Tuesday, July 3, 2007

An Epidemic of Stupid

NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard

I can understand that, can't you? Who would want a sex offender facility in their neighborhood?

Well, apparently many of the Onamians do. Of course, those who have - so generously - offered to have the facility in their backyards don't actually have backyards to put it in. It's easy to say, "Why, I'd be glad to take the little pud-pullers," if there is absolutely no risk that anyone would take you up on it. Think about it... These do-gooders who are supporting the Mille Lacs Academy revel in their self-image of being town heroes (saving all those jobs), compassionate (those "poor troubled boys"), and self-righteous (how dare those Bradbury Idiots be so mean to our "poor troubled boys", calling them SEX OFFENDERS!). The Onamians are taking a stand against those of us opposed to having the sex offender facility in our neighborhood.

I have to confess that part of me admires their ferocity in standing up for what they believe in. The trouble is, do they really know what they are standing up for? Do they really believe? Or have they just been bamboozled into chasing the bandwagon, trying hard to hop on? Aren't they merely acting as pawns for the bandwagon's drivers? The drivers have a large stake in this matter. Money. Lots of it. But of those Onamians who are so angry at the MLA Opposers, few are even involved with the institution itself. Most aren't affected personally; they don't have anything to lose - like their property values, the safety and privacy of their neighborhood, their sense of freedom and autonomy. What they don't realize is that supporting the city's scheme for Mille Lacs Academy is personally detrimental to them. Maybe the light bulb will eventually flip on at tax time, when they certainly will feel the effects. You mean we have to pay for them?

The MLA propaganda has been working it's magic on the Onamia folks. Certainly, that's not difficult to understand when you consider that so many of them voted for George W. Bush not once, but TWICE! Yikes! These well-meaning, malleable patriots, like so many throughout the country, stand hat in hand, patiently in line to get their daily dose of Kool-aid from Fox News. They're outraged by gay marriage, abortion, and Bill Clinton's blow job. They are offended that I would use the term "blow job". (I must be a terrible person...) And whatever you do, don't say the word "fuck". That really gets them mad. Yet, they will defend the juvenile sex offenders, those "poor, troubled boys", (but they shovel snow for the seniors!) apparently unconcerned (or unaware) that those boys aren't baking cookies because they want to. We are not the ones who have labeled them "sex offenders". These young men have been adjudicated through the court system and sentenced to the Mille Lacs Academy for crimes which have caused harm to others. (Hey man, it beats the alternative - prison.) Dare I say it? Some of the leaf-rakers are institutionalized for fucking toddlers. ("They're very well-behaved in church," says Steve Bye.)
Now, I admit it. I think that fucking toddlers is wrong. I'm not ashamed to say so.

If you follow these Onamian's way of thinking, gay marriage is an issue worthy of rewriting our Constitution for, but the homosexual raping of children is O.K. Defend the "poor troubled boy" who participated in the kidnap and repeated rape of a twelve year old girl, yet coldly ignore his victim whose life he has ruined. Force us to welcome him and the other 93 others like him into our neighborhood and if we say "no thank you", we'll be shunned by the community. Do you see why I'm having difficulty here? There is an epidemic of STUPID in this town!

While addressing the Onamia City Council at the just-a-formality-of-some-pesky-law annexation public hearing, knowing that the annexation would pass regardless of our legitimate concerns and complaints, I had signed my written statement with my name, naming myself the Secretary of an imaginary new organization:

Foundation Urging Citizens' Knowledge about Youth Offenders Unleashed

(I don't mind stirring the pot). Actually, I thought it was quite clever and was proud of myself for my restraint. I had considered quoting Vice President Cheney with his highly popular, "Go fuck yourself!", shouting it to the back of the small meeting room, leaving no Onamian unoffended. They are pro-sex offenders but anti-naughty-word offenders. Talk about priorities! Anyway, all I did was give the council back their own euphanism in straight-talk. Like calling a "sanitary engineer" a garbageman... The city council has been telling us "fuck you" every time they say "It's a Done Deal. There's nothing you can do about it," at each because-we-have-to meaningless public hearing, and in each false statement recorded in their newspaper. Of course, the Mille Lacs Messenger reported my acronym in such a way as to manipulate public outrage towards me, and unfortunately towards the innocent OACRG, [Onamia Area Citizens for Responsible Growth], who were not to blame. I was solely the one to blame. :)

The Onamians are wholesome, religious, good Republicans who like to blame - including the local girl who had consensual unprotected sex with the Mille Lacs Academy sex offender who neglected to mention he was HIV positive. He's a "poor troubled boy". She's a slut who got what she deserved. That's the attitude I'm seeing. And to tell you the truth (I always do), I can't believe my own eyes. Can so many people be so stupid? It's hard to forgive the Onamians who base what they believe on what they read in the Mille Lacs Messenger, when so much of what Vivian Clark writes and Kevin Anderson prints is propaganda or just plain incorrect. Sure, many Onamians don't have computers or the Internet (which should explain a lot), but when you're going to champion a cause, especially one which affects the lives of other people, you have a responsibility to research, know the facts, understand the situation. Otherwise you're just regurgitating someone else's agenda. That's not standing up for what you believe.... that's promoting propaganda.

Councilman Bob Mickus says that the "Bradbury Idiots" live with our heads under rocks. I say that the "Onamia Assholes" live with their heads up their butts. Sounds junior highschool, I know. But when in Rome....

How can we cure this epidemic of STUPID in our community? Educating the sick people with Truth is a logical prescription. The problem I see is that they don't want to take the cure. They embrace their sickness. They're proud people. It's so much more exciting to be emotional, to be accusatory, judgemental, to be angry... and to direct hot hate to those of us who hold the Truth in our out-stretched hands, offering Awareness. A good fight gets the blood boiling. And if you can be the puncher instead of the punchee, can gain lots of attention for yourself and get praised to boot, throwing away your rights and freedoms can feel rewarding. Because, that's the bottom line of what the Onamians are doing - handing over their own rights; throwing away their freedom. What is happening to our neighborhood could just as well happen in theirs. And it could just as well happen in your neighborhood too. Allowing the government to do this. Condoning this. It can't get much more stupid than that.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that the bulk of your arguements are about protecting your community, your families, your quiet way of life for you and every one who lives here but as soon as one of your community, your "family" speaks out against your opinion or doesn't agree with your position...You call them stupid and they then no longer belong to your "family" With a parent like you no wonder all the young people are fleeing here like they are on fire.