Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Outing All Neighbors From Hell

The Manteca Chief of Police now has his own copy of Neighbors From Hell. I presented it to him after City Council meeting last night, along with a second copy for his department's training material.

The new book by Bob Borzotta reveals the mindsets of the major groups of players: Good Neighbors, Bad Neighbors, Neighbors on the Sideline, Police, Code Enforcement, and Courts. It explores the corrosive effects of people not taking personal responsibility to at least follow the laws, let alone think of others living close by. Some of the cases illustrate the poisonous hatred spewed onto neighbors by true sociopaths over the fence.

The picture the book paints is there are not enough cops and courts in the world to make up the deficiencies of slothful, ignorant, or evil people. The solutions it offers range from personal contact to involving authorities to "suing the bastards" (as my attorney says). Of course, one could always "cop out" and move away, but that would only leave the a&&h07^s free to selfishly do as they please, ignore law and decency, inflict pain on all around them. Just as the one bad apple destroys the barrelful, so Bad Neighbors spread their cancerous bile and destroy neighborhoods and whole communities.

Here's to hoping Manteca can figure out how to differentiate between the two dissimilar tasks of law enforcement and code enforcement. Yes, criminal activity and the public's safety are very serious business, but following codes of local ordinances and civil behavior hits everyone where they live.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to figure out if it is my new glasses or reading through your old posts that makes my head hurt. This is madness on all accounts. I have a sever hatred for those in power that should do the right thing, but often do not.

From one public servant to another: God speed.

noisemaker said...

It's probably NOT your glasses...

The noise problem is apparent to anyone with normal HEARING who attempts to follow the biologically imperative diurnal/nocturnal cycle.

A bigger problem seems to be the glacial speed of California's civil justice system. Opposing counsel claims "Discovery is continuing." Really? It takes them four months (and counting) to find their nonexistent permits?