Greetings and Salutations;

     Well, the record heat and drought gripping the nation has apparently turned what few brain cells we had into burned branches of nothingness.    Just a little while ago, I saw a posting on my FB page decrying the fact that an Internet blogger by the name of Ilana Mercer had written a scathing Blog entry,  decrying the 15 minutes of fame that Karen Klein,  the 68 year old grandmother verbally abused at length while acting as a monitor on a school bus is getting  This incident only came to light because it was recorded by the kids,  and posted on YouTube.  As happens, the video went viral, and caused a lot of reactions.   Having read the story on addictinginfo.org, I was moved to track down Ms. Mercer’s actual blog entry (Click here if you are  interested in seeing it)

     I have to say, several things jumped out at me as I read Ms. Mercer’s Blog entry.    First off, I feel a great deal of pity for Ms. Mercer.   I can only speculate that there must have been some terribly traumatic events befall her in her formative years, for I can see no other reason for her to exhibit such naked self-loathing and misogyny in such a public forum.    Why do I say this, you ask?   There is the fact that she is really fixated and contemptuous of Ms. Klein because she is overweight and old.   Several times in her Blog entry she disrespects  Ms. Klein with contemptuous words about being a “helpless fatty” and such.   Ms. Mercer appears to be rather younger than Ms. Klein, and, although it is a bit hard to tell, is perhaps bordering on anorexically thin.  I would wonder if, in her younger days, she, herself was not the target of bullying because of her weight?      Then, there is the fact that she seems amazingly offended by the fact that Americans – total strangers – have, in an outpouring of sympathy and respect for an elder citizen put in a terrible situation, contributed a huge amount of money for Ms. Klein to use as she pleases.   This speaks to me of a soul that does not understand or believe in compassion and charity.  

     Moving on to a little further into the content of Ms. Mercer’s Blog entry-  Early on, she makes the point in defense of the little monsters, that she states that she believes that respect has to be earned, and, obviously this woman had not earned the respect of those “feral children” harassing her.  I would argue that in a civilized society, basic respect is a starting point, not something that is “earned”.   One may, perhaps,  gain increased respect through one’s actions and, conversely one may throw the respect away by doing evil, spreading bile with their words, and other negative actions that do nothing to build up, and everything to tear down.  My parents, who were –  admittedly – old school, taught me to treat all folks with respect, but especially to respect my elders.   There was no nonsense about those other folk having to EARN my respect!   That lesson has stuck with me for more than 50 years now, and likely will be one of the base rules of living that are still in effect the day I die.  Of course, as noted earlier, I would likely treat the Dali Lama with more respect than I would Bernie Madoff, and specifically for the reasons mentioned!   However, although we are only seeing a slice of time from Ms. Klein’s life, and we have no data on previous interactions (if any) with the little bus monsters, the fact of the matter is,  that if I had treated an adult that way, even at the age of 13,  there would have been serious consequences for me.   I fear, though, that these kids probably had engaged in this contemptable behavior before, and if caught had watched the drama of Mom/Dad jumping all over the complaining party, claiming at the top of their lungs that “my prescious little snowflake could NEVER do anything like THAT”.  That simply enables them to do it again, and, perhaps escalate the violence in the process.   

     Ms. Mercer is listed in her bio on the news site that hosts her blog as a libertarian and liberal.   Nothing wrong with that, and as a matter of fact, I suspect that she and I would agree on a number of issues.  However, I want to point her attention to  an online graphic novel that has some very thoughtful and insightful things to say about society without government.  Titled “Escape From Terra“, it postulates how a true Libertarian society would work.   I would suggest that she, as well as others follow the link and go through the story as it stands, as it is well worth reading.  Not only is the artwork well done, but, it deals with some of the less pleasant and more challenging aspects of living in a Libertarian society, in the process raising some thought-provoking and interesting points.   Since the tale is a fantasy, though, it diverges from our society here and there.   I think it does do an excellent job of showing how people should behave towards each other and how the outliers of society can be dealt with in a positive manner in a society without a governmental infrastructure.   But…I digress…  

     In the same comment wherein she disrespects Ms. Klein for the charity Americans have shown her, she plays fast and loose with reality by implying  that Ms. Klein is going to use the money to go to Disneyland.   The fact of the matter is that  the trip to Disneyland, for 10 people, was a corporate gift, and, is all expenses paid.    I saw the interview with Ms. Klein, where she was overwhelmed by the kindness, and, is planning to take her grandchildren there.  Let me repeat that for emphasis – Ms. Klein is going to Disneyland because she believes it will be a really fun trip for her grandchildren.   I suspect she will find fun things to do there though, because, Disneyland, in their wisdom, has realized that it is important to cater to adults too.    With all due respect, Ms. Mercer really needs to do a bit more research for facts, I think.

