A little sappy, but isn't that how randomness is portrayed in movies? Scenario 2: It's late at night, you're a bus driver working your usual route. You stop at a normal stop, all of a sudden 3 people jump onto your bus running for cover from a gun fight. You drive this route, stop at that stop every day. But tonight, you get shot in the face by a stray bullet meant for someone else. Was this random, was this a coincidence? Some might say, you agreed to work on a dangerous route. The gun fight was a product of a failure by our education, judicial and policing systems (Apopros, this event isn’t as far from the truth. I’ll get back to it soon enough).

After that. I decided to do a little bit more investigation into this word that has me so puzzled. I decided to Google the word "random", because what better a source for some answers then the most random collection of random things, but an internet search engine, where the lines between fiction, reality, truth and lies sometimes get completely blurred. (Ok, you are right sometimes. I can come across as dramatic). Back on track. The Google search came up with 279,000,000 hits for the word random. The selections that came up were equally eclectic. From random number generations, to Random acts of Reality, to Random House publishing, and I could go on. I decide I'm going to look at 2 random sites, on 2 random pages. Decided by the first 2 numbers that popped into my head (random? Or was it meant to be?). In looking at theses sites, the one a blog that depicts random events occurring to a white collar describing his work, again depicting that these random events in some way were tied together.

That was the conclusion I came to.. That all these "random" events are tied together by personal connections, linked by personal feelings, spread by people's storytelling. Meaning that nothing can truly happen without cause because there will always be a consequence for a "random" thing. And so, "random" is redundant because of its human connections.

So back to what we said today about random events changing lives. Maybe they do change lives, but for a reason. And who are we to criticize that occurrence, because no matter what the conclusion, at least we learn something from it. And, here we are. What more can we cognitive selves ask for?
Back to what I wanted to continue. There has been a recent rash of gun violence. And in Toronto, as early this morning yet another person died of apparent gunshot wounds. We can tell you that nothing involving a gun is pleasant. And fuck hunting, there's no point to that anymore, so get that shitty argument out of my face.

Anyway, I looked at Canada's gun laws today and I also looked at a few sites that detailed different kinds of handguns and their potential uses. Personally I think all handguns should be banned world-wide with the exception of the ones issued to Police officers and certain other security persons, but in Canada, medium and long barreled guns are still legal for hunting, and....well almost anything goes with those "I need it for self-protection" gurus.

Take a look at this site which details different guns and their uses, pay careful attention to the language being used, is it not scary? Will this comfortable abandonment of our humanity ever find itself weary of such trends? We must believe in the possibility that when we feel helpless amidst the workings of this world, we have not entirely been drained of the realization that we can, and must, demand more of ourselves.