Override Blues

I've always admired people who can stand up in front of a crowd. But I'm not so sure about that any more.

Let me try that again: I've always admired people who can stand up in front of a crowd and articulately outline their views, but I realized the other night after attending the Override Forum at Bridge STreet School that what has to go hand-in-hand with a sensibility of how one's words play to the crowd. That didn't always happen when various people in the 50-odd person crowd stood up to talk to the Mayor and others assembled on stage.

One woman ignored the moderator's plea that comments be kept brief in order to rail against the federal government's wasteful behavior with regards to the wars in Iraq and Pakistan. That's where we should be focusing our ire, she said: on the federal government. It seemed incredibly unlikely to me that the federal government would be ending those two wars and sending some money our way by the time the next fiscal year starts.

To his credit, the moderator broke in to ask if she did, indeed, have a question. She did not.

I don't want to say that she broke the dam, but I blame her for giving others the courage to stand up and bloviate for a while themselves. This included a World War II veteran who told us how much he paid for his house in 1948 and how much the city thinks it's worth now. He didn't have a question either, but I say that anyone who's served in World War II can stand up and say anything they want.

The capper, though, was the man who stood up and spoke for a while and then, when prompted for a question, addressed the audience and asked if anyone had every smoked pot.

"Yes, but I didn't inhale," one person said.

"I never exhaled," said a guy next to me.

But I understand that sometimes people need to vent. And the country's economic crisis, and the ugly budget shortfall Northampton currently faces, are certainly legitimate reasons to vent. And I suppose it's my own fault for going to these things and expecting other than what I find. Isn't that the definition of insanity?

With less than two weeks to go before the Override vote, I fear that more insanity might be on the horizon. The other day I saw that someone's Vote Yes sign had been torn apart on their front lawn, and I've heard that other signs have met a similar fate. I've heard from people who say that they've been yelled at by neighbors who opposed the signs on their lawns. In times of crisis, it's no surprise that people put themselves first and protect what they have. But in times of crisis, I think it's more important for people to come together. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening.