On 6/23/07, Jim Davis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Dinner [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2007 3:48 PM > > To: CF-Community > > Subject: Re: climate change > > > > There were 4 of them practicing, on the grass outside the high school. > > Four seems like an "iffy" number... enough to give the benefit of the > doubt > I think. > > I mean if I saw four otherwise nondescript people with rifles walking > towards a school I'd probably call somebody as well. It's not like > they're > drilling every minute - you have to walk to and from the area, there're > breaks, etc
I guess if it was a split second type of deal, perhaps I could see where the mother was coming from. I don't have enough details to make that call, but I would, personally, observe for a bit to see WTF was going on. Having seen drilling, and whatnot, growing up, I would have recognized what was going on, but I've had that experience. We'll assume they were goofing around while walking out to the grass where they practiced. And then I'll say, sure, a call to the popo was okay- maybe even warranted. The caller may have just caught them at a less-than-military moment and, > better-safe-than-sorry, made a call. In this case a group of 50 kids may > not have seemed threatening at all - but a group of four (especially when > dressed normally) is small enough to evoke shades of Columbine. The thing that I find sad, is that there is this "shades of Columbine"... Loss of innocence, I guess, and invasive(?) treatment of loners, etc.. Not sure how to express it, other than to relate it to nine eleven, and the scary loss of liberty that's wrought, with little real concern as to the, um, fundamental things that make this country what it is. Eh. It's been a long downhill slide, I know, but things are better at the same time. Sorta. This last batch of politicians has been a real doozy. Yuk! Now, the cops are a different story: they should have simply verified that > the group was legitimately associated with the school and informed the > caller of that fact. Pure and simple. If somebody reported a wild gang > with clubs walking down the street and turned out to be a little league > that > just won the championship that's what you'd do. > > They probably should have also confirm that the weapons weren't real (they > almost never are for younger ROTC). If they were actually real weapons > (especially if there was ammo present) I could them having a problem (a > big > problem). They were obviously practice rifles, from what I saw. And pretty obviously ROTC heads, too, which I'd think a police officer would be pretty quick to recognize.. but, then again, guess that could be Columbine echo-y. ;] Lastly the school also seems at fault. To suspend practice when the simple > alternative of just practicing inside out of sight (a four-man squad could > easily practice in any but the smallest rooms) just seems ludicrous. > (Practicing inside seems a very reasonable compromise.) See, we agree on the cops; for sure, caller; maybe-- but I disagree about them changing their routine, being forced to practice inside, or dressed out/up and whatnot. It's sorta like saying "if you don't want to get treated like a terrorist, don't look like one", which is silly on so many levels. But, again, there's that whole stereo-type catch-22 deal that goes on. Still, even so, I feel that racial profiling, etc., is a form of complacency. Anyone who has a lick of sense knows it's easier to steal in a suit than in saggy jeans and a hair net. Course, then again, there are a ton of folk with not a lick of sense. Bah. No easy answer, but I feel a little hesitant about living in fear, if that makes any sense. So, in my opinion with only what you've said to go on, caller: good; cops: > probably bad; school: definitely bad. With what information we have, this sounds pretty good to me. Nice little sum-up, there, Jim! :Denny ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| ColdFusion 8 beta â Build next generation applications today. Free beta download on Labs http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=labs_adobecf8_beta Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:237166 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
