Am I the only one who was just a little disappointed that the power outage on Monday was caused by an accident? I don't want anyone to get hurt, or even be seriously inconvenienced, but it sure would have been more interesting if the power lines had been cut by terrorists. I supposed I should be glad my city wasn't targeted, and I'm certainly glad no one was hurt, but incompetence by municipal employees is so mundane. Am I just bored, or am I perverse?
Just my guilty little confession for the day. Maybe this is why "real" journalists tend towards sensationalism?
I think the power outage will get more interesting. The LADWP came out and siad it was a accieent to which the empolyee union said no it wasn't the worker's fault it was the City's fault because (while they had done this before) they should of piad their guys more to do it at night. By chance the union is in contract negotiations and is treatening a strike, one councilman already implied it may of been an intentional accident on the part of union members as a barganing chip. In other words, it could still get quite ugly.
tP: I heard about that. I wouldn't put it past the unions. We cna only hope Drudge gets to use his siren again!
Sometimes we crave revolution. We long for something to overthrow the current mode, for an external event so shocking it will free us from the complex web of rules we feel tangled in. In a sense, you're probably bored. So am I.
But I think we also crave a new and simpler order to the world. When your life and the lives of those you love are in danger, priorities are clear and values are life-or-death. Danger brings a clarity to thought and action, a coherence, a one-dimensional linearity.
When in danger, the connection between action and effect is simpler and more direct than it is in a peaceful and safe context, where values are not life-or-death, but rather are a matter of subjective degree.
When in peace, daily actions and effects are only indirectly linked, often across a great deal of time and space. It's dissatisfying to act when the consequence is invisible or distant.
We crave a shock, something to force us to focus on the present.
I was disappointed that there wasn't a hurricane involved.
What makes you think that it wasn't terrorism? That the government shouted "we figured it out, no terrorism!" after they had already shouted, "we have no idea what is going on, but it is not terrorism!!!"