An Aid To Memory

I use many open source products (I don’t like to pay for software I can get for free), and a fellow teacher found one for me I had never heard of: Scribus. It is a publishing program, much like MS Publisher, only free.

Also, if you haven’t checked out Open Office yet, I highly recommend it. I use it at home and at work, and I will not be paying for MS Office in the future.

No, I am not a big fan of cities, and anybody who knows me can tell you this. I am probably a rarity these days, but I prefer small town (<40,000 people) life to big city life any day. You can make fun of me for living in a non-diverse area with little "culture," and while I lament the lack of these things in my smaller town, I still will stick to just visiting the city, thank you. Crime, inflated prices, corruption, smog, high taxes, and so forth, are all reasons why the urban life is not for me. I remember when I was getting ready to live in Atlanta looking for housing. The prices were very high, even in bad neighborhoods. A friend of mine was paying 900+ dollars a month for an apartment in an unsafe neighborhood. They moved after someone was robbed at gunpoint in the laundry area of their apartment. They moved to the suburbs, paying even more for rent.

Today though, I want to focus on crime, and the "blame the victim" mentality we often see. Crime is rising in many cities, and many people live in fear. Yesterday, I was reading a news article about a man who defended himself in Cleveland, a city I visit, but one where I would never live. I admit that reading the stories about this case has gotten me a little hot under the collar, so excuse this rant. What happened: An African-American man named Damon Wells shot a teen, Arthur "Ace Boogie" Buford, who trespassed on his property. The fifteen year old, on probation for armed robbery, and an accomplice, approached Wells, pointing a gun at him. Now, tragically, a teen is dead. The prosecutors are not going to charge Wells.

I agree this is a tragedy all around, and that Jesus' adage is still true, that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword, but the media doesn't seem to get it, nor do many of those in Wells' neighborhood. The first article from the Plain Dealer about this mentioned this will cause debate about guns and concealed carry permits. Actually, this man was on his own property, so legally he didn't need a permit, but secondly, where is the debate exactly? Concealed Carry was legalized for reasons just like this. Either way, there doesn’t seem to be much “debate” on the comments thread at the Plain Dealer. Around 95% of commenters agree that they are sick and tired of punks terrorizing certain neighborhoods, hindering peaceful citizens from living freely and safely.

What gets me upset about this is how so many, including some media elites, are now blaming the victim. Damon Wells, with no criminal record, was minding his own business, and was terrorized by a couple punks with criminal records. It is easy for us to sit in judgment while pontificating from our good neighborhoods, but when you live in a neighborhood where you can’t walk out during most times of the day for fear of your life, reality is a little different. Perhaps the academics, reporters, and politicians might be a little more realistic about all issues if they had to live outside their good neighborhoods with quick police response time for even a day. We don’t know how we would react in this situation, with a gun pointed at us, possibly leading to our own death or that of our family. Many elites would simply let their armed bodyguards take care of it, a luxury most of us lack.

Now we are seeing vigils on behalf of the late Arthur Buford spring up, and a community is angry that Wells got off without charges. Buford’s cousin is upset and blames Wells. Ace Boogie’s friends believe he did nothing wrong. Notes left at a makeshift memorial say, “God gave me a new angel man . . . Why Da Good Die Young . . . I’ll see you in eternity . . . You are with the Lord and we happy for that.” In good thug fashion, Damon Wells is being harassed, and his house has been vandalized. Goodness…where to begin with this! I have no problem having a vigil for Buford. It is a work of mercy to bury the dead. He was a human being, a precious life with basic dignity, but his actions in life show that he did not behave virtuously, or responsibly. However, instead of defending Buford’s actions, why not have a vigil in his name as a way to make sure that children do not turn into the next Arthur Buford? Why not use this death to look at the cultural and social problems that turn an innocent child into an armed robber by age 15? The family should be outraged, not at Wells, but at themselves, their neighborhood, and primarily at their departed relative. They should be outraged that a freshman could get to the point where he was on probation for armed robbery, and that he was illegally carrying a weapon, and harassing neighbors, apparently unsupervised. If I were Buford’s relative, I would meet with Wells and apologize for the actions of Buford, and then work with Wells to reduce crime in the neighborhood. Why not make it so when people think of Arthur Buford they think of a new future for America’s teens rather than using his name to glorify wrong behavior?

