Skip to main content

Self-Appointed Czars and Other Hazards



True confession: after reading the reports from Reservoir High School yesterday I actually did double check that the bottle of Barium sulfate waiting in my refrigerator would not render me radioactive. Yes, I should know better but it’s still early in the morning. 

Mysterious ‘uranium’ vial at Howard County high school prompts evacuation, Cody Boteler, The Baltimore Banner 

In case you can’t read that, the upshot is that the school took every precaution and there is no real danger. My apologies to anyone who thought they might get the rest of the week off due to hazardous materials. 


*****

My next topic is inspired by local goings-on but I suspect it’s more a function of human nature and can be found everywhere in one form or another. My current examples are from the world of social media. If you operate more in the real world than I do these days I think you’ll concur that it’s visible anywhere human beings assemble.

My pet peeve this morning is with people who are self-appointed czars. Sometimes they pick one topic and run with it. Or they manage to connect a bunch of things under one umbrella and grandstand about all of them. It becomes their brand. 

They are constant. They are loud. They will use any technique to grab attention. They will brook no disagreement. 

Now it’s possible that I have crossed this line myself in the past - - a particular board of education race comes to mind, and advocacy for music education - - but since I can indulge my passions on the blog I am less likely to put each individual Facebook group on blast in order to get my point across. It can be a very fine line between caring deeply about something and wanting to rule the world. 

I get that. And some days you feel as though no one will listen to you unless you shout. 

But today I am tired of contending with the self-appointed czars largely because the current state of the world is exhausting enough already. And because what they are doing actually makes solving community issues harder. There’s no nuance, no give and take, no problem solving. It’s a one-way street.

Also included in this category are the people you have never heard of who suddenly burst on the scene as experts in something and you soon realize that they are not merely concerned citizens. No, they are people with intense and focused aspirations for higher office. It doesn’t take long to realize that they are running for something. Every social media interaction becomes a place for them to whisk out their own personal soapbox and stand on it.

This behavior is not a crime. And some people are really attracted to it. I’ve seen it work over and over again. For me, personally? I would cross the road and walk on the other side of the street to get away from it. 

Engage me thoughtfully. Don’t shout at me. Present evidence without twisting it or leaving things out. Is this too much to ask?

Given the state of American politics, maybe it is.


Village Green/Town² Comments


*****


Today in Local HoCo: check out this shopping guide from Visit Howard County.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more