Thursday, March 6, 2008

Boredom in Utah = Trouble for all


So this poor kid wears a cloak and sings outside while waiting for his next class. Innocent (and weird) enough, right? Then someone calls the BYU police on him. He is asked to stop singing. A few days later, he is once again reported to the police because he is singing and apparently disturbing the peace. UHHH, WTF?

I am not oblivious to the fact that BYU students and Mormons are just as human as everyone else and in result, err often in judgment, but if you truly believe in a church that says love everyone no matter what their differences, why do these kids insist on calling the police on some poor, innocent kid? 

This is the same problem the homosexuals face; nobody knows anything about tolerance and love for different people. 

It's sad too, because BYU affords such a great education to students, and I honestly think that our teachers are cream of the crop. They often teach us stuff about tolerance. So why do these students not get it? 

I hate thinking that people are so concerned with another person's life that they would think it their responsibility to call the cops on them. It's just like when we were in the WILK and this girl stops this guy with a beard and goes "excuse me sir, but do you have a beard card?" it's like who cares? stay out of his business, and what if he does have a beard card? How do you think he feels being asked about it everywhere he goes? 

Anyways my rant for the day. 

3 comments:

Ball$ said...

yea i read this article and i was like give me a freaking break? as much as i like BYU, the people here are so intolerant. one of the church's main teachings is to be Christ-like, and he would love everyone no matter what. get a life people, you obviously aren't studying hard enough if you worry about some kid singing on campus!

Janae said...

My friends and I were all talking about this over dinner a few nights ago.

It's interesting and somewhat silly controversy on our campus.

Here's my opinion: I don't think people are calling the cops on him to be mean. I think people do it because they're afraid--people who are lonely (and socially estranged) enough to stand outside for HOURS on end singing loudly in a big cloak frighten people. After the school shootings that have happened in this country, I don't think people are completely unreasonable for being afraid, and I don't think this makes people un-Christlike.

And on another note, if something did happen with this kid... If he was unhappy enough to just snap one day, and extremely strange signs had been ignored by BYU, the institution would be held responsible if anything did happen. I don't think it's altogether wrong to be cautious. Also, he didn't get in trouble by the police, as far as I know--simply told to stop the singing.

It's kind of a funny thing. It doesn't bother me. I DC. But I CAN see how it might bother others, and I can see how BYU would need to take some precautions.

Abby Q. said...

Yikes, Janae! Calling me out again! :)

But I guess my rage does get in the way of arguments sometimes such as yours, but here's what I meant, since I have a somewhat relatable instance to base my opinion.

So a few years ago, I drove this junky beater car. It was falling apart. I was driving down the street in SLC when suddenly, I heard this scraping sound on the ground. I was looking for a place to pull over to see what was wrong this time, but in the meantime, all these people on the street were just like gawking, pointing at my car. I was like "yea I know something's wrong, I'm pulling over!" I was so afraid of what this noise was, being this was the end of the car's life. So I pull over, and what do you think it was? A freaking little piece of plastic dragging! Totally nothing, and although I was relieved, I was annoyed that people had nothing better to do than be preoccupied by some lame-o thing! It was then that I realized that Utahns are pretty bored (a case which I could discuss further).

So basically I think these people who reported the kid are making mountains out of molehills. They are so afraid of some kid in a cloak, but if you were in NY or any other city, it would just be something you ignored and walked by.

My sister still lives in NY and today she saw a homeless man put a pizza in the middle of the road and watch happily as cars ran over it. If someone did that in Provo, would we call the cops? In that aspect, I believe there is a lot more trust in big cities. You have to trust people every day because your life is in their hands. Anyone could do anything. I digress...

I agree that say like this kid's unusual behavior is preeminent to what he could do next, but what about the last college shooting? Everyone was baffled because the kid was totally normal and didn't seem weird at all. Sometimes there are no signs. With hindsight perhaps you can spot signs but we all show signs that those kids show, but doesn't mean we're going to do anything. So it's really hard to just point fingers at everyone for any weird thing they do. Or just because they're on anti-depressants or seeing a shrink we should assume they're going to shoot up a school.

Ok wow I'm rambling. I drank a whole can of Sunkist a minute ago so I'm a little hyper. But that's my extended, if not disorganized amendment! Hope it helps you understand my point a little more.