Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 12:55:49 -0400
From: “connectnc.net”
Subject: Trees, evil weapons and neighbors
I do read the chatlist and I have learned to think about what I type more and more each time . Sometimes I’m not sure how to put what I’m thinking into words but I still try to get my point across . I had a friend once who enjoyed the shade of his neighbors trees lining his driveway and shading his home . The neighbor offered to sell the property or part of it to him at a deal , even owner finance it . My friend decided he didn’t need the small strip of land and that his money would be better spent on something else until someone else bought it . The person that bought the property had plans for it . They immediately cut every tree down exposing my friends home to direct hot august sunlight jacking up his electric bill and forcing him to look at a barren dirt plot . The new neighbor was a pig farmer so he put up a fence on the land line then built a pig pen and hog house 21 feet from my friends drive and home . My friend had obvious objections and went to an attorney to see if he could stop the smelly problem . The attorney response was that you had an option to buy the adjacent property and didn’t do so therefore the problem is with you . The new owner has no responsibility to you to accommodate your comfort or peace of mind with what they do on THEIR property .
My point in this is , If you don’t want a gun range next door , buy the property . Do you think anyone on the edges of the new Chatham Park want it next door or the new megasite ? Probably not but change is inevitable so you either accept it or do as my friend did , move to a quieter neighborhood with more trees and a bigger piece of property where you can be shaded by your own trees .
Oh I forgot the evil weapons part . I have my great granddaddy’s shot gun . Its over 100 years old and has never killed anyone , not even hurt anyone except me when I didn’t listen to my daddy’s advice and pulled both triggers at the same time launching me backwards onto my @$$ leaving me looking up at the trees and shortly there after my daddy laughing hysterically at my stupidity .
An average of 32000 people die a year from a gun related death . 60% of that is suicides , of the remaining 11000 deaths 80% are gang related leaving 2200 deaths either accidental or crime related in a country of an estimated 250 million guns . In 2011 there were 32367 motor vehicle deaths . There were 5,414,000 accidents injuring 2,239,000 people dwarfing any firearms accidents in comparison . There are 254 million vehicles registered in the US , almost the same number of guns . This proves you are just as likely to die by vehicle as by gun especially if you live in Chicago where gang violence is high , but if you live mostly anywhere else low on gang violence your averages of dying by firearm are as much as 5 times less than by vehicle . You are overwhelmingly more likely to be injured in a vehicle than by a fire arm . More children are killed every year in vehicle accidents than school shootings so do we need to ban cars ? My thoughts on this would make me believe if in fact a thing was an evil weapon that vehicles are far more dangerous than firearms but we drive them every day . If you don’t like guns then you certainly shouldn’t like driving cars .
My point is land planning before there is a need for it stops unpleasant surprises . Guns are a thing not evil or good just like a car . Banning guns or cars wont fix the problem of stupidity or mental illness . Criminals do not obey the law so laws wont stop them . Addressing gang violence and mental illness will do more to reduce gun violence than a library full of new gun laws .
Chatham County is growing and having growing pains . You have a choice you either live here and don’t participate in anything to change how the county grows and complain when it does or you do something about it before it becomes your problem .
If you don’t like the outcome no one is forcing you to stay put , being nomadic and yanking up your roots for a chance to enjoy life elsewhere is a time honored choice of many 😉
Goodnite Mark