The recent Southern California fires had a number of causes; a long drought, a particularly fierce Santa Ana wind that lasted longer than usual, and a few idiot yahoos who thought they'd express their inner anger at society by running around starting fires at the worst possible time.
Did these arsonists crave attention? Was this a cry for help? Did they enjoy watching the suffering they caus
ed? Did they compare notes beforehand?
So I've been wondering; why tie up the justice system and take up space in a jail cell with these arsonists? Sometimes a little "prairie justice" just makes more sense. When we catch arsonists in the act, as we did, why don't we just immediately give them an opportunity to pitch in and help fix the problem they created? After all, the firefighters need all the help they can get. Let's hand the arsonists a shovel and a spray bottle full of water and drop them off in the midst of the burn area. Then we'll show them what it means to cry for help.
OK, I know that sounds bitter and mean. My point is that I've heard a lot of commentary on the news about "what went wrong" about how the fires were handled. It doesn't seem fair that there is so much coverage of politicians blaming each other but so far I haven't heard much about the arsonists they've arrested. Hmmm . . .
And really, we can't sue the wind.
Comments(13)