A Vote, a Decision, and an Opinion in Understanding the Unthinkable

The Vote: The Bradenton Beach vote for mayor was a real nail biter. The race between Shearon, who was mayor until he was ousted last year, and Clarke, who was put in his place until this election, was last Tuesday.

Shearon, who is blind, had been accused of wrongdoing (including violations of Florida’s “Sunshine Laws”, requiring all legislative issues to be held openly and publicly), acting autonomously on some issues and ignoring others. Other complaints included mismanagement, gross waste of resources, and fostering a hostile work environment. When ousted, he was defiant but compliant. Some people swear he is as crazy as a bed bug. Shearon swore he’d be back to run again, and he stayed true to his word.

Clarke is a capable man who does not hold a high opinion of Shearon, but rises above the usual spats that erupt when accusations have very real impact on human life. He quietly stepped into the mayoral role and the office seemed to run smoothly.

Shearon accused the…commission (I think. It’s hard to recall because he made so many odd statements) of conspiring against him. He told anyone who would listen that he was railroaded. Apparently, 195 people listened, because when the votes were counted from this race, it was a tie.

That’s right, folks, out of a population of approximately 1,250 residents, 390 bothered to vote for their next mayor. That was a 50% turnout and considered “good”. They had a recount (please, no hanging chad jokes) and it was a 195 votes for Clarke and 195 votes for Shearon. They did another recount. Still a tie. According to the rules of that area, ties are settled by cutting cards: highest card wins. Clarke went first. He drew a ten of clubs. Shearon, who is blind, I remind you, drew an Ace of clubs.

So now they have a crazy blind man who holds clandestine meetings and institutes changes whenever and wherever he pleases. It’s going to be a bumpy two years for Anna Maria Island!

The Decision: I’ve decided there’s not much that is social about social media when it comes to facebook. I hate the memes that get posted. They’re worded to divide: today’s generation is lazy, unlike ours, where we worked hard and were perfect children; people who want tighter gun control want to take away our guns/hate our soldiers/want our police to die; all Welfare recipients are cheats who take our hard-earned money. I try to point this out to friends and family, because I know what they WANT to say is that they wish life could return to how it was when they were a kid.

I get that. But that’s not what their meme says and they get very, very mad at me when I call them on it. They even get mad when I agree with them! One lady posted a meme that stated welfare should not be given out because they are all cheats. I replied that many are disabled or young, single (white) mothers who need a hand and that I was glad to pay my taxes for that and the way to solve the problem was more investigators but that costs money the Congress won’t give. I got blasted that the poster and all her friends had NEVER begrudged those in true need.

Huh? I never said that! I told her to go back and reread my note and please tell me where I said that she and/or her friends were accused of begrudging anyone. I’m thinking about unfriending her.

Another poster said we should boycott Spirit Airlines for disrespecting a soldier. I told him that Spirit Airlines had a reputation for that and he replied that he realized I hated soldiers but he was taking the soldier’s word on it and if Spirit Airlines did it to others, that had nothing to do with his point and he thought he knew a little bit more about the world (at age 23) than I did (at age 63) because he’d served in the military and he’d been spat on. Huh? Instead of countering that I did not think being investigated for bomb threats (long story but I think the kid is a Class A liar) was a sign of maturity, I unfriended my fairly new nephew-in-law.

Time for a Facebook break.

An Opinion: I don’t think I like the NoMoJo (or whatever order it is) at all, either. Besides the fact that I cannot possibly read everyone’s daily entry, it’s the same topic!

NoJoMo’s original purpose was to help wannabe authors get a jumpstart on that manuscript they’ve been procrastinating over. The idea was to write a certain number of words each day, without rewrites, corrections, etc. in the hopes of getting that rough draft of the Great American Novel finished. Those who signed up would post their daily progress.

Now, it’s a survey and I’m beginning to think the topics/questions were thought up by a teenager! Today’s topic was on flaws. Not other people’s flaws, your own.

Because that’s what we need, boys and girls: more self-criticism! We don’t beat ourselves up enough as it is? Everywhere you turn, there’s an advertisement telling you to lose weight, wear gorgeous, expensive clothes, drive fancier cars, have perfect hair that falls in place as you twirl your size 0 (THAT is the most RIDICULOUS size they’ve come up with yet. Size zero means you’re dead, kids), and flash a brilliant white smile full of perfect teeth.

I don’t give a crap what your flaws are. I can’t worry about them because I have too many of my own. HERE’S what I see as a flaw: a hardened heart. I’m not talking necessarily about judgmental, because mankind is judgmental by nature, I think. We likes our clans to look like us. That makes us feel safe. I’m talking about the person who paints with a wide brush: “I resent paying taxes because it goes to lazy, poor people”. “Mexicans are sneaky and illegal”. “All Republicans are the anti-Christ”. “Today’s generation is a bunch of lazy, spoiled brats”. Notice where I put the periods in my last four sentences. I refuse to give such statements the dignity of a sentence.

I converse with you because I like you. If you have flaws, I overlook them and still like you. Cause all I really wanna do, is Baby, be friends with you.

Of course I have flaws, my biggest is that I am a crabby old lady who worries that we’ve lost a natural affection for our fellow man. We fling insults and criticisms as fast as we absorb the ones coming at us. We hate those who might be getting more than we do but aren’t working as hard for it, forgetting that we, too, have received a LOT of help moving forward and life isn’t even-steven. We hate kids who look so slovenly and so glued to their cell phones, forgetting our hippie years, forgetting how awkward one feels in those teen years, forgetting how lazy we were in our day, too (come on, now, be honest!) and we REALLY hate everyone who doesn’t agree with us politically.

Let’s stop the survey beatings. Instead of telling me your short-comings, tell me what you’ve done recently to help improve the world. Tell me your LONG-comings, instead. Did you visit a sick friend, make a donation somewhere, volunteer your time, or make your grandchild smile and feel safe? If so, gee, I’m glad my life path has crossed yours and your looks, your education, and your wealth or lack thereof had absolutely, positively nothing to do with it.

So if you are flawed, please come sit by me. Let’s talk about what REALLY matters. I’ll try not to be too cranky. Maybe.