[Today’s run/walk: 10.25 miles]
I went over to Starkville and ran with Chip. I did the whole route but we walked a few times. The total was 10.25 miles and I expect we ran at least 9 of that.
First politics thing:
So there was a school shooting in Florida. And this week we found out that the professional guardian with a gun was there and he didn’t do anything.
People were all about, “oh no! we can’t let people have guns because they will shoot up the school!”
To which a normal person will answer, “So who protects the kids if a law breaking scum-bag starts shooting?”
“The Police of course! Let the professionals handle these situations.”
“But the Police were there, the only person with a gun, just like you want. And he didn’t do anything.”
Honestly, I’m not for arming teachers. Teachers are already doing too much now. But it doesn’t bother me if some volunteers or some of the school staff want to act as security guards. The whole point is that the police are not a preventative force, they just aren’t. They don’t read minds and they don’t get paid to jump in front of bullets like the Secret Service. One guy who spends his time chasing down bathroom-pot-smokers is not going to be able to guard hundreds of kids in multiple buildings.
The ultimate problem is that people get evil ideas and some people follow through with their evil ideas.
The people who knew this guy in Florida had reported him to the proper authorities and the proper authorities were on the scene and in both cases they dropped the ball. So relying on the proper authorities didn’t work.
Second politics thing:
Students at Mississippi State wanted to have a gay pride parade, which is a new thing in that town, Starkville. I wouldn’t say it is an anti-gay town, the mayor is gay and was elected and seems to be very popular. They are not a big parade-for-every-little-thing kind of town like Chicago or New York. But I hear they do have a parade every once in awhile.
Anyway, the aldermen voted it down, rejected the application for a parade permit. And the students were/are heartbroken, naturally, being kind of snowflake-ish to some degree. And the students now are calling in the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center and whoever else they can find cell numbers for, to come and help them sue the city and make as much trouble as they possibly can… which is the same thing that any other group would do if they got booted in such a manner. Or at least any group that had a statement to make and could round up the support.
The aldermen left by the back door and have refused to give explanation for their votes.
Two comments: It seems to me the mayor would have been a wise politician to suss out the votes before bringing the issue up and making everybody look bad. Even if they should look bad (which I’m not arguing one way or the other about right now), it doesn’t do the town any good to have it all come down this way. There is some speculation that she wanted this confrontation for some reason. That wouldn’t be very mayoral.
Second comment: If they have a process for parade permits, then they should just follow the process. If the KKK or the Nazis or the Boy Scouts want a parade, follow the process and everybody gets their parade. That’s pretty much how our culture works. If something isn’t illegal, and if the right paperwork is done, then the answer is yes. If you don’t want parades then make the process so hard that few groups have the patience or ability (or $$) to get through it.
I don’t know what will happen with the lawsuits or whether or not they will eventually have the parade. I don’t really care. I do think that the apocalyptic statements about how all of the world is now going to hate Starkville, Mississippi because those meany aldermen are such bigots… Get a life. It’s Mississippi. The world already thinks that, and it’s somewhat a point of pride around here to tell the world to go to you-know-where. The #1-Big-Uno problem with trying to act progressive is that you can never do it enough to satisfy everybody. If you’ve been perfect for 10 years, they’ll tell you how you sinned 50 years ago. It’s not a forgiving ideology, it is a cultural cleansing, like the Cultural Revolution in China, they just make you keep being re-educated until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your head down. If anyone actually thinks that Mississippi will rocket up the progressive-approval charts by Starkville having a gay pride parade, that person is seriously delusional.