I wish I could say I was surprised
Here's a little taste penned by L. J. Williamson:
ONE SUNNY afternoon as our children played nearby, I asked a neighbor at what age she would allow her son to bicycle around the block by himself.
"I don't think I would ever do that," she replied. "The world is a very different place now than it was when we were growing up."
Did she really think the number of child molesters and kidnappers in the world had increased in the last 20 or 30 years, I asked? "Oh, yes, I think it is increasing. Because of the Internet."
Damn. You mean the common man is rabidly engaging in a hysterical fear-wank-fest?! Say it ain't so. I wish I could say this is aberrant. I wish I could point out that people are not being programmed to exhibit a terror-anxiety response at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, that isn't the case.
Schools are riddled with various policies now borne from mindless fear. Any kid that vents frustration or angst in violent terms verbally, in writing, or even pictures will go under the microscope. Mandatory counseling, possible suspension, or even police involvement will face the child/teen. Why? Because everyone is terrified of an armed school kid. Forget the fact it's a rare occurrence, especially if it wasn't being constantly pumped into the child's head as viable course of action, it feels too scary to ignore.
Now schools are exerting pressure to keep students from riding bicycles or walking to school because child predators exist?! Great. What's next? Lifeguards in bathrooms just in case a rabid grey squirrel surfaces in a toilet? Banning cars on city streets because drunk drivers are statistically on the roads at any given moment?
It's not just children however. Nope. How much of the gun control debate is predicated on the fear that some undesirable is going to get their hands on a firearm? How much privacy do you give up to travel by air because of the anxiety that someone nefarious will be bent on wreaking havoc?
Oh gee. I work at a porn store. Watch the neighborhood crumble. How can anyone be safe when any adult can walk in and purchase a movie of explicit sexual acts? Oh the humanity. Obviously the place is just crawling with rapists and various sexual offenders if the public wisdom is to be believed. And we all know that large groups of people are infallible, never prone to hysteria, never prone to emotional sway.
Fuck truth. The truth can be cold and uncomfortable. The feeling of truth though, that makes everyone all safe and secure. Can't you see all the millions of people cavorting with ever increasing senses of ease and trust?
Feh!
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