No, not the wicked witch kind, although that might be appropriate too. Rather the proverbial bad apple that can rot a whole barrel of good apples. Social interaction seems increasingly poisoned by the dumbest, loudest, most obnoxious person or small group of people who lose all perspective while making sane assembled conversation impossible.
These fanatic crusaders began gaining power and arrogance on social media, ruining civil communities of interesting or meaningful dialogue. Now emboldened, they increasingly disrupt actual meetings in Town Halls, schools, or even library lectures and the like. And by destroying free communication, they fundamentally threaten democracy.
I don’t much mind if they keep to themselves or are civil in public. But as crusaders they hardly ever are such. After all, they claim, what they believe and want is important, unlike the trivial cares of everyone else. And, by golly, they are going to scream until everyone is forced to agree with them or just gives up arguing rationally.
Unfortunately it only takes one or two to ruin a meeting in an auditorium. More unfortunately, they can now organize flash mobs of dozens or more at any time. Sometimes I think they are folks with nothing else to do with their lives, like religious mendicants of old.
I’d feel sorry for them _ it’s no way to live happily _ but that is very hard when they make my life and our times so miserable.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 