I do not think killing another person in self-defense is ever good, but if done unintentionally (i.e. you intended to defend, but not kill), from a Catholic perspective it is not a mortal sin. If you or your family are in mortal danger, it may be the lesser of two evils to shoot your attacker. Regardless, crime is out of control in many cities, and blaming the victim is not going to remedy the problem. Let’s let something positive come out of this, including allowing children to see how stupid being a thug actually is.

For a good piece on this tragedy, see No Sympathy for Thug Culture, written by Regina Brett of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Below is a summary of Ron Paul’s record. He is running for president in 2008.

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He is a little to the right of me, not too mention a little too libertarian for my tastes, but I like his integrity. I definitely like this guy. Being a southerner, I wonder if, like another major presidential contender, he fakes a northern accent when he is around different crowds ;)?

Read this excellent piece, Theology, Not Politics, that Ron Paul wrote after the passing of John Paul II. He calls out both sides of the political spectrum for getting angry at John Paul II when he didn’t support their politics.

Here is an excerpt from a Simpsons episode I watched today. This is from the episode when Homer is accused (falsely) of sexual harassment. These lines are cut out of syndication, so you either have to own the DVD or have seen the episode when it aired originally. A Sally Jesse Raphael figure is interviewing a crying female who obviously has no connection to the accusations against Homer, and here is the dialogue:

Woman: [weeping] I don’t know Homer Simpson, I — I never met Homer Simpson or had any contact with him, but — [cries uncontrollably] — I’m sorry, I can’t go on.

Sally: That’s OK: your tears say more than real evidence ever could.

I find today that many people, especially younger people, base most of their decisions on emotion. A sad and gripping testimony, or being “made to feel bad” is often more solid evidence than the facts. I have been asked, “how can the Church say two people who love each other so much can’t get married?” or “how can the Church hurt somebody’s feelings like that?” While I too am moved to sadness by strong, emotional, testimony, I also feel it is important for us to consider that one person’s emotional experience doesn’t necessarily negate reality, or in the case of religion, Church Teaching. It is difficult to live in a society where hurting someone’s feelings = being in the wrong.

When a few batches of the amino acid L-Tryptophan were contaminated in the early 1990s, one woman was paralyzed from the contamination. She gave an emotional testimony of why supplements should be regulated like drugs before Congress. Many in Congress were moved by her testimony. While it is sad that she got a hold of a contaminated version of this amino acid, and the Japanese manufacturer involved should have been held liable, did the 99% of people who have had no safety issues with supplements deserve to lose the right to their health promoting pills? Does one emotional testimony mean that suddenly the proven safety record of supplements becomes called into question? I find the same often happens with gun control or other “controls.” For instance, a strong emotional testimony of a mother (who foolishly left a loaded gun near a child) crying about losing her child to a gun accident is likely to make us think twice about gun ownership. “Think of the children!!” we always hear. However, the fact that gun accidents among children are extremely rare (much more rare than drowning even) and that millions defend themselves with guns (most simply by brandishing it) aren’t negated by one event, no matter how awfully tragic.

Perhaps all of this is the result of relativism (there is no right or wrong, so “feelings” become the new standard of the the rightness or wrongness of an act), or perhaps the self-esteem movement (I am ok, you’re ok, we’re all ok!), but nonetheless, those words “I feel” have great power of persuasion these days. Even worse, hurting someone’s feelings is seen as heartless, and even morally wrong. Now don’t get me wrong, I show up as an “F,” a feeler, in the personality tests, meaning a person’s emotional reaction IS important to me, and I often do make decisions based on how others will feel. I also believe that Christians are called to consider the feelings of others, who are humans with dignity, when we make decisions. However, emotional appeal cannot trump reality. If a student doesn’t do the work, makes no effort to try, and just can’t comprehend the class concepts, no matter how much I may wish otherwise, he deserves an “F.” Descartes said “I think, therefore I am,” but the new objectivity seems to be “feelings,” so in modern society perhaps the new phrase is “my feelings are strong, therefore I am.”

…From Times Like These!

