Re: RC: Re: American River Ride

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 09:50 PM 5/4/00 -0600, Sandy wrote:
> just think what
> would happen if anyone could spend the night
> there..

What would happen?  It's a public camp area.  Who shouldn't be
there?  People of color?  People of certain financial
status?  People with orange spiked hair?  Or under or over
certain ages?  It's a PUBLIC camp area for goodness sake!  You
don't control over use by implementing discrimination of any sort.

> it's a zoo and the
> rangers are the zoo keepers. Seems to me when you choose to live and /or
> recreate in thickly populated zoo-like areas..you have to accept the
> inherent rules and regulations that come along with
> it.

It is not a zoo, these are people and once anyone at all starts thinking
zoo then the opening is created for  bad things to happen because
that kind of thinking implies that *individual responsibility and
thinking* is not involved.  We are all in possession of brain cells
and intelligence and free will.  We all have also got a
responsiblity to be responsible individuals, which means more than just
following rules but also not allowing other people to dictate our lives
without examining the rules.  This does not mean being antisocial,
but it does mean not just looking the other way instead of speaking
out.  That path leads to the erosion of rights and freedoms.

I am sincerely trying to put forward the thought that at least one half
of the equation at the American River Ride was the authorities acting
inappropriately and this is not something to merely accept.  I am
not saying that the park rangers were totally to blame, but the other
half was NOT the people there to do the ride.

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