     Ms. Mercer then goes on to rant for several paragraphs about the evils of the “nanny state”. She, again, is disrespectful of not only Ms. Klein but the the bus driver as well, saying that they must simply have been afraid of a lawsuit if they did anything.    Ms. Mercer – do not discount the fearsome aspect of a lawsuit in today’s world.   Even WINNING can destroy a person or organization financially, so, it is not a minor irritant to be ignored.   Also a school bus is a very large machine, requiring complete attention in order to be driven safely.   The driver’s job is to ferry the kids around….and the driver has to do this with minimal distractions.

     Ms. Mercer speaks of the concept of “Natural Order”, in an almost worshipful manner.   I do not think those words mean what she thinks they mean, though.  When I think of “Natural Order”, especially in regards to mankind,  I tend to see a bloody and violent arena,  where there is no respect for others, but, rather a deep rooted fear of those other, stronger humans who could easily kill those around them.   I see an arena where there is no loyalty, but, rather is filled with scheming and backstabbing, all in the attempt  to ensure that  “I” am the last person standing, or at least,  “I” have a LOT more goodies than the rest of the folks around me.    Without getting into a huge debate of the “truth” of religion, or the terrible misuse of it through the ages,  I will state that from the beginning, religion has attempted to teach lessons of charity, temperance and respect for all mankind.   If I have a choice between “Natural Order” and “Divine Law”, or even “Positive Law”, I would take either of the latter two in a heartbeat.    The image of reality that Ms. Mercer promotes is a dog-eat-dog world, and, cannot, in my opinion, even come close to being called “Civilized”.   As a matter of fact, towards the end of her entry, Ms. Mercer directly supports this descent into chaos by saying

“Let the little rotters take the regular bus, where, for similar misconduct, they will be set upon and taught a lesson by civilians (society’s good Samaritans)”

  She seems to me to be advocating vigilante justice here, and, while under certain circumstances (see the graphic novel link above), that might work, with the society we have right now, I suspect that all it would do is produce is a large crop of “Zimmerman” clones.   Does that qualify as “civilized”, and, more importantly, would we want to live in a society where, by Ms. Mercer’s rules, mob rule is the tool of justice?    I think not.   

     As an example of mob rule; I am a Southerner, and, while I was growing up in the 50s and 60s, I was immersed in the reality of a small town, where there were separate drinking fountains for Blacks and Whites.   Where there were two bathrooms, again, designated for Blacks and Whites.   The lunch counter in the old Kress store, where my mother took me for a treat of a milkshake and a hamburger was “White only” until local Black students came in and integrated it in 1960, and,  the company reluctantly accepted the desgregation laws put in place years earlier.   It was a place where crosses burned on front lawns were par for the course, and everyone knew whose daddy was in the KKK and what rank in the Klan he held.   While the last “offical” lynching in the area was in 1919, even up into the 70s, there were still gangs of White kids that would roam the Black sections of town on the weekends , looking for a person of color to beat to a pulp, just for the fun of it.   For that matter, anyone who was not White and Baptist tended to be a target.   That is the reality that “mob rule” brings.    Even today, in spite of years of desegregation laws in place, and, supposedly, a more tolerant society, just a few  years ago, a man burned a cross on the front yard of a mixed race couple.   Here is one of several stories about the results of his trial .   I have to say that his claims that racism had nothing to do with it were about as believable as a skinhead covered with White Power tattoos vandalizing a synagogue and claming it was because he felt the rabbi in charge was annoying!

     Finally (skipping over MANY more talking points she has provided), I have to say that her final paragraph almost convinced me that she is attempting to emulate Steven Colbert, and the whole thing is a satire as subtle as “A Modest Proposal”  penned by Johnathan Swift (of “Gulliver’s Travels” fame) In this she says, and I quote: 

     In no way can I  agree with her opinion  that “Men in authority are a threatened minority”.    While it is true that women have made great strides in breaking through that Glass Ceiling and taking positions of power, almost everywhere one looks, the majority of those positions are held by males.  It is true enough though, that in the educational system in America, a majority of teachers are women.  I found an interesting display of data showing the breakdown of teachers by gender and race.    

