Looking At The News From An Inappropriate Angle; Or, Why The World Seems Crazy
They announced today the arrest of a man in connection with threats against Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va). That's always scary stuff--along with the arrest of members of a Michigan militia who think the Antichrist serves on the local police force--but the point that caught my attention was the following passage:
Just how many stray bullets ought one expect to find around a Congressional office? Was this one of Cantor's new Tea Party buddies who got over-excited during a discussion of policy and let off his or her six shooter at random?
You look at people like the Michigan militia, the rebels in the Moscow subway bombings, the people strutting around Washington DC with their guns, urging acts of violence, and sometimes it seems like the world has all gone mad. But the world has seemed like this before.
But god, these people who tout acts of violence are such idiots. I'd love to slap some sense into them. Er, wait . . .
Seriously, who told anyone that acts of violence as a political gesture or a cry for attention was a good idea? It's never worked well for anyone's reputation since the days of Cain, by which I mean the days of Dean Cain as Superman. If you were a jerk in Metropolis who tried to get violent on some innocent citizen, you can bet that Superman would not think highly of you. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want Superman taking a dim view of my actions.
There used to be a group called the Montana Freemen in Darby, with an enclave and everything, who used to be bellicose, 'patriotic,' fighting for freedom, etc. I played soccer with one of them. I suppose they wanted attention, and I guess they got it, but we just thought they were awful human beings. Is that a reputation worth achieving through violent--or should I say terrorist--actions? Is it really worth it, getting a few moments of fame for threatening violence against someone in authority when you have no rational reason for doing so and the consequences must outweigh the rewards?
Then again, that is the question, isn't it, the question of rationality. We are not in an age of rationality, not particularly, at least not according to what I see on the TV.
The sad thing is we are trained to think of violence as an easy fix for everything. And we are trained to think of it as making us more cool.
It's a dangerous moment when you combine that socialization with the mind of someone too deluded or too angry to care that violence will make them seem like a jerk.
[the man] also seemed to refer to a bullet found in Cantor’s office last week and said it will be placed in his head. Richmond Police had originally discounted the bullet as a stray. It is unclear whether the FBI will expand the investigation into the Richmond bullet.
Just how many stray bullets ought one expect to find around a Congressional office? Was this one of Cantor's new Tea Party buddies who got over-excited during a discussion of policy and let off his or her six shooter at random?
You look at people like the Michigan militia, the rebels in the Moscow subway bombings, the people strutting around Washington DC with their guns, urging acts of violence, and sometimes it seems like the world has all gone mad. But the world has seemed like this before.
But god, these people who tout acts of violence are such idiots. I'd love to slap some sense into them. Er, wait . . .
Seriously, who told anyone that acts of violence as a political gesture or a cry for attention was a good idea? It's never worked well for anyone's reputation since the days of Cain, by which I mean the days of Dean Cain as Superman. If you were a jerk in Metropolis who tried to get violent on some innocent citizen, you can bet that Superman would not think highly of you. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want Superman taking a dim view of my actions.
There used to be a group called the Montana Freemen in Darby, with an enclave and everything, who used to be bellicose, 'patriotic,' fighting for freedom, etc. I played soccer with one of them. I suppose they wanted attention, and I guess they got it, but we just thought they were awful human beings. Is that a reputation worth achieving through violent--or should I say terrorist--actions? Is it really worth it, getting a few moments of fame for threatening violence against someone in authority when you have no rational reason for doing so and the consequences must outweigh the rewards?
Then again, that is the question, isn't it, the question of rationality. We are not in an age of rationality, not particularly, at least not according to what I see on the TV.
The sad thing is we are trained to think of violence as an easy fix for everything. And we are trained to think of it as making us more cool.
It's a dangerous moment when you combine that socialization with the mind of someone too deluded or too angry to care that violence will make them seem like a jerk.
posted by Devin at 12:04 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home