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Blame it on the bears

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Wildfires in California. I've been surprised by how 'wacky' (for lack of a better word) have been some of the responses thereto. Of course I shouldn't be surprised. This is the country that elected Donald Trump president.

I guess the notion of applying our usual political insanity to wildfires slipped under my radar and came up on me as a surprise.

But one finds on twitter without much effort earnest attempts to explain that brush and tress aren't burning, that only houses are burning, because the fires are the consequence of a government plot.

Also, one finds efforts to use the fires to make one of the key political points of the Trump coalition: beware illegal immigrants. There is no evidence any illegal immigrant had anything to do with any fire in California, or that there was arson involved with the largest of the fires in the state now, involving an arsonist of any nationality or legal status whatsoever. 

Regardless, on twitter denizen “Cali-Conservative” wrote, “This is the type of stuff that starts to happen in a ‘Sanctuary State’ that encourages criminal behavior.”

Then there is the enormous brouhaha about a man who got out of his car to chase a wild rabbit. His effort was neither praise nor blameworthy. He was evacuating from his home, there were flames on both sides of the highway (enflamed brush, as the above still clearly shows -- so much for the "houses only" conspiracy theory) -- I'm certain our guy was in shock, and one's reactions in that condition are not the reactions of one's "right mind." So somehow that was his reaction to the sight of a rabbit in distress. It is possible that childhood memories of playing with a toy plastic Thumper played a role. 

But this isn't a hero. He could have been seriously hurt, and might himself have required rescue assistance, from personnel stretched to the breaking point at the time as it was. How does the cost/benefit analysis of an effort to save Thumper work out? Let's not make him a hero, just as we shouldn't try to make of him a villain. 

Peace out.  


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