[Vision2020] Crazy Train

[Joan Opyr]

Dear Visionaries:

I am done arguing with Donovan.  Perhaps not forever, but certainly for 
now.  If list members want to talk about water, let's talk about water. 
  We cannot, however, only talk about water.  There's more at stake in 
the future of Moscow.  Smart growth, dumb growth, and anti-growth; 
growth that benefits the few, not the many.  There's also urban 
renewal, development options, the University of Idaho, traffic along 
the Miracle Mile, and parking in the downtown retail district.  As we 
get into issues of cultural hegemony and differing visions of what 
constitutes a healthy and diverse community, we're bound to get into 
sticky territory.  We're facing a constitutional amendment banning 
same-sex marriage on the November ballot.  I expect some important and 
potentially hot debates over that.  And when we do get around to it, I 
warn you, Pastor You-Know-Who and his You-Know-Church will likely serve 
as both the tar baby and the briar patch.  If He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named 
takes as active a role in this political fight as he took in the 1994 
battle over Proposition One, then it's going to get hot in here.  Might 
want to open a window.

That said, I think it's important to recognize that unmoderated chat 
groups are like the railroad tracks in a Roadrunner cartoon.  We, the 
list members, are like Wile E. Coyote.  We're on the train, chasing the 
Roadrunner, when we look out the window and see that we're running out 
of track.  So, we open up the Acme box and hang out on the engine, 
laying track before the train just as fast as we can.  What happens?  
We find ourselves halfway over a chasm; we look down, pause, and drop, 
right to the bottom of a deep canyon, where we thump to a halt in a 
cloud of dust.  But we always get back up again.  That's the nature of 
this list, and it's the nature of every other unmoderated list.  
Freedom of expression is not freedom from annoyance, and if it were, 
I'd be bored senseless.  This is a great community, and I'm always 
interested to hear what most of you have to say.

It's true that my Bozo Bin is wide and deep, and that I filter out 
quite a few posters, but I have relatives that I don't like, either.  I 
don't want to hang out with them, but I don't think they should be 
tossed from the family.  I still meet up with them once a year at the 
family reunion, and we watch one another eat fried chicken.  (It's 
always too greasy.  Best to stick to the deviled eggs.)

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com