stupid things people do.

each morning at work we get a little newspaper on the fax machine. six pages of mini-blurbs of news. it's of very little use, and takes all of thirty seconds to read.

I read it this morning. there were two utterly ridiculous stories.

the first was talking about all the schools that were closing around the state today. school districts had decided to close schools due to all the snow we were SUPPOSED to get today. forget the fact that we didn't actually get much. hell, the streets were dry when I went to work this morning. people coming in from the outlying areas reported a bit of white at the higher elevations. certainly not enough to warrant closing schools down. I just have to wonder about the genius that sees a weather forecast, which is hardly EVER accurate, and says, "oh shit, we could get a bunch of snow, let's panic!"

but as stupid as that is, there was an even stupider story...

last week, some whacked meth-head shot up the tacoma mall with an assault rifle, including hostages being taken and everything. rants about how a 20 year old meth head gets an assault rifle aside, there's been all sorts of news stories about a "hero" who is now paralyzed. he's the only one who was seriously hurt in the shooting. everyone else either saw the fucko coming or heard the gunshots and ran. but this guy? he's a BIG man, worked at the house of cutlery. with a concealed weapons permit. so he walks up to fucko da methhead, and goes for his sidearm. it's like some sort of fucked up western. problem is, fucko already had his rifle out, and shot him. several times. including once in the spine. guy will never walk again.

so why is this guy a hero? why should we all celebrate what he did? he tried to take the law into his own hands, and he nearly ended up dead because of it. boy, THAT sure is a good argument for "more guns = less crime"... just has me thinking of the line from 'serenity'.. "you know what a hero is? it's someone who gets a lot of innocent people killed."

the lesson is: if you see some fuckhead with a big gun, GET OUT OF THE GOD DAMNED WAY!

and if it might snow tomorrow, hide under your bed and wait for spring.