What has come of our society, when mass murder is the “solution” to finding out your girlfriend may have cheated on you? A pathetic and cowardly gunman at Virginia Tech killed himself and 32 others. According to the most recent news, the shooter was Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a Korean and a permanent resident of the U.S. We should pray for all those involved, including the souls of the departed.

Here are my initial thoughts. First, I am surprised a permanent resident could get a handgun. I wonder how he could pass the background check if he has not been here very long. Just to show my biases: I definitely believe in the right to bear arms, and support concealed carry laws, but I also support registering guns, background checks, and having waiting periods. Second, I am curious as to how this guy was able to move around freely and shoot so many people. I know he had a gun, but it seems he moved all around campus over a long time span!

I know I am outside of the situation, but after the school shootings in the late 1990s, I have often thought how I would react if someone went on a shooting rampage. I am sure the terror of the moment would change even the most well-thought out plans. The first thing I would do is get the hell out of there and find a secure location, which many of the students did. Then I would look for some kind of weapon, any weapon that I could feasibly use if the guy got close, which may even include a legally concealed weapon (Of course, at Virginia Tech, non-criminals can’t legally carry concealed weapons, even if they have the permit…maybe if a few lawful citizens could have fired back, this would have ended sooner…). Third, if I knew the dude had just killed others, I wouldn’t assume he is going to let me live if he sees me and pursues or aims. I would not willingly line up to be executed, especially if I knew he had already shot others. Perhaps rallying those around to gang tackle the guy would work, although this would not be without loss of life (a la the folks on United Flight 93). I would drop a TV down the stairs, throw books at him or ANYTHING to reduce the accuracy of his aim and his mobility. Even police are often inaccurate with handguns at even fairly short distances, so some college kid isn’t likely a dead shot. Anything to distract or reduce his aim would at least give me a fighting chance. I would then find something thick, a book or something metal to place over my heart, at least to slow down the bullet a little. I have seen ballistics tests with different types of calibers, and while it would take a Catholic Bible to stop a 9mm bullet, at least I would be doing something. I remember my Greek prof once saying that if there is another school shooting, students just need to attack the gunmen and go for the eyes. Crude, but probably more effective than running or cowering.

This is a sad situation that makes Don Imus’ dumb comments, and Anna Nicole Smith’s baby’s paternity, seem pretty trivial. Kyrie Eleison

I just found out that St. Sebaldus (aka St. Sebald) is the patron saint against cold weather. His feast day is August 19. Today is April 15th (Divine Mercy Sunday and tax day…although the government has extended the due date until tomorrow), and the forecast is calling for more cold and maybe even some snow! We just can’t seem to shake this cold. The photo below I took on a cold, rainy day last April. Of course, we only had a few such days last year…not the entire month!

I have also updated some of the older posts, since the photos were hosted on my old typepad site. Not all the photos have been added, but a good chunk have. I also updated some of the blog addresses on the side bar.

I hope everyone is having a great Easter! I have been on Easter Break for about a week now, and let me tell you, I have needed the break. Even though I love my job, a break is always nice! Of course, nature hasn’t been too cooperative, and the weather has been unseasonably cold. Last year at this time, Jennifer, Jonathan, and I were out taking photos on 60 degree days. This year I am cooped up inside with the flu. I had a fever of 100 for the last few days. I have been monitoring it carefully, but not treating it necessarily. Our cells can withstand temperatures this high, but pathogens and cancer cells have a hard time surviving in such high temperatures (one theory is that tumors have such complex blood vessel networks that they just can’t cool themselves off quickly enough).

Jennifer and I’s marriage plans are moving along, not as quickly as she would like I suspect.

On the Yahoo Music Engine, I am listening to a lot of Townes Van Zandt. He is a folk/country singer from the 1970s-1990s, who is probably most well-known for writing “Pancho and Lefty,” a country hit for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. The ones I have been listening to now include some of the lesser known ones, like “The Velvet Voices” and “Like a Summer Thursday.”

Here is a photo from last spring, certainly not from this cold spring. When I see photos like this, knowing the background behind the photo, I can almost “feel” the heat and sunshine.

Just as a note for new readers, I have been posting most of my theological reflections over at Per Christum, our group blog. Please check it out for more theological posts!