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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

It only matters when the tourism money is perceived to be at risk

Billy Nungesser may not be very bright but he sure knows who his friends are
Lt. Billy Nungesser told the Monroe News Star that the mass shooting represented the type of violence that could "destroy" the state's tourism industry. "Something has to change," he said. "We have to do something now before we let thugs kill tourism."
As for me, I'm not so sure the real "thugs" aren't actually running our tourism industry in the first place. But that's a different topic.  In this article, we have  all the elements of our "leaders'" accustomed selfish, panicked overreaction to tragedy that can only lead to more pain and tragedy as it progresses. 

But such is the politics of all against all capitalism. No one here addresses the question of societal violence. Hell, no one in this article is even really concerned about gun violence in the city. They're just mad that it sometimes (although infrequently relative to the rest of town) happens in front of their amusement factory.

A crisis type news event has the potential to motivate political change. But none of these bar owners has the courage or empathy to apply that energy toward the fundamental problem.  Instead they focus only on the simplest and most brutal (not to mention profit generating for the right contractor) means of protecting their immediate interests.

Whether the problem is crime, housing, or  climate change and coastal erosion our corrupt political response is not equipped to address any of it so long as it retains a myopic focus on the interests of the individually wealthy at the expense of the collective.  In other words, get ready to pay more so they can stay rich.

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