Part of the reason...

February 18, 2018

The other day I read, "I used to be a people person...until people ruined it."
I thought, That describes me.

Part of the reason I avoid people these days is because...
No, I don't avoid them, do I?
"Limit" my contact...that's what I do.
But isn't that avoidance?

Part of the reason I "limit" my human contact these days is because I don't have the energy to deal with the possibility of being misread and then the probability of having an in-depth dissecting session to work through whatever misunderstanding took place.

But why do I even think that way - that interactions would/could result in misreadings?

Partly because of the human condition and what comes with relationships, though I don't think that alone would result in my current choice.
Partly because of witnessing and experiencing false and mistaken allegations directed at myself and others.
Partly from being the target in an attempted character assassination which contained outright fables.
The mistaken and false allegations originated mainly with people who held positions of supposedly trusted authority.

But...
I can't really blame others for my lessened desire for human contact.
I am the one making that choice.
Would I feel this way without the past, traumatic experiences - especially the attempted character assassination?
Would I feel this way if I was healthy, instead of constantly managing a chronic health adversity which takes most all my energy?

Perhaps I just don't have the energy for added human drama.
Life is dramatic enough without voluntarily adding more.

*~*

Another school shooting.
This time in Parkland, FL.
A high school.
Seventeen people dead - 14 students, 3 faculty.
Valentine's Day.

There is something very, very wrong in a culture where this continues and where the lawmakers seem to ignore it.

Schools should be safe spaces.
Churches should be safe havens.

How can anyone say access to firearms is not part of the problem?

The drug war. Part of the strategy lawmakers try to implement is to cut access to the drugs. One of the GOP's stomping points.
Limited access can yield fewer tragedies.
It doesn't solve the problem but may help decrease the carnage.

So why don't the majority(?) of the GOP think the same about guns?
At least regarding semi-automatic (aka self-loading) weapons, especially ones like the AR-15 which can be easily converted to an almost automatic weapon.
Limited access can yield fewer tragedies.
It doesn't solve the problem but may help decrease the carnage.

I've seen news clips and read articles about some Florida high school students who are leading the way for change. I applaud them and hope their efforts prompt definitive change. It's a huge project and, I imagine, will be a long haul.

Until such a time when reasonable prevention laws and strategies are enacted, security has to be increased. Like we've done in airports.

~*~

Summer/Fall, 2017

On my way home from the mountains.
Driving south on Hwy. 421, from Boone to Winston-Salem.
Nighttime.
Headlights and taillights dance on the dark canopy.

Right outside North Wilkesboro, a billboard catches my eye.
A giant photo of an AR-15 type rifle.

Oh god, I thought.
A billboard promoting gun rights.
With a photo of an assault rifle.

After all this is Wilkes County.
Rebel flags.
Self-made men and women.
Hearty stock.
Appalachia, not deep but at least on the borders.
Tobacco, moonshine, and wine country.
Bible belt where "God, guts, and guns made America free. Let's keep all three."
Birthplace of NASCAR, Lowes Hardware, Lowes Foods, Holly Farms, Northwestern Bank.
Home of MerleFest.
A county that has lost administrative and manufacturing jobs due to buy-outs or trade agreements...

I have a great respect for Appalachia folk and history.
And...the region is in my blood, literally.
But...I don't agree with the "god, guts, and guns" sentiment.

As the billboard comes into close view I discover I am dead wrong.
(Pardon the pun, or not.)

The billboard is not promoting gun rights.
Instead, alongside the giant photo of the semi-automatic rifle, the billboard states something like...
"Who will be next? Your kids? Your family?"
And something about supporting a ban on assault rifles.

Wow. Wonder who put that up in Wilkes County?

The next month when I drive through, some other sign is displayed on that billboard.
I can't recall now what it said.

~*~

Just dawned on me that Dad died in February.
Dad's family hailed partly from Yadkin County, next door to Wilkes.
I had to look up his exact death date - February 16, 1996.
Twenty-two years and two days ago.
I recall it vividly.
Life was different then.

February 16, 1996, fell on a Friday.
So did two days ago - February 16, 2018.

~*~