Monday, June 20, 2011

Civility and Problem Solving

I like to check in on the Drudge Report as Matt Drudge is one of the best news aggregators out there--he is particularly helpful with international news and economic news and views. On the domestic front, he can major on the sensational and the gloomy. He was the one that put together all the reports of criminal mob behavior, and lately he's been majoring on copper theft--our nation eating itself. I wasn't surprised then to find the depressing story of someone in California poisoning a neighbor's overly barky dogs on the listing today.

But it wasn't the story itself that got to me, it was the comments! There were a lot of people reading that news story who were more than willing to kill someone else's pet because they did not like what it was doing. The more I thought about it, the more disturbed I got. Many of the would-be dog killers felt that they had no alternative but to kill a barking dog to get resolution of the noise problem. Going to the owner--no, didn't work. Going to the city--no, didn't work. Only killing what basically is an innocent party would work. The anger--and helplessness--in the comments was scary to read. I began to wonder if we are being held prisoner by our anger and helplessness against our own uncivil behavior!

It just seems as if the social graces that used to lubricate daily life have become, at the very least, extremely rare. Furthermore, it seems as if the volume on rude and self centered behavior gets turned up every day, until it reaches the "10" of unruly mobs of people tearing stuff up and committing criminal acts in public spaces. Further, we seem helpless to stop this tide of rudeness and inconsideration that seems to signal changes for the worse in American culture and public life.

I am not sure if the rule of law is being used properly to come against this tide of uncivil behavior in our nation. If neighbors cannot work out the noisy dog issue, city ordinances should be enforced. But then they are not and there is frustration on the violated person's part. This causes escalation and anger. The mobs of kids are handled, not with firm application of laws against assault, vandalism, disorderly conduct, curfew violations etc. but with kid gloves, not holding either minor or parent responsible. One of these days, one of these mobs will bother the wrong person, and there will be dead kids.

Can we stem the tide of uncivil behavior? We all hate it, and many of us recognize it for the corrosive nasty thing that it is. However, stopping it is hard work. If you chose not to retaliate, you are seen as weak. You got to start somewhere to stop this chain of escalating helplessness and anger. Before long we will be fighting and killing each other even more over meaningless crap.

11 comments:

chuck said...

"Can we stem the tide of uncivil behavior?"

No.

The tide of uncivil behaviour is culturally based for the most part, excused and ignored baased on skin color.

Violence is the ONLY thing mobs of pukes understand.

Extreme violence is an even better teaching tool for these folks.

Thugs are generally smarter than your dog, and maybe a dolphin. They have, been conditioned for generations to expect special consideration for their "protected class" status, and no consequences for "uncivil" behaviour.

America lacks the will power to stop this behaviour.

Bob G. said...

T.O>:
Believe it or not, CHUCK makes some EXCELLENT points.
I see it daily in my ghettohood.
Unfortunately, you can't honestly legislate behavior...just the methods to ACHIEVE the predictable results, as we see today.

When people get "the free pass" to do whatever to whomever whenever they feel the desire well up in them, that spells TROUBLE with a capital *T*!

ANd for every single generation that slips further DOWN the evolutionary ladder, it will take at laest THREE subsequent ones to reverse the trend.

That's just what anyone can see in our society.

When you design a system that foregoes civuility, morality, ethical behavior and the like, there's not much left of anything called a republic OR a democracy.

Fantastic post that is only TOO relevent today.
We can hope, and we can petition, and we can do what we need to do to change the tide of rising incivility among US.

Stay safe out there.

bigsteveno said...

The article advocates civility, and the first response advocates "extreme violence" as a solution. Unbelievable.

The Observer said...

to even have a chance, we have to look outside ourselves and quit being so selfish and self absorbed. Ask me on any given day and my optimism/pessimism goes up and down.

I could have mentioned race of the gangs, but I think the culture is less black and more entitlement. I've seen the entitlement culture in white folks when I lived in lily white Vermont. Don't worry, the generational entitlement mentality has taken root in the Green Mtn State. Crime in Vt is very different now then in the 1970s...

