Feudin' and Fightin'

The slow arrival of spring may have something to do with it, but I'm feeling a bit down and drained of optimism even as the days grow longer and the flowers begin to poke their heads through the soil. Spring is supposed to be about renewal and hope for brighter days ahead, the annual opportunity to shake off our winter sloth and enjoy being outside and sharing in the comfort of friends and neighbors. This year it feels like everyone's coming out swinging.

We've got the BID going on in Northampton, which is now the focus of a lawsuit. It's already been the catalyst for several theatrical protests downtown and the source of open friction between new Mayoral candidate Bardsley and Mayor Higgins at the City Council meeting where the BID was approved.

With Bardsley now running for mayor, battle lines are being drawn and the rhetoric is beginning to heat up.

And then there's the ginormous budget gap the City faces, to the tune of $6 million or so. To close it, something drastic needs to be done, something that will include laying off dozens of city workers (police, fire, teachers) and an override of some size to be determined. Of course, the override will be another source of debate, given the City's history of not passing overrides in general and the razor-thin margin by which the last override was defeated in 2004.

What has me down is not the tremendous amount of turmoil we seem to find ourselves in but the inevitable bickering and fact-twisting and inflammatory rhetoric that will undoubtedly accompany each of these issues. Now don't get me wrong, I relish a good debate as much as the next person, but what I don't like is when I see people doing or saying anything to ensure that their side wins, or at least to ensure that the other side doesn't win. If you've been paying attention, you've probably noticed that this has already begun.

Of course, the current economic crisis doesn't help matters; I'm sure that plays into my mood. If you look at pictures of people taken during the Great Depression, you don't see many of them smiling. I used to think that was because people just didn't smile that much in pictures back then and because, let's face it, they didn't have much to smile about. Now I'm wondering if it's just because they were so pissed at each other all the time.