Episode 43

43: Die by the Sword

Published on: 26th April, 2021

Die by the Sword: Violence and the Arms Trade

(00:00) Intro and T-shirts

(04:58) The News: Christophe, Sean, and Joe react to the Derek Chauvin verdict.

(08:11) Joe Occhipinti summarizes his new article on The Radical Secular blog, "The Politics of Reflection."

(12:18) How we react to a victory in the social justice fight, remaining committed to long term goals, while taking the emotional space to celebrate.

(17:15)The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

(21:49) The tragic shooting of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio.

(29:18) The global arms trade: The world spends about $3 trillion dollars per year on armaments. A lot of those arms are domestically manufactured by the world’s military powers. The arms trade refers to governments and their respective arms manufacturers selling weapons to other nations and factions. And the current number comes to about $200 billion per year for all nations. During the period from 2007 to 2017, the US share of arms transfers made up 79.5% of the world’s total.

(36:52) The connection between US arms shipments, terror, war crimes and atrocities. Saudi Arabia and the war in Yemen.

(46:28) Historical malfeasance: American arms sales to the Confederate Army before and during the Civil War. American financial aid helped created the conditions for the Bolshevik Revolution.

(52:15) Treason by American corporations during World War 2, IBM and the Holocaust, GM and Ford built vehicles and weapons for the Nazis.

(01:01:56) Deep Space Nine episode "Business as Usual" explores the arms trade.

(01:06:06) The chickens of America's arms trade have come home to roost. US gun violence since 1968 has killed more people than died in all of America's wars, since the nation's founding--1.65 million. Small arms sales and the political takeover of the Republican Party by arms merchants within the United States facilitates mass shootings and the second Civil War.

(01:15:10) The impact of mass shootings on the psychology of children.

(01:20:14) Summary & Outro

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Show notes:

The Hobbesian Trap

The Politics of Reflection by Joe Occhipinti

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

Police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant

Global arms trade is...nearly 200 billion...the US drives nearly 80% of it

Ending world hunger by 2030 would cost $330bn, study finds

American Weapons in the Wrong Hands

America’s Civil War: Arming the South With Guns From the North