Dissent

Many years ago, Edmund Burke said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Several weeks ago, I decided that I would post responses to every inaccurate, schmaltzy, dumb posting up here in western Massachusetts about black lives matter or sympathy for rioters or defunding police.  Sad to say, it takes a lot of time.

At our annual town meeting earlier this week, two young people tried to change the town budget by reducing what we spend on police.  They were unaware that the town has a contract with our police union that wouldn't allow that. 

The more sensible people in town - we still have some - successfully fought off the move. But there was a considerable amount of support, expressed through pious ruminating, for defunding the police.  Seriously?  Here in rural Massachusetts, where the only charges ever made about the police are  about ticket fixing and alleged cooping?  It's insanity.

I  spoke against the move, pointing out that in most urban places reducing police budgets would result in more black deaths, not fewer.  I described the effort as "asinine."  One of my "woke" neighbors went to the microphone and called me out - by name - claiming that I said she was an "ass."   English is not her strong point.

I can withstand a lot of opprobrium.  And I don't think I'm paranoid. But I'm starting to worry that my outspokenness might lead to physical attacks on me, even out here, because there are so many people who can't accept any dissent from their "wokeness."  So I'm cleaning my rifle, and thinking about getting a shotgun and a permit to carry. Sad time.