Somewhere between Bell's Palsy and death
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Humanity at its most raw (or, why I hate people)

When I started reporting in earnest some 5 years ago (Gad, it’s been that long already?), I used to get a kick out of going to meetings and watching residents get all fired up at the council/school board/plan commission/whatever government entity I was covering at the time. They were fighting back against injustice, real or perceived, I thought. Sticking it to THE MAN. I applauded their tenacity, and anyways, it generally made an otherwise dull-as-toast meeting more fun to sit through.

Now? I’d rather shoot myself in the head or knee them all, one by one, in the nuts before sitting through one, especially when there’s going to be a ton of people.

I submit to y’all the meeting I covered tonight: the long-awaited public forum of the muni that got hit the hardest during the Great Flood of ‘06. At least 300 people showed up for it, which no surprise there since 1,700 homes were affected by flooding in some way. Ok, so various officials got up and repeated everything I’ve reported in the last six weeks since the flood, and then a guy from FEMA got up and started talking about flood insurance and the need for it whether you’re in a flood plain or not.

That’s when everyone, as Kaffy would put it in her gentle Southern way, started showing their asses.

You know, I understand that people suffered major damage from this flood; one woman who spoke said the damage to her house will come to $79,700, for example. And I can imagine that dealing with FEMA has been a bureaucratic nightmare. But people. People! Do you really think that heckling the town officials/calling them names/applauding every person who yells their situation because the more forcefully you say it, the better the point is helping? Because it’s not. All you’re doing is making the meeting go 10 times longer and making yourselves look like idiots, not to mention that I can’t hear what I need to report when you’re sitting behind me catcalling to everything anyone who has the floor is saying. And it’s pissing me OFF.

It’s called decorum and civility. Use it, for the love of God.

It is the job of a good person to be honest. To be self-aware. To deliberately explore the fault lines of your character and try desperately to not inflict suffering in this strange, ghost-ridden world of worked and fabricated objects. Sometimes the jobs of writer and good person coincide. But more often they don’t. There are way more writers in the world than there are good people.

100 things
Info meme #1
Typelogic says I'm an INFP.
Check my weekly astrological groove here.

Give it to me, baby.

Pssst ... My birthday's Feb. 3, and I want this, and this, and this ...


The Make-Believe Oral Cancer Foundation (M-BOCF) is now accepting donations on my behalf. Won't you please help those of us who jump to hideous conclusions regarding our oral health and help me get a root canal or two!??:



Save the Net Now



/> Wanna make a bunch of money doing what you're doing right now?

Hey Webmasters! - Make $$$
The AllPosters.com Affiliates Program is a great way to make money with your website. All you have to do is place links on your site to AllPosters.com. When your site visitors click on your links and make purchases at AllPosters.com, you earn 25%-30% of the sale. Sign up today!

Broad said: Like I said, my feelings are complicated on the matter, so ... I’m interested, however, in Her Highness’ thoughts on… ...[go].

Caterina said: ARGH!!! Not to deny you your goddess-given right of reflections and wishing what might-have-beens, but this guy was straight up… ...[go].

Wholovesya? said: By the by, guess who was most nasty about the charitable giving?  The frigging church.  My church and my mom’s… ...[go].

Wholovesya? said: By the by, I’m not the only one I know.  I have friends who work at soup kitchens because they’re… ...[go].

Wholovesya? said: As you know, I was a voyeur to the beginning of this, and I was loving your comment!  I have… ...[go].

powered by
EE Core

script assistance by
scriptygoddess

hosted by
wiredhub

This explains that large bit of type at the top.

Tagline by Ben F'in Mollin, talking about those times you wake up still drunk from the night before.

image




<< chicago blogs >>



Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Support Bloggers' Rights!
Support Bloggers' Rights!






online