Things that strain your sense of sympathy and/or concern:
1.
The “reality” shows that pit man against nature
in some barbaric contest. Examples might include the “The Deadliest Catch”,
“Man Against Wild” and the filming of idiocies such as “Grizzly Man.” Where is
the sympathy and concern for the poor camera man/crew who do all the same
things, are exposed to the same deprivations and dangers, and do it while recording the actions of the
hero? As tough as “Bear”Grylls may be, the cat who films him has a harder job.
2.
In the case of the “Grizzly Man”, Timothy
Treadwell, who ended up as the texture in bear turds (yeah, literally) why
waste sympathy on such an imbecile? He certainly was aware of the dangers
inherent in dealing with these animals at close range before he became simply
another nutrient. Treadwell was repeatedly warned by (Katmai National) park
officials that his interaction with the bears was unsafe to both him and to the
bears. "At best, he's misguided," Deb Liggett, superintendent at
Katmai and Lake Clark national parks, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2001.
"At worst, he's dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that
ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk." Treadwell filmed his
exploits, and used the films to raise public awareness of the problems faced by
bears in North America. In 2003, at the end of his 13th visit, he and his
girlfriend Amie Huguenard were attacked, killed, and partially eaten by a bear;
the events which led to the attack are unknown. By the way, the “dangers” Treadwell
referred to were simply not a factor to the grizzlies of Katmai, who were
delighted to see another item on the buffet!
3. North Korea has detained yet another incredibly
stupid American. This young man (Matthew Todd Miller,24) apparently tore up his
tourist visa and claimed sanctuary/asylum, or whatever they call it these days.
The fact that he was immediately arrested by North Korean authorities may well
indicate their assumption that any person claiming asylum in their god forsaken
hell hole, is demonstrably either insane or a spy. A corollary to this action
is the behavior exhibited by those “missionaries” stupid enough to go to this
rogue state and openly defy authorities there while disrespecting their
religion, which predates Christianity by about 600 years. In like manner, there are already several
western “missionaries” whose need to tell others of their theological errors
overcame common sense and the repeated warnings of governments, friendly and
hostile, and led them to North Korea, where they languish in the Kim’s
totalitarian nightmare. Sympathy for these loonies is wasted.
4.
And finally, what of “poor” Cliven Bundy, hero
to the lunatic right until they realized his racist attitude might cost them
votes if they continued supporting his idiot and criminal acts. Facts in his
case are as follows: Cliven Bundy is a
rancher in Nevada who grazes his cattle on public land. Not his land, not
“Nevada’s land” as he and his sycophants charge, but your and my land – Public
Land of the USA. 20 years ago the rules regarding grazing on public lands
changed, a deed done by a Republican Congress and a Democratic President, but
tracing its roots all the way back to the first US Government under the
Articles of Confederation. Current laws regarding grazing on these lands trace
to the Depression, when desecration of these lands by overgrazing and poor
farming practices helped create the “Dust Bowl” and all its accompanying
misery. In 1946, responsibility for responsibly managing (and conserving )
these lands was rolled into one Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A requirement
of the program was that ranchers wishing to graze on public lands would apply
for leases and pay for grazing rights. Over time, ranchers, especially more
affluent ones began to dominate the process such that the regulators were being
more regulated (good leases going to the same influential families over and
over) than those whom they were assigned to serve and regulate. So the rules
were changed to require leases to be bought as usual and to be renewed every
ten years.
The
current dispute began in 1993 when grazing rules were changed and Bundy refused
to pay the new bills to the US government for his cattle grazing on
BLM-administered lands near Bunkerville, Nevada. Bundy was eventually prohibited
from grazing his cattle on the Bunkerville Allotment by an order issued in 1998
by the United States District Court for the District of Nevada in United States
v. Bundy. (He refused to abide by the rules his neighbors obeyed!) The BLM
complaint was supplemented when in July 2013 the George Court ordered that
Bundy refrain from trespass on federally administered land in the Gold Butte,
Nevada area in Clark County. After about 15 years of repeated violations of
multiple court orders, in early April 2014,
the BLM began rounding up Bundy's cattle that were trespassing on the
land. While they were doing so, they were confronted by protesters and armed
supporters of Bundy. The government
backed off and Bundy became the flavor of the month, garnering support for his
lawlessness from other like minded persons who believe the law is inapplicable
to them.
Of special note is the manner in which Faux
News, led by Hannity decried the rule of law in favor of this scofflaw (Bundy).
Senators aligned themselves either on the side of Bundy, or the side of the
law. Nevada Senator Harry Reid(D) decried Bundy’s actions as illegal and his
ever more inflammatory rhetoric as essentially homegrown terrorism. This was a
bit strong, as “frontier loudmouth shitkicking lawbreaker” was more apt. The
Republican Senator from Nevada, Dean Heller, meanwhile hailed Bundy as a
patriot. What fell off the table here was the fact that Bundy had once paid
grazing fees and simply stopped doing so about 21 years ago. In my humble
estimation, 21 years is a lot of patience on the part of the BLM considering
the flood of court orders ignored by Bundy. It’s important to understand that what Bundy
basically believes (He doesn’t, but he says he does) is analogous to me living
in Hagerstown, Md, raising cattle with the belief that I should just be able
to herd them to City Park to graze. Moreover, even if another rancher was
paying for the right to graze there and I wasn’t, I should still be able to get
away with it.
Fast forward to the last several days when
the grand dragon took off his sheet, and lo and behold, it was Cliven Bundy! I
am only symbolically calling him a klansman, but will literally brand him a
racist. He has gone so far as to blame Martin Luther King, Jr. for the
lamentable (to Bundy) fact that he can no longer properly use racial epithets.
The skid marks of Tea Baggers and others including Hannity, trying to distance
themselves from these remarks, and in most cases, from Bundy, are awesome to
behold. He has been revealed, finally, as have the vast bulk of far rightists
when the sheets come off, as simply another racist redneck. What troubles me is
that Bundy’s Congressional supporters believe that they can separate and
compartmentalize his actions and attitudes , separating his concept of
“liberty”(which it ain’t) for the white rancher from his absolute disdain for
the same rights for persons of color.
No comments:
Post a Comment