They are building an elementary school near my house. I’ve seen the design plans; it’s pretty spiffy looking, nice lighting, efficient energy usage and all that. They’re replacing a chunk of wetlands/woods with it. Overcrowding is an issue, as people continue to procreate.
Sounds pretty straightforward. But all is not well in sleepy (industrial) Elkridge. We went to a town hall type meeting on the topic with the Hannas tonight. There, we encountered people who were:
1) Angry
2) Ignorant
3) Outspoken
They were angry about a few different things – traffic, parking, a fence, construction noise, and life in general. Some of their consternation was justified – I, for one, agree that traffic will be an issue. But people have NO concept of how to communicate their concerns effectively. Shrill, repetitive, abrasive, abusive, selfish, over-the-top, and occasionally incoherent – 80% of the comments exhibited one of more of those characteristics. One comment found a way to use the phrase “unmitigated nightmare” twice in one compound sentence (though the second time was referring to her grammar). All and all, there were some decent points – but horrid tone throughout, and completely ineffective.
While there were about 75 people there, most of the comments came from 8ish particularly obnoxious individuals. I get the feeling that these people travel from meeting to meeting, rousing ramble spewing venom to anyone who is held hostage in the forum. It was almost not worth it to try to keep order, no one left happy, and nothing was solved.
While the politicians spoke a lot of typical politician jargon, it was all that the people deserved. We are not fit, as a nation, to govern ourselves. We require representatives who are somewhat less ignorant to make our decisions for us. We would never decide anything, and we’d argue a lot while not deciding it. In that way, our politicians are perfect archetypes for us – they represent the barely repressed hatred of the mob toward civility and compromise.
It was definitely a little depressing to see us in action. But at least it was funny.
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Why We Don’t Have a Direct Democracy
March 13, 2012 by E1st
They are building an elementary school near my house. I’ve seen the design plans; it’s pretty spiffy looking, nice lighting, efficient energy usage and all that. They’re replacing a chunk of wetlands/woods with it. Overcrowding is an issue, as people continue to procreate.
Sounds pretty straightforward. But all is not well in sleepy (industrial) Elkridge. We went to a town hall type meeting on the topic with the Hannas tonight. There, we encountered people who were:
1) Angry
2) Ignorant
3) Outspoken
They were angry about a few different things – traffic, parking, a fence, construction noise, and life in general. Some of their consternation was justified – I, for one, agree that traffic will be an issue. But people have NO concept of how to communicate their concerns effectively. Shrill, repetitive, abrasive, abusive, selfish, over-the-top, and occasionally incoherent – 80% of the comments exhibited one of more of those characteristics. One comment found a way to use the phrase “unmitigated nightmare” twice in one compound sentence (though the second time was referring to her grammar). All and all, there were some decent points – but horrid tone throughout, and completely ineffective.
While there were about 75 people there, most of the comments came from 8ish particularly obnoxious individuals. I get the feeling that these people travel from meeting to meeting, rousing ramble spewing venom to anyone who is held hostage in the forum. It was almost not worth it to try to keep order, no one left happy, and nothing was solved.
While the politicians spoke a lot of typical politician jargon, it was all that the people deserved. We are not fit, as a nation, to govern ourselves. We require representatives who are somewhat less ignorant to make our decisions for us. We would never decide anything, and we’d argue a lot while not deciding it. In that way, our politicians are perfect archetypes for us – they represent the barely repressed hatred of the mob toward civility and compromise.
It was definitely a little depressing to see us in action. But at least it was funny.
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