 was
dismayed a while back when the opponents of Proposition
209 resorted to violence to protest its being put into effect as the law
of the state. And I immediately thought of a story that I had read many
years ago.
It seems that an American on tour in China was distracted from his sightseeing
itinerary by loud, angry shouts which seemed to be coming from a cluster
of people on a side street in what was then called downtown Peking.
Close investigation revealed two coolies, face-to-face, toe-to-toe, angrily
shouting insults at each other, surrounded by curious onlookers.
After witnessing the altercation for a moment or two, the American turned
to one of the older spectators and asked, “Why doesn't one of them just
haul off and belt the other one in the mouth?” The old man recoiled
in horror at what had just been asked him. “Oh no,” he replied, “Each
of the two men knows that the first one to resort to violence will be making
it very plain to the onlookers that he was the first one to have run out
of ideas.”
Similarly, by turning violent after their defeat at the polls, the opponents
of Prop 209 made it abundantly clear that they were the first ones to have
run out of ideas.
But they also demonstrated two other things by their actions: (1) that
they believe in the democratic process but only when the result suits them
and (2) that they are poor losers, indeed.
You know, we're continually being told that the future of the country
lies in the hands of our young people. Well, if the way the opponents of
Prop 209 behaved in the aftermath of the election is any indication of
what our young people are like — and I do believe that most of them are
of college age — then I shudder to think what lies ahead for the rest of
us.
Think about it. |
