Is it because I have little to say? No. I wrote a blog and buried it, because instead of whining about a local political issue, I decided to make direct contact with someone concerned hoping to effect change more directly. We'll see how that goes. At any rate, I'll be talking about appropriate responses to Virginia Tech at the upcoming AWP Conference in New York, and I'll have more to say later.
I have a few other ideas, fits and starts of them, but I need some pictures for a couple of them.
Local band Ninja Gun is having success getting songs on Friday Night Lights. I'd give them some kudos, but I hate that word. So, ya'll will have to accept my mere congratulations.
Oh, and vote for Night Driving in Small Towns, our local Rolling Stone-approved indie/blugrass band selected as a finalist in zigzaglive's contest. Hit the "Vote for Bands" button and vote for their song "Cast Your Love Around." Do it now. Both of you.
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11 comments:
All done. I cast my vote around.
You rock, Queen!
I thought you had slowed down blogging because you're old and cranky....
Oh, George, he's been old and cranky for aaages now. ;P (Sorry, Dad -- I couldn't pass the opportunity up!)
Hey, old and cranky people always have something to say. True, it's always the same damn thing, but . . .
And it takes someone old and cranky to call out another person for the same....
Well, I wasn't going to say anything. . . . Then again, cranky's the new cool.
Whining about local issues?
At my old school, a student was recently suspended because she disrupted a class. Her disruption was caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She had been sexually abused for years. Something that happened in a class triggered a flashback. She freaked out.
My old school seems insensitive to me. But the response of the university was to follow a procedure, take the student to the judicial affairs board, give the student the opportunity to discuss and explain.
The student was given some kind of day in court. The student wasn't simply expelled.
Do students deserve their day in court?
In a post 9/11 world?
Who knows?
Yes, they do, John. 9/11 only changed things for people who allow themselves to be terrorized. The war on terror ends when we refuse to be terrorized. Fear? Sure, but we can't overreact. Overreactions following Virginia Tech are happening all over the country, but I suspect most are happening to bolster the appearance of campus security rather than making anyone more truly secure. What's happening here may be the same, but it will have its day in court. The student in question, I understand, has been taken on by the ACLU. I've written earlier in this blog that people like Cho at VTech "happen" from time to time. It's ridiculous to presume that random insane acts can be avoided. The draconian rules and actions that usually result are dangerous to our principles, and a rational, rather than a terrorized, response should follow.
Random insane acts can't be avoided, but -- as you say -- you want the response to be rational.
When I need a cop to help me, I want one who is cool and professional, one who takes down the necessary information and sets the machinary of justice or assistance spinning.
Certainly. And one who doesn't make judgments either way in advance of the evidence.
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