Stupidity that Makes Me Mad

OK, stupidity in general makes me angry but here are a few specific things from the past few days. All of these are good examples of things that you just don’t think about happening, they’re so surreal. (And it makes the whole Anthony Weiner thing, which has me furious, seem very insignificant indeed.)

Three arrested, accused of illegally feeding homeless
In Orlando, Fla., three people from Orlando Food Not Bombs were arrested for violating a “city ordinance” by feeding the homeless in Lake Eola Park. Seriously? Yes, seriously. I had to reread the headline to make sure I was reading it right. Then I quickly scanned the story to see if they were giving them some kind of bad food. That wasn’t the case at all.

Apparently, they willfully violated this law following a U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta ruled that city rules regulating how often large groups of people can be fed in a park do not violate the Constitution.

I’m sorry but that’s some f’d up stuff when we arrest people for feeding hungry people. How can this happen in a nation that has so much freakin’ food that 1/3 of us are overweight? What’s next? Citing Boy Scouts for jaywalking when they help little old ladies across the street?

When Vigilante Justice Goes Awry
I sometimes find myself wanting to take matters into my own hands when I feel an injustice has been done. But this story is a grim reminder of what can happen when an angry mob goes after—and then kills – an innocent man.

Bonded Labor: Modern-Day Slavery
Did you think that the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1865? Well, I’m not sure it completely did in the United States, but it definitely didn’t do anything to end it in other parts of the world. Can you imagine having your grandchildren being born with the shackle of your debt – and a small amount at that – locking them in place?

This story is just one example of slavery that is alive and well in South Asia.

I can’t imagine having this be my existence. Life is challenging enough, thankuverymuch.

The common thread in all of these stories are disadvantaged and disenfranchised people. We live in a world that is at the height of selfish behavior and in a country where too much is rapidly becoming the definition of “not enough.” Until we as a country and as a global society, learn to care about “the other guy” as much as we do ourselves none of this will ever change.

There are a lot of evildoers and many injustices in this world. What if we each took just one on, every day, even in some small way?

I’m thinking the world might be a much better place very, very quickly.