     As another digression, I have to say that one thing that jumped out at me  from these tables was the fact that men seem to gravitate to the grade level where they do not have to put up with nearly the shit from students that teachers in the  the lower grades run into.   So….once again, women are left to clean up and polish the – ok…I will not say turds – rough edges and the guys get the kids after much of the work is done, and  they are less likely to be troublesome.   As for the lack of discipline in schools, the problem that teachers face these days is that it is not politically correct to punish bad behavior with anything stronger than a “time out”.   Beyond that is (as I mentioned before), the tendency of today’s parents to believe they have reared little angels that could NEVER do wrong and the lack of support for the teachers from administrators.   When I was going through the public school system, the principal of the elementary school always stood behind the teachers, as did many of the parents.   If the teacher was in the wrong, then, I suspect it was taken care of in the back rooms…not in front of the crowds.  Today, it seems that too many administrators are flags in the political winds, and, are as happy to throw a teacher to the sharks so as to save themselves as they are to award an award for excellence in the field of education.   Yes, there were problems with the old school methods, but I believe the situation today is far worse for the students and the teachers.

     As for the “cloistered world”  – I am moved to point out that is the only thing that Evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.    I completely agree with Ms. Mercer in her remarks condemning the trend over the generations since the 60s of treating one’s children as equals in all areas, and as “Pals”.    I have said for years that this is, perhaps, the greatest dis-service that grew out of the social revolution of the 60s.   I am reminded of a Harvard professor’s reply to a student who was arguing with him over some points made in the professor’s lectures.   The professor said “Young man, I am not here to query your opinion.  I am here to form it!”.  

     When we are born, and through most  of our early years, we are ignorant.  Since we have not lived any length of time, we have almost no experiences to draw wisdom from; being a blank slate is our natural state.    At birth, we start out at the nadir of intellect and the apex of instinct,  therefore, we, like wild animals, are prone to act on instinct, not intellect.   We  void our bladder/bowels when they are full, with no concerns about where we are, or even a nod at the idea of sanitation.   We scream and throw tantrums when we are hungry or upset because our sister/brother is not letting us have ALL the toys or in discomfort.  We go on howling in a torrent of thoughtless emotion until Mom comes along to feed us, or change our diaper, or fix  the problem.    It is, and always has been,  the job of parents to take that whiny bundle of “Natural Order” and teach it the basic concepts of civilization.  So, our parents teach us the basic tools for dealing with the demands of our body.   They try to teach us to be patient – just because we are hungry RIGHT NOW does not mean that anyone has to drop everything else to feed us.   They try to teach us the concept of sharing and playing nice with others.  –  Bear with me a moment here, as this last concept is an important one and I want to explore that side alley a bit.   I suggest that this concept, that of “of playing well with others”,  is a seedling that grows into the larger concept of “respect for others”.   My parents (and I think many other parents also) did not teach me I should take the toys of others unless they had (somehow) “earned” my respect.  No.   they taught me that my toys were mine, and, their toys were their’s and they had the right to determine how that property was used.   I was taught to respect my playmates/siblings/etc, and their decisions as regards their “stuff”.  If they do not want to share, that is O.K. and my rights end there.   Now, back to our regularly scheduled program: At that age, we are sponges, and, absorb what we are taught, laying on layers of rules for life and character from the lessons our parents teach.   Of course, we also fail to hear and learn those lessons until we stumble across a situation, make a bad decision, and, have to deal with the pain and consequences of something we could have avoided.   Usually it is about that time that we think to ourselves “Wow,  Mom/Dad/my parents warned me about this.  WHY did I not listen?”   

     My parents were never my “buddies” when I was growing up.  It was always clear to me that the family was a hierarchy, and I was NOT at the top.   Did this damage me?   No.   Frustrated me at times?   Of course.   However, I never felt that my parents had NO respect at all for me.  It was made clear to me, at times, that I had a dollar’s worth of respect just then, and if I wanted more, I had to earn it.    One of the more positive moments in my relationship with my father happened when I was in my 20s. It was the first time that I came into direct conflict with my father over an issue that we both felt strongly about.   He had one point of view, and I had another…and while not opposing, they were far enough apart that it provided some very interesting conversations.  In addition, he had tossed me into the situation thinking that I would automatically support HIS point of view.  He was sadly mistaken there, but this was positive experience, in spite of the conflict.  It was the moment that my father stopped looking at me as the “troublemaking 9 year old kid that kept misplacing his tools”, and took some big steps along that sometimes painful journey of seeing me as, and accepting me as an equal adult.   He had respect for me before then, which I did not do ANYTHING to earn, but, I believe his respect for me grew after that day.  So, child rearing is yet another point upon which Ms. Mercer and I are well within hailing distance.  

     Since I seem to be slipping into a mode of pointing out where Ms. Mercer and I are not that far apart, I will also say that I agree with her general point that there is a problem in the public school system in America today.    She wants to make the Federal Government the boogyman and drop all the responsibility for the problems on it.  That is fine, but, I disagree with her point of view.    From my perspective, the problems in and with the public school system  simply reflect the rot that is weakening America and causing it to slip to a third-world nation status.  The fault lies there with the parents, the school administrators and the Federal Government.    I believe she and I could agree that, today, children coming through the school system are taught, mainly via the foolish “Zero tolerance” policies that they will never be able to handle responsibility of any sort, and, so, they should let the Nanny State Government take care of them and that is a problem.     We do no favors for the children by wrapping them in bubble wrap (used to be cotton wool), and teaching them that life should never hurt them, and something is wrong if it does.  The fact of the matter is that reality is totally indifferent to how it impacts the life of an individual, and, it can be a dangerous world, so they need to be prepared to deal with it.   If we do not change this, in the long run those are the attitudes that will accelerate America’s collapse and guarantee it will happen.   Perhaps if we changed the public school system to match  this model, the school system would be a better place for everyone,  would do a better job of allowing the teachers to do their designated job – providing education for the children, and would ensure that students actually ended up with a good education..

     In terms of parents rearing their children, I have another concrete example of differences in style, and how it affects the children.   I have run into people who consider one of my sisters to be the Devil Incarnate,  because in the process of rearing three children, every one of them was told “No, you cannot do/have that” at least once (and since all the kids  are all both very bright and very headstrong – it is actually quite a few times). These folks have never been told “no” by their parents, so, they look with horror on my sister having the  termerity to say such a hurtful thing to HER children.  Thanks to the fact that they have fairly well off families, they have been able to live a life that does not HAVE many of the limits that the majority of people have and so, their parents never found the need to say “no”.   It is also possible that, as with many parents, they simply do not want to be looked at as the “bad guy”, so they avoid that uncomfortable place by avoiding “no”.   In general (and in the specific case I am thinking of), these folks are very nice, sincere people, and I find them quite likeable.   However, in the back of my head, I have this nagging concern about how they are going to react when, as adults, they ARE faced with some of the more painful and difficult decisions we all run into.   What happens when they have to face the unpleasant fact that sometimes the only GOOD answer is “no”, and, if that makes the speaker a “bad guy”, so be it.    The fact of the matter is that my sister has never said “no” to any of her kids to be spiteful, or punish them, or out of anger.  She has always said “no” when she could see, from her years of experience and some painful lessons learned from bad decisions, that they were about to step on a (metaphorical) fire-ant hill boiling with insects, and, with their eyes focused  on the stars above, had no idea of the hazard they were in.   For that matter, I was told “no” many times by my parents while I was growing up and at the time it really annoyed me.   Looking back on those years, I see that they were telling me “no” because they had the experience to see that I was not acting rationally with understanding, but, instinctually, and, I have to admit,  foolishly,  at times.   I learned valuable lessons from having to come to terms with being told “no” and while those lessons did not keep me from making foolish decisions at times, I know that they did help me avoid some of the pitfalls of life.  I also believe I am a much better person for having gotten that direction in my formative years.  