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone.
the Observer

chuck said...

bigsteveno,

Extreme Violence with a captial E and capital V., with Extreme Prejudice.

Sorry it has come to that, but at this point quoting the bible and turning your other cheek to an animal who is gong to kill you, is insane.

My prediction, sad and pessimistic, is more violence from African Americans, in the urban community and out of the urban community, until there is violent force to stop it.

Go ahead and call me a racist.

You are conditioned by the media and your peers to see any comment like mine as racist. That is ok.

The next time your watching Animal Planet, check out the Hyenas.

Voracious killing machines who fill any vacuum on the veltd with blood and death.

Lets just say the Kudu is wearing FUBU, turns the other cheek and has Psalm 7:16 stenciled on his hide, he is meat. Nothing more than meat.

Don't get me wrong. I think guys like me are in the minority (Metaphorically now, literally in a few years), and, in fact, the hordes of animals and thugs that we now see running the streets will eventually win.

Our future is, Johannesburg.

bigsteveno said...

"Go ahead and call me a racist."

You're a racist, Chuck. There's no point in wasting any more time on you than agreeing with you on that.

chuck said...

Thats the usual knee jerk reaction to the truth.

Always go to the "Narrative".

Make excuses and look the other way.

Calling someone a racist is so common now, it doesn't even qualify as an ad hominem insult.

weak...

chuck said...

Hey bigsteno--

Check out the TODAY SHOW

http://www.thestate.com/2011/06/28/1877333/five-points-beating-victim-family.html

THIS, the beating of some white boy, with 4 inch arms, on his way to his mom's house, by 8, count 'em stevio, 8 African Americans, for NOTHING other than being WHITE!!

CK out Today.com with the key words Carter Strange and then gimme a holla moron.

Check out Channon Christainson.

Black on white crime: MUrder-50 to 1 and thats NOT per capita.

RAPE black on white is 565 to one, NOT per captia.

African Americans are 20% of the population, so per capita, it is MURDER 250 to 1.

RAPE 2000 to one.

There is your "raicst" accustions, which in fact are, WHY ARE'NT YOU WHITE PEOPLE DUMBER?!?!?!

IT REALLY PISSES US OFF WHEN WE CAN'T KILL, RAPE, AND STEAL< WITHOUT GETTING A BAD NAME.

Hey stevio, maybe you could start escorting us poor dumn "racists" home to our moms.

Moron

chuck said...

Extreme violence, when faced with retarded thugs, IS THE ONLY ANSWER!!

EXTREME VIOLENCE would have saved that kid.

Take that Pollyanna crap, and stuff it up Al Sharpton's ass.

If white folks wanna lay down, and get their families raped, killed, robbed, then the gutless cowards deserve it.

bigsteveno said...

At least you know you're a poor "dumn" [sic] racist. Go public with this so all your friends know too. Let us know how that works out for you.

The Observer said...

Holy crap.

Wow.

Cool.

There are nuances, but here is this blog owners' basic view: Lawbreakers can't be tolerated. Without the rule of law, this is Bosnia or Zimbabwe around here. No class can be protected from people enforcing civil order and/or protecting life and property. If police won't do it, an enraged citizenry will do it themselves. Thus...NO PC...NO PROTECTED CLASSES...all lawbreakers will be dealt with like the lawbreakers they are. Our government has to stop coddling violent lawbreakers, worrying about offending some group, and see to it that they are caught and confined, whatever their group membership. The emphasis should be on violent offenders, and repeat property criminals. It would be better to treat drug/ETOH abusers rather than jailing them, unless they prove especially stupid and hard headed about their addictions.

Enforce the law evenly across groups at all times for all crimes, as best as humanly possible. Start holding everyone responsible for their own actions.

Regardless of skin color.

The Observer

Now you may go back to talking among yourselves, if you are still talking :)