On [California] Proposition  209

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 sight-seeing 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 it suits their purpose 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.