      For many years While  I was growing up, I was not allowed to carry a pocket knife.   This was because my parents knew that, in those early years, I would either lose it (Most likely) or attempt something stupid with it and end up dripping blood on the bathroom floor while bandages were applied (not my mother’s favorite task, although she did have WAY too much practice at it).   It was a big step in my life when I was finally given a picket knife of my own.  It clearly told me that I had shown enough maturity and responsibility to have a valuable tool of my own.    I had been taught the proper way to take care of it, cleaning it and sharpening it (although I was really bad at both for too many years), and, it was drilled into me that it was a tool, not a weapon.   So, the only time it came out of my pocket was when a tool was needed, and, it went with me everywhere, including school, church, the Boy’s Club, etc.   Today, it is a mandatory suspension in most schools if a kid is caught with any kind of a knife.   I was somewhat shocked a few years ago, when I was friend’s house, helping do some repairs.   I pulled my knife out and popped it open  because there was wire to be cut and stripped and a few other similar tasks to be done.   This was about the time that “Zero Tolerance” was being pushed hard in the school systems.   One of her kids saw the knife, and in nervous tones said “you have a KNIFE” and kind of flinched away.    The child had been taught by the authority figures at school (as, I fear, most are taught today) that a knife is a weapon,  not a tool, and  that anyone that carries a knife only carries it so they could use it as a weapon.  That has taken away one of the major rites of passage in a child’s life – that point when they have proved to their parents that they have the maturity and responsibility to carry a tool that can, when mis-used, do harm.   

     One last kick at the school system before I move on (and with luck, wind this rant up).   Not only, as Ms. Mercer so rightly points out, are there far too many administrators and far too few teachers  in the school system, but, there are changes in the way that kids are educated that undermine the task.   One of these is the trend towards standardized tests to monitor progress.   This  was a bad idea when it was first introduced, and, like fish left on the counter, has gotten worse in the decades since then.   So much money is riding on high test scores that now,  I see report after report about schools “teaching to the test”, or teachers going into the database  and changing student’s scores or answers to make their school or themeselves look better.    Like most bureaucracies, the public school system has lost sight of the reason it  was created (to ensure that EVERY citizen of the USA had a good, basic education that allowed them to not only become better workers, but, to excercise the mind and encourage personal growth), and has become an unwieldy bureaucracy, whose main goal is to sustain itself and allow the few to gain rewards based on the efforts of the many.

     In closing, I have to say that if I could speak directly to Ms. Mercer, I would say “do unto others as ye would have them do unto you”.    Ms. Klein, simply by living to the age of 68,  deserves our respect, and a lot more respect than you, Ms. Mercer,  have given her.   No, she is not a buff storm trooper/dominatrix that can crack the whip and get the “feral children” in line, but, if the parents of those kids had done their job properly, there would have been no need for such disgraceful behavior to be quashed.  Hence, there would have been no video recorded to spread across the Internet.  I reiterate;  the fault does not lie with Ms. Klein, but with the kids and their parents.   After all, schools not only have the kid for a very limited part of the day, it is not their job to teach basic manners.   It is their job to get those students comfortable with the concept of learning;  to present information to the kids in an accessible form,  that, in the long run, will be useful to them; and, provide a reasonably safe and undisturbed environment to help support the learning process.   In her blog Ms. Mercer says that punishment for this behavior is essentually useless if it is not quickly applied.  That speaks poorly towards her attitude towards these kids and in  a larger sense, the concept of Justice.   Dogs are creatures that require a distinct tie between bad behavior and punishment so the punishment has to come at the moment of the problem, not later.   People (and yes, even the little bus monsters are people) can understand that the punishment they are subject to now is a direct result of their inappropriate behavior in the past.   A problem with swift punishment is that if it is too swift, it is often unwisely inflamed by anger and so no longer fits the crime.    I, for one think that the punishment for the kids is both  measured and appropriate.   To hark back to Ms. Mercer’s approving remarks about mob justice, I wish to point out the closing words of this report from ABC News:

In the days after the video went viral, two of the boys, identified only by their first names, came forward to apologize. 
[One of the boys] Josh wrote, “I am so sorry for the way I treated you,…When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that. I am sorry for being so mean.”

Making the assumption that he was not carefully coached by his parents – and, frankly, I do not think he was, as this sounds like a 13 year old boy to me,  the fact that this young man was caught up in the mob mentality and took an enthusiastic part in it  shows the danger of depending on that mentality to dispense “justice”.    So…the end result is that these boys are going to not only have to keep up with their schoolwork, but, if society is lucky, they will also gain some valuable insight into the meaning of “Character” and why it is important to have a good set of rules to live by in the extra work they will be doing at the alternative school.    While I would love to rant on about Ms. Mercer’s problems with reality and herself, I am going to restrain myself.   I can only hope and pray that she will find a way to gain greater understanding of herself and the  attitudes that caused such an excessive  flood of bile to sprew forth over this incident.

     Pleasant Dreams

     Bee